I felt how--if I were his wife, this good man, pure as the deep sunless source, could soon kill me, without drawing from my veins a single drop of blood, or receiving on his own crystal conscience the faintest stain of crime. Especially I felt this when I made any attempt to propitiate him.
Je sentais que, si je devenais sa femme, cet homme bon et pur comme la source souterraine m'aurait bientôt tuée sans retirer une seule goutte de sang à mes veines et sans souiller sa conscience sans tache; je sentais surtout cela lorsque je cherchais à me rapprocher de lui; je le trouvais sans pitié.