Arkadina says
Am I then so old and ugly already that you can talk to me like this without any shame about another woman? Oh, you have lost your senses! My splendid, my glorious friend, my love for you is the last chapter of my life. You are my pride, my joy, my light. I could never endure it should you desert me, if only for an hour; I should go mad. Oh, my wonder, my marvel, my king! Let them come! I am not ashamed of my love. My jewel! My despair! You want to do a foolish thing, but I don’t want you to do it. I shan’t let you do it! You are mine, you are mine! This forehead is mine, these eyes are mine, this silky hair is mine. All your being is mine. You are so clever, so wise, the first of all living writers; you are the only hope of your country. You are so fresh, so simple, so deeply humourous. You can bring out every feature of a man or of a landscape in a single line, and your characters live and breathe. Do you think that these words are but the incense of flattery? Do you think I am not speaking the truth? Come, look into my eyes; look deep; do you find lies there? No, you see that I alone know how to treasure you. I alone tell you the truth. Oh, my very dear, you will go with me? You will? You will not forsake me?