| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Deserted Woman by Honore de Balzac: marriage should take place later, in obedience to Mme. de Beauseant's
expressed wish. He went so far as to enlist the Marquise's nobleness
and pride and all the great qualities of her nature to help him to
succeed in this compassionate design. He would write a letter at once
to allay her suspicions. /A letter!/ For a woman with the most
exquisite feminine perception, as well as the intuition of passionate
love, a letter in itself was a sentence of death.
So when Jacques came and brought Mme. de Beauseant a sheet of paper
folded in a triangle, she trembled, poor woman, like a snared swallow.
A mysterious sensation of physical cold spread from head to foot,
wrapping her about in an icy winding sheet. If he did not rush to her
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Juana by Honore de Balzac: scoffed at Diard's pretensions to a prefecture, whereupon he lowered
his demand to a sub-prefecture. There was, of course, a ridiculous
discrepancy between this latter demand and the magnitude of his
fortune. To frequent the imperial salons and live with insolent
luxury, and then to abandon that millionaire life and bury himself as
sub-prefect at Issoudun or Savenay was certainly holding himself below
his position. Juana, too late aware of our laws and habits and
administrative customs, did not enlighten her husband soon enough.
Diard, desperate, petitioned successively all the ministerial powers;
repulsed everywhere, he found nothing open to him; and society then
judged him as the government judged him and as he judged himself.
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Sons and Lovers by D. H. Lawrence: she wondered what she could do for warmth. She went down to the
coal-house, where there was an old hearthrug she had carried out for
the rag-man the day before. This she wrapped over her shoulders.
It was warm, if grimy. Then she walked up and down the garden path,
peeping every now and then under the blind, knocking, and telling
herself that in the end the very strain of his position must wake him.
At last, after about an hour, she rapped long and low at
the window. Gradually the sound penetrated to him. When, in despair,
she had ceased to tap, she saw him stir, then lift his face blindly.
The labouring of his heart hurt him into consciousness. She rapped
imperatively at the window. He started awake. Instantly she saw his
Sons and Lovers |
