Letters of Olive Shreiner

To Havelock Ellis


Bole Hill,
24th July, 1884.

Dr. Aveling and Miss Marx have just come to see me. She is now to be called Mrs. Aveling. I was glad to see her face. I love her. But she looks so miserable. Henry, what a great and solemn thing love is. I want, in my life's work, if I work much and live long, to show what a wonderful power love has over the physical and through it over the mental nature, over what we call the soul, the inner self. In this book [From Man to Man] I have tried to show it. But, you see, when I wrote it I did not know what the last three years have taught. I can only try to show it here and there.