“ Some women when they see themselves abandoned will try to tear their lover from the arms of a rival, they will kill her, and rush to the ends of the earth,—to the scaffold, to their tomb. That, no doubt, is fine; the motive of the crime is a great passion, which awes even human justice. Other women bow their heads and suffer in silence ”
Honoré de Balzac, Eugénie Grandet (1834). copy citation
| Author | Honoré de Balzac |
|---|---|
| Source | Eugénie Grandet |
| Topic | justice silence |
| Date | 1834 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley |
| Weblink | https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Eug%C3%A9nie_Grandet |
Context
“hotel d'Aubrion, rue Hillerin-Bertin.
"By the diligence!" said Eugenie. "A thing for which I would have laid down my life!"
Terrible and utter disaster! The ship went down, leaving not a spar, not a plank, on a vast ocean of hope! Some women when they see themselves abandoned will try to tear their lover from the arms of a rival, they will kill her, and rush to the ends of the earth,—to the scaffold, to their tomb. That, no doubt, is fine; the motive of the crime is a great passion, which awes even human justice. Other women bow their heads and suffer in silence; they go their way dying, resigned, weeping, forgiving, praying, and recollecting, till they draw their last breath. This is love,—true love, the love of angels, the proud love which lives upon its anguish and dies of it.”
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