dean said. He grunted and stood up and they went to the study. Girard sat on the sofa and the dean took an easy chair near his desk. The dean sat down slowly and when he was seated he belched. Girard echoed him lightly.
The dean settled himself carefully among the cushions of his chair and said, âI have a meeting at one-thirty. We had better start.â He cleared his throat. âUnderstand first,â he said, âthat I am merely an agent in this affair.â He took a pipe from the top of the desk and leaned back to open a drawer. He withdrew a pouch and settled himself again. âIt concerns you and Miss Hsieh,â he said. Girard waited. âCertain members of the faculty have seen you together.â He opened the pouch. âThey are not sure that the relationship becomes a man in your position.â
âWhat is my position?â
âTo begin with, you are not Chinese. There is always that. Secondly, you are a teacher.â
âBut she is not a student.â
âGranted,â the dean said. âBut she is a graduate, and has a connection with the university.â
âJust what are the objections?â
The dean struck a match. âI wish I knew.â He lit the pipe. Girard waited. âThe difficulty is that we cannot accuse you of any breach of conduct. If you had been talked about before this we might say that it was a matter of reputation and publicity. I myself have no objection to your activities. Do you know Franz Langner in the City? A good friend of mine. Married to a Chinese girl.â The servant came in with a teapot and two cups and put the teapot on the desk. He put a cup on the table beside the dean and gave Girard the other to hold. He poured the tea and put the pot back on the desk and went out.
âThe fact that Langner married a Chinese girl has no relevance,â Girard said. âNo one has mentioned marriage.â
âOf course,â the dean said. âNo one has mentioned marriage. Here we are handicapped. Certain members of the faculty demand an explanation: what is the relationship? There has been no mention of marriage, but they are together often.â
âAnd what would they say if marriage were mentioned?â
The dean smiled. âThey would be a little outraged.â
âThen if marriage is in mind, the community disapproves. And if marriage is not in mind, the community disapproves.â
The dean looked at him. âListen to me,â he said. âI do not think that we are dealing here with fact and reason. I think that we are dealing with shadows. The shadows of millennia of isolation and fear, and the shadows of decades of war and exploitation.â
âThe nice thing about a university,â Girard said, âis that we can always busy ourselves with shadows.â
The dean shook his head. âDo not, for a few minutes at least, become hurt and angry. It will not help.â
âI am sorry.â
âIt is all right. But consider your position under these shadows. A foreigner: it can be forgiven but never forgotten. A teacher: responsible to your students and to yourself.â He hesitated. âAnother thing. Politically you are more with the students than with the teachers.â
âAh,â Girard said. âWe are coming out of the shadows.â
âYes. A ray of unwanted sunlight comes in, like the dawn to bedded lovers. We approach politics.â
âWe have been approaching politics for a long time,â Girard said.
âRemember,â the dean said, âthe teachers are not afraid of the students. They do not see this as a war between castes. For them it is a fight to keep a position, the only position in which they can live at peace. I do not mean a job. I mean a position in history. Because of the need for this position they are in a state of perpetual compromise.â
âCommon among intellectuals.â
âYes. Most intellectuals are lonely, either