girl was born. Then the two small sisters were much together, Gudrun and Ursula. Gudrun was a quiet child who played for hours alone, absorbed in her fancies. She was brown-haired, fair-skinned, strangely placid, almost passive. Yet her will was indomitable, once set. From the first she followed Ursula's lead. Yet she was a thing to herself, so that to watch the two together was strange. They were like two young animals playing together but not taking real notice of each other. Gudrun was the mother's favourite — except that Anna always lived in her latest baby.

The burden of so many lives depending on him wore the youth down.

He had his work in the office, which was done purely by effort of will: he had his barren passion for the church; he had three young children.