The Physiology of Marriage, part 3

The Physiology of Marriage, part 3

The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Physiology of Marriage Part 3
by Honore de Balzac (#99 in our series by Honore de Balzac)
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Title: The Physiology of Marriage Part 3
Author: Honore de Balzac
Release Date: June, 2004 [EBook #5958] [Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] [This file was first posted on September 30, 2002]
Edition: 10
Language: English
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Etext prepared by Dagny, [email protected] and John Bickers, [email protected]

THE PHYSIOLOGY OF MARRIAGE
THIRD PART
BY
HONORE DE BALZAC

RELATING TO CIVIL WAR.
"Lovely as the seraphs of Klopstock, Terrible as the devils of Milton." --DIDEROT.

MEDITATION XXIII.
OF MANIFESTOES.
The Preliminary precepts, by which science has been enabled at this point to put weapons into the hand of a husband, are few in number; it is not of so much importance to know whether he will be vanquished, as to examine whether he can offer any resistance in the conflict.
Meanwhile, we will set up here certain beacons to light up the arena where a husband is soon to find himself, in alliance with religion and law, engaged single-handed in a contest with his wife, who is supported by her native craft and the whole usages of society as her allies.
LXXXII. Anything may be expected and anything may be supposed of a woman who is in love.
LXXXIII. The actions of a woman who intends to deceive her husband are almost always the result of study, but never dictated by reason.
LXXXIV. The greater number of women advance like the fleas, by erratic leaps and bounds, They owe their escape to the height or depth of their first ideas, and any interruption of their plans rather favors their execution. But they operate only within a narrow area which it is easy for the husband to make still narrower; and if he keeps cool he will end by extinguishing this piece of living saltpetre.
LXXXV. A husband should never allow himself to address a single disparaging remark to his wife, in presence of a third party.
LXXXVI. The moment a wife decides to break her marriage vow she reckons her husband as everything or nothing. All defensive operations must start from this proposition.
LXXXVII. The life of a woman is either of the head, of the heart, or of passion. When a woman reaches the age to form an estimate of life, her husband ought to find out whether the primary cause of her intended infidelity proceeds from vanity, from sentiment or from temperament. Temperament may be remedied like disease; sentiment is something in which the husband may find great opportunities of success; but vanity is incurable. A woman whose life is of the head may be a terrible scourge. She combines the faults of a passionate woman with those of the tender-hearted woman, without having their palliations. She is destitute alike of pity, love, virtue or sex.
LXXXVIII. A woman whose life is of the head will strive to inspire her husband with indifference; the woman whose life is of the heart, with hatred; the passionate woman, with disgust.
LXXXIX. A husband never loses anything by appearing to believe in the fidelity of his wife, by preserving an air of patience and by keeping silence. Silence especially troubles a woman amazingly.
XC. To show himself aware of the passion of his wife is the mark of a fool; but to affect ignorance of all proves that a man has sense, and this is in fact the only attitude to take. We are taught, moreover, that everybody in France is sensible.
XCI. The rock most to be avoided is ridicule.--"At least, let us be affectionate in public," ought to be the maxim of a married establishment. For both the married couple to lose honor, esteem, consideration, respect and all that is worth living for in society, is to become a nonentity.
These axioms relate to the contest alone. As for the catastrophe, others will be needed for that.

We have called this crisis /Civil War/ for two