| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from House of Mirth by Edith Wharton: fish, or scooping the moist bread-crumbs from the interior of his
roll, he sat straining his thin neck for a glimpse of her between
the lights.
Mrs. Trenor, as it chanced, had placed the husband and wife on
opposite sides of the table, and Lily was therefore able to
observe Mrs. Dorset also, and by carrying her glance a few feet
farther, to set up a rapid comparison between Lawrence Selden and
Mr. Gryce. It was that comparison which was her undoing. Why else
had she suddenly grown interested in Selden? She had known him
for eight years or more: ever since her return to America he had
formed a part of her background. She had always been glad to sit
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy: two circumstances were drowned in the sea of good-humored gaiety
which flooded the soul of Stepan Arkadyevitch. These two
circumstances were: first, that on meeting Alexey Alexandrovitch
the day before in the street he had noticed that he was cold and
reserved with him, and putting the expression of Alexey
Alexandrovitch's face and the fact that he had not come to see
them or let them know of his arrival with the rumors he had heard
about Anna and Vronsky, Stepan Arkadyevitch guessed that
something was wrong between the husband and wife.
That was one disagreeable thing. The other slightly disagreeable
fact was that the new head of his department, like all new heads,
Anna Karenina |
