The baroness did a still
greater tactlessness. She said:
"I am a patroness of a convent for fallen girls, and therefore, as
a part of my duty, I must gather information about you."
But here Jennka instantly flared up:
"Get out of here right away, you old fool! You rag! You floor mop!
.. Your Magdalene asylums--they're worse than a prison. Your
secretaries use us, like dogs carrion. Your fathers, husbands, and
brothers come to us, and we infect them with all sorts of diseases
... Purposely .. And they in their turn infect you. Your female
superintendents live with the drivers, janitors and policemen,
while we are put in a cell if we happen to laugh or joke a little
among ourselves. And so, if you've come here as to a theatre, then
you must hear the truth out, straight to your face."
But Tamara calmly stopped her:
"Stop, Jennie, I will tell them myself ... Can it be that you
really think, baroness, that we are worse than the so-called
respectable women? A man comes to me, pays me two roubles for a
visit or five roubles for a night, and I don't in the least
conceal this, from any one in the world .
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