| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte: told him how my cousin wished me to visit him, because he was sick,
and couldn't come to the Grange; and how papa would object to my
going: and then I negotiated with him about the pony. He is fond
of reading, and he thinks of leaving soon to get married; so he
offered, if I would lend him books out of the library, to do what I
wished: but I preferred giving him my own, and that satisfied him
better.
'On my second visit Linton seemed in lively spirits; and Zillah
(that is their housekeeper) made us a clean room and a good fire,
and told us that, as Joseph was out at a prayer-meeting and Hareton
Earnshaw was off with his dogs - robbing our woods of pheasants, as
Wuthering Heights |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Two Brothers by Honore de Balzac: Claparon and the elder Desroches were invited. All the family friends
were to come, and did come, in the evening. Joseph had invited Leon
Giraud, d'Arthez, Michel Chrestien, Fulgence Ridal, and Horace
Bianchon, his friends of the fraternity. Madame Descoings had promised
Bixiou, her so-called step-son, that the young people should play at
ecarte. Desroches the younger, who had now taken, under his father's
stern rule, his degree at law, was also of the party. Du Bruel,
Claparon, Desroches, and the Abbe Loraux carefully observed the
returned exile, whose manners and coarse features, and voice roughened
by the abuse of liquors, together with his vulgar glance and
phraseology, alarmed them not a little. While Joseph was placing the
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| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia by Samuel Johnson: a declaration without reserve.
"Do not imagine," said the Princess, "that I came hither as a spy.
I had long observed from my window that you and Imlac directed your
walk every day towards the same point, but I did not suppose you
had any better reason for the preference than a cooler shade or
more fragrant bank, nor followed you with any other design than to
partake of your conversation. Since, then, not suspicion, but
fondness, has detected you, let me not lose the advantage of my
discovery. I am equally weary of confinement with yourself, and
not less desirous of knowing what is done or suffered in the world.
Permit me to fly with you from this tasteless tranquillity, which
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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 Herland by Charlotte Gilman: but lacked detail; and in that first day of struggle and capture,
we noticed little. But now we were swept along at an easy rate of
some thirty miles an hour and covered quite a good deal of ground.
We stopped for lunch in quite a sizable town, and here,
rolling slowly through the streets, we saw more of the population.
They had come out to look at us everywhere we had passed, but
here were more; and when we went in to eat, in a big garden place
with little shaded tables among the trees and flowers, many eyes
were upon us. And everywhere, open country, village, or city--
only women. Old women and young women and a great majority
who seemed neither young nor old, but just women; young girls,
Herland |
