And then, suddenly, he asked himself whether that was not precisely what was implied by 'keeping' a woman (as if, in fact, that idea of 'keeping' could be derived from elements not at all mysterious nor perverse, but belonging to the intimate routine of his daily life, such as that thousand-franc note, a familiar and domestic object, torn in places and mended with gummed paper, which his valet, after paying the household accounts and the rent, had locked up in a drawer in the old writing-desk whence he had extracted it to send it, with four others, to Odette) and whether it was not possible to apply to Odette, since he had known her (for he never imagined for a moment that she could ever have taken a penny from anyone else, before), that title, which he had believed so wholly inapplicable to her, of 'kept' woman.
Orduan, bat-batean, bere buruari galdetu zion ea zer hura ez ote zen hain zuzen ere ditxosozko "mantentzea" (nozio hura, mantentzearena, elementu misteriotsu nahiz bihurrietatik beharrean, bere bizimoduaren egunerokotasun pribatuaren hondotik atera ahal bailitzan, mila liberako billete hura bezalatsu, etxekoi eta familiarra, urratua eta berritsatsia, bere gela-zerbitzariak, hileko gastuak eta errenta ordaindu ondoren, idazmahai zaharreko tiraderan pausatua zuena, eta Swannek gero beste laurekin batera handik hartu eta Odetteri helarazia ziona), eta ea ez ote zekiokeen Odetteri egotzi, ezagutzen zuenez geroztik (zeren une bakar batez ere ez baitzen goganbehartu ezen hark, berarengandik baino lehenago, beste inorengandik dirua hartua izan zezakeenik), hitz hura, harekin hain elkarrezina zirudiena, "mantenupeko emakumea"rena, alegia.