...

"I am not afraid".

"You are not afraid of suffering?"

"Yes, I am afraid of suffering. But I am not afraid of ghosts. And I think people suffer too easily", she added.

"I don't believe you do".

"I don't think that's a fault. It is not absolutely necessary to suffer; we were not made for that".

"You were not, certainly".

"I am not speaking of myself".

"No, it isn't a fault. It's a merit to be strong".

"Only, if you don't suffer, they call you hard".



Henry James, "The Portrait Of A Lady"