| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Another Study of Woman by Honore de Balzac: write better than she did, and who do not publish their letters.
Whether the Frenchwoman be called 'perfect lady,' or great lady, she
will always be /the/ woman among women.
"Emile Blondet has given us a picture of the fascinations of a woman
of the day; but, at need, this creature who bridles or shows off, who
chirps out the ideas of Mr. This and Mr. That, would be heroic. And it
must be said, your faults, mesdames, are all the more poetical,
because they must always and under all circumstances be surrounded by
greater perils. I have seen much of the world, I have studied it
perhaps too late; but in cases where the illegality of your feelings
might be excused, I have always observed the effects of I know not
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from In a German Pension by Katherine Mansfield: sleepiness any longer. She was afraid to sit down or stand still. As she
sat at supper the Man and the Frau seemed to swell to an immense size as
she watched them, and then become smaller than dolls, with little voices
that seemed to come from outside the window. Looking at the baby, it
suddenly had two heads, and then no head. Even his crying made her feel
worse. When she thought of the nearness of bedtime she shook all over with
excited joy. But as eight o'clock approached there was the sound of wheels
on the road, and presently in came a party of friends to spend the evening.
Then it was:
"Put on the coffee."
"Bring me the sugar tin."
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