"That I may finish that book, 'From Man to Man', being of some use, tragedy & bitterness of woman's fate" Read the full letter
| Letter Reference | HRC/UNCAT/OS-30 |
| Archive | Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas, Austin |
| Epistolary Type | Letter |
| Letter Date | Saturday 25 April 1885 |
| Address From | 4 Robertson Terrace, Hastings, East Sussex |
| Address To | |
| Who To | Havelock Ellis |
| Other Versions | Cronwright-Schreiner 1924: 71; Draznin 1992: 341 |
| Permissions | Please read before using or citing this transcription |
| Legend |
The Project is grateful to the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, the University of Texas at Austin, for kindly allowing us to transcribe this Olive Schreiner letter, which is part of its Manuscript Collections. This letter has been dated by reference to information written onto it by Ellis. Schreiner was resident at two addresses in Hastings from the end of November 1884 to the end of April 1885.
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1Sat Night
2
3Just going to bed.
4
5My darling, my darling. You aren’t going to be sad tonight, are you?
6I want to comfort you. Oh if there were nothing to divide us if we
7might be all in all to each other. I mean if it were possible for one
8human being to make another quite quite quite happy. Then you would
9always be so happy. I would make you so happy. Now I don’t know how.
10I want to.
11
12Sunday Night
13
14My soul’s wifie, what are you doing tonight? Was the concert nice
15yesterday. All day I have lain still, feeling spent, but this evening
16I have worked a little.
17
18I am going to bed now. You looked so sweet on Thursday night, so
19beautiful.
20
21Olive
22
23Don’t you think you are getting more beautiful than you used to be?
24
2
3Just going to bed.
4
5My darling, my darling. You aren’t going to be sad tonight, are you?
6I want to comfort you. Oh if there were nothing to divide us if we
7might be all in all to each other. I mean if it were possible for one
8human being to make another quite quite quite happy. Then you would
9always be so happy. I would make you so happy. Now I don’t know how.
10I want to.
11
12Sunday Night
13
14My soul’s wifie, what are you doing tonight? Was the concert nice
15yesterday. All day I have lain still, feeling spent, but this evening
16I have worked a little.
17
18I am going to bed now. You looked so sweet on Thursday night, so
19beautiful.
20
21Olive
22
23Don’t you think you are getting more beautiful than you used to be?
24
Notation
Draznin's (1992) version of this letter is in some respects different from our transcription. An extract appears in Cronwright-Schreiner (1924).
Draznin's (1992) version of this letter is in some respects different from our transcription. An extract appears in Cronwright-Schreiner (1924).