| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from King Henry VI by William Shakespeare: For by that loss I will not purchase them.
KING EDWARD.
Therein thou wrong'st thy children mightily.
LADY GREY.
Herein your highness wrongs both them and me.
But, mighty lord, this merry inclination
Accords not with the sadness of my suit;
Please you dismiss me either with ay or no.
KING EDWARD.
Ay, if thou wilt say ay to my request.
No, if thou dost say no to my demand.
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Awakening & Selected Short Stories by Kate Chopin: and looking between the curtains of the window, she saw by the
slanting rays of the sun that the afternoon was far advanced.
Robert was out there under the shed, reclining in the shade against
the sloping keel of the overturned boat. He was reading from a
book. Tonie was no longer with him. She wondered what had become
of the rest of the party. She peeped out at him two or three times
as she stood washing herself in the little basin between the
windows.
Madame Antoine had laid some coarse, clean towels upon a
chair, and had placed a box of poudre de riz within easy reach.
Edna dabbed the powder upon her nose and cheeks as she looked at
Awakening & Selected Short Stories |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from An Old Maid by Honore de Balzac: the company were sufficiently numerous for whist, piquet, or boston,
they began the game without awaiting either the Abbe de Sponde or
mademoiselle. If it was dark, Josette or Jacquelin would hasten to
light the candles as soon as the first bell rang. Seeing the salon
lighted up, the abbe would slowly hurry to come down. Every evening
the backgammon and the piquet tables, the three boston tables, and the
whist table were filled,--which gave occupation to twenty-five or
thirty persons; but as many as forty were usually present. Jacquelin
would then light the candles in the other rooms.
Between eight and nine o'clock the servants began to arrive in the
antechamber to accompany their masters home; and, short of a
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The fourth excerpt represents the element of Earth. It speaks of physical influences and the impact of the unseen on the visible world, and is drawn from The Yates Pride by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman: Amelia privately wished that she lived near enough to know if
Harry Lawton did call. She, as well as Mrs. Joseph Glynn, would
have enjoyed watching out and knowing something of the village
happenings, but the Lancaster house was situated so far from the
road, behind its grove of trees, that nothing whatever could be
seen.
"I doubt if Eudora tells, if he does call--that is, not unless
something definite happens," said Anna.
"No," remarked Amelia, sadly. "Eudora is a dear, but she is very
silent with regard to her own affairs."
"She ought to be," said Sophia, with her married authority. She
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