Stanley:
The comparison makes me laugh! Olivia is a person of accomplishment and charm. Sophie's a street finagler who makes her way living off one bit of hokum to the next.
Aunt Vanessa:
Well, I don't see how you can compare the two.
Stanley:
Well, don't put ideas into my head!
Aunt Vanessa:
Well, far be it from me!
Stanley:
Of course, she does come from dire circumstances. I mean, it's very easy to be judgmental about people who are born into circumstances less fortunate than one's own.
Aunt Vanessa:
Well, life is harsh. One must do what one must to survive.
Stanley:
Well put. And people do sometimes make the wrong choices, which they regret, even though no serious harm was done.
Aunt Vanessa:
Which of us has not made some blunders in life?
Stanley:
And there is a rather appealing quality about Sophie. Despite her disgusting behaviour.
Aunt Vanessa:
Yes, her smile is rather winning. Of course, it depends how much value you put on the purely physical.
Stanley:
Well, no, I... I, for one, esteem the higher virtues.
Aunt Vanessa:
Hmm... Beauty of the soul...
Stanley:
Although her eyes are rather pleasant to look into. And that she can be amusing, under the right circumstances.
Aunt Vanessa:
Oh, but Olivia is an educated, cultivated woman. One that befits a man of your artistic genius.
Stanley:
Yes, now, my genius must be factored in. On paper, there's really no reason to prefer Sophie to Olivia.
Aunt Vanessa:
Well, I would say the opposite.
Stanley:
...And so your, your suggestion that I, I be honest with Olivia and tell her that as irrational as it seems, I've fallen in love with, with Sophie - that's a preposterous notion.
Aunt Vanessa:
It's lunacy.
Stanley:
...Yet I can't help feeling that...
Aunt Vanessa:
...That you love Sophie. Yes, I understand. You're puzzled and bewildered; because your foolish logic tells you that you should love Olivia.
Stanley:
Foolish logic?
Aunt Vanessa:
And yet, how little that logic means when placed next to Sophie's smile...
Stanley:
What are you saying?
Aunt Vanessa:
...That the world may or may not be without purpose, but it's not totally without some kind of magic.
Stanley:
...I have irrational positive feelings for Sophie Baker. It's like witnessing a trick I can't figure out.
