| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Muse of the Department by Honore de Balzac: she had looked for consolation, the consoler, Monsieur de Chargeboeuf
had left her. Thus, the overwhelming temptation which commonly causes
women to sin had hitherto been absent. For if there are, after all,
some women who make straight for unfaithfulness, are there not many
more who cling to hope, and do not fall till they have wandered long
in a labyrinth of secret woes?
Such was Dinah. She had so little impulse to fail in her duty, that
she did not care enough for Monsieur de Clagny to forgive him his
defeat.
Then the move to the Chateau d'Anzy, the rearrangement of her
collected treasures and curiosities, which derived added value from
The Muse of the Department |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Father Goriot by Honore de Balzac: On his return he found the Vicomtesse gracious and kindly, as she
had always been to him. They went together to the dining-room,
where the Vicomte was waiting for his wife. In the time of the
Restoration the luxury of the table was carried, as is well
known, to the highest degree, and M. de Beauseant, like many
jaded men of the world, had few pleasures left but those of good
cheer; in this matter, in fact, he was a gourmand of the schools
of Louis XVIII. and of the Duc d'Escars, and luxury was
supplemented by splendor. Eugene, dining for the first time in a
house where the traditions of grandeur had descended through many
generations, had never seen any spectacle like this that now met
Father Goriot |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy: "Yes," said a loud voice from the doorway.
All eyes were turned. Standing in the triangular opening
which formed the door of the tent was a sailor, who,
unobserved by the rest, had arrived there within the last
two or three minutes. A dead silence followed his
affirmation.
"You say you do?" asked the husband, staring at him.
"I say so," replied the sailor.
"Saying is one thing, and paying is another. Where's the
money?"
The sailor hesitated a moment, looked anew at the woman,
The Mayor of Casterbridge |
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 Tess of the d'Urbervilles, A Pure Woman by Thomas Hardy: figure; then before he was aware, another was at hand
on the right, under a trilithon, and another on the
left. The dawn shone full on the front of the man
westward, and Clare could discern from this that he was
tall, and walked as if trained. They all closed in
with evident purpose. Her story then was true!
Springing to his feet, he looked around for a weapon,
loose stone, means of escape, anything. By this time
the nearest man was upon him.
"It is no use, sir," he said. "There are sixteen of us
on the Plain, and the whole country is reared."
Tess of the d'Urbervilles, A Pure Woman |
