No matter how much she might fancy
herself in love (and I imagine that she had had her enlightening
experiences) she would not risk a lifelong clash of wills with a man who
might turn out to be a medieval despot.
It was then that she told me of the tentative proposal of one of her
beaux (she had many) "Georg Zottmyer," which I have recorded almost
literally in the scene between this passing character and Gisela in the
Cafe Luitpolt. My object in doing so was to give as realistic an
impression as possible of what the German woman is up against in
dealings with her male. I knew Zottmyer personally, and he interested me
the more (as one is interested in a bug under a microscope) because he
had less excuse for his conceit and arrogance than most German men: he
was brought up in California, where his father is a successful doctor.
But that only seemed to have made him worse. He returned to Germany as
soon as he was of age, more German than the Germans, and despising
Americans.
I had often wondered what became of this highly interesting young woman,
and when I began to write _The White Morning_ she popped into my mind. I
believe she could be a leader of some kind if she chose. Perhaps she is.
The cases could be multiplied indefinitely. The Erkels and Mimi Brandt
are drawn, together with their conditions, almost photographically.
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