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And then, without any help beyond his own perception, he began to understand that he had more than just a function; he had strength of his own. This was not something that those who employed him would admit, but his eyes told him that it was the case. Slowly, he realized the truth of his craft: that the client was the master, except when he, James Wadsworth, was the client’s master.

For a start, he was the client’s master when his eyes discerned what the client would prefer him not to know. A husband’s contempt. A wife’s dissatisfaction. A deacon’s hypocrisy. A child’s suffering. A man’s pleasure at having his wife’s money to spend. A husband’s eye for the hired girl. Large matters in small kingdoms.

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Julian Barnes, The Limner, The New Yorker, Jan 09