Ihad loved her madly!
why does one love? why does one love? how queer it is to see only one being in the world, to have only one thought in one's mind, only one desire in the heart, and only one name on the lips—name which comes up continually, rising, like the water in a spring, from the depths of the soul to the lips, a name which one repeats over and over again, which one whispers ceaselessly, everywhere, like a prayer.
i am going to tell you our story, for love only has one, which is always the same. i met her and loved her; that is all. and for a whole year i have lived on her tenderness, on her caresses, in her arms, in her dresses, on her words, so completely wrapped up, bound, and absorbed in everything which came from her, that i no longer cared whether it was day or night, or whether i was dead or alive, on this old earth of ours.
and then she died. how? i do not know; i no longer know anything. but one evening she came home wet, for it was raining heavily, and the next day she coughed, and she coughed for about a week, and took to her bed. what happened i do not remember now, but doctors came, wrote, and went away. medicines were brought, and some women made her drink them. her hands were hot, her forehead was burning, and her eyes bright and sad. when i spoke to her, she answered me, but i do not remember what we said. i have forgotten everything, everything, everything! she died, and i very well remember her slight, feeble sigh. the nurse said: "ah! " and i understood, i understood!
i knew nothing more, nothing. i saw a priest, who said: "your mistress? "—and it seemed to me as if he were insulting her. as she was dead, nobody had the right to say that any longer, and i turned him out. another came who was very kind and tender, and i shed tears when he spoke to me about her.
they consulted me about the funeral, but i do not remember anything that they said, though i recollected the coffin, and the sound of the hammer when they nailed her down in it. oh! god, god!
she was buried! buried! she! in that hole! some people came—female friends. i made my escape and ran away. i ran, and then walked through the streets, went home, and the next day started on a journey.
the title "was it a dream? " could be interpreted in different ways. explain at least two ways that the title could be interpreted. which interpretation do you think fits the story best? in one to two paragraphs, explain your answer.