Revenge is sweet

The expression “Revenge is sweet” is voiced by Lily and turned into a question about the pleasure revenge supposedly brings. Karsten offers a bodily explanation but admits he does not understand it; the conversation then shifts toward the timing of punishment and whether its connection to an offense can still be made clear.

The Saying and Its Challenge

Lily introduces the phrase suddenly. Karsten answers that this is what people say, adding that although he has never avenged himself on anyone, the claim is certainly true. Lily does not simply accept the familiar wording: she asks why revenge should be sweet and whether the description is strange. Her questions make a conventional maxim sound uncertain rather than self-evident.

Karsten’s Explanation

Karsten speculates that the sweetness may come from the endorphin rush a person experiences when finally carrying out revenge. His explanation remains tentative: he says he does not know and does not really understand the feeling. The exchange therefore presents revenge’s appeal as something he can hypothesize about physically without claiming personal experience of it.

From Revenge to Punishment

Karsten follows the discussion with an analogy about disciplining a dog. If a dog steals a meatball from the table, he says, it must be punished immediately; after three seconds, it will no longer connect the stolen food with the hand that strikes. The analogy shifts the conversation from revenge as a supposedly pleasurable act to punishment as a matter of timing and association. It does not resolve Lily’s question, but it places Karsten’s reflection on revenge beside his belief that a punishment must occur promptly to make its cause legible.