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The excerpt represents the core issue or deciding factor on which you must meditate, and is drawn from The Marriage Contract by Honore de Balzac: imposed, she seduced, but promised nothing. She was tall, which gave
her at times the air and carriage of a queen. Men were taken by her
conversation like birds in a snare; for she had by nature that genius
which necessity bestows on schemes; she advanced from concession to
concession, strengthening herself with what she gained to ask for
more, knowing well how to retreat with rapid steps when concessions
were demanded in return. Though ignorant of facts, she had known the
courts of Spain and Naples, the celebrated men of the two Americas,
many illustrious families of England and the continent, all of which
gave her so extensive an education superficially that it seemed
immense. She received her society with the grace and dignity which are
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