127
" What will Helene’s fate be? My own, beyond doubt. How can a mother ensure that the man to whom she gives her daughter will be the husband of her heart? You pour scorn on the miserable creatures who sell themselves for a few coins to any passer-by, though want and hunger absolve the brief union; while another union, horrible for quite other reasons, is tolerated, nay encouraged, by society, and a young and innocent girl is married to a man whom she has only met occasionally during the previous three months. She is sold for her whole lifetime. It is true that the price is high! If you allow her no compensation for her sorrows, you might at least respect her; but no, the most virtuous of women cannot escape calumny. This is our fate in its double aspect. Open prostitution and shame; secret prostitution and unhappiness. "
― Honoré de Balzac , Works of Honore de Balzac
140
" I swear to you that I never gave way to it till I had recognized in the Baron de Macumer a character worthy of mine, a heart of which the delicacy, the generosity, the devotion, and the temper are suited to my own.” “But, my dear,” she began, interrupting me, “he is as ugly as...” “As anything you like,” I retorted quickly, “but I love his ugliness.” “If you love him, Armande,” said my father, “and have the strength to master your love, you must not risk your happiness. Now, happiness in marriage depends largely on the first days "
― Honoré de Balzac , Works of Honore de Balzac