Dr Zhivago (1958)

"She hated him, he was the curse of her life. Every day she went over it in her mind.

She had become his prisoner for life. How had he enslaved her? What made her submit to his wishes and satisfy his need to make her feel ashamed? What was his hold over her? His age? Or her mother's dependence on his money? Did that impress or frighten her so much? No, a thousand times no. That was all nonsense.

It was she who had a hold on him. Did she know how much he needed her? There was nothing to be frightened of, her conscience was clear. It was he who should be frightened and ashamed, and terrified of her giving him away. But that was just what she would never do. She lacked his treachery, his chief asset in dealing with the weak and the dependent.

This was just the difference between them. And it was this that made the whole of life so frightening. You were not blasted by thunder and lightning but by covert looks and whispered calumny. Life was all treachery and ambiguity. Any single thread was as fragile as a cobweb, but just try to pull yourself out of the net! It only held you tighter.

Even the strong are ruled by the weak and treacherous."
                                        -- Boris Pasternak, Dr Zhivago (1958), p. 54