| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Kreutzer Sonata by Leo Tolstoy: the town to make some purchases for her household. I did not
suppose she would select such a faithful man as you are to
perform such a service for her. If it should prove that she DOES
want to send you to the next town, just buy me a quarter-pound of
tea. Will you, Polikey Illitch?"
Poor Akulina, on hearing the joiner's wife talking so unkindly of
her husband, could hardly suppress the tears, and, the tirade
continuing, she at last became angry, and wished she could in
some way punish her.
Forgetting her neighbor's unkindness, her thoughts soon turned in
another direction, and glancing at her sleeping children she said
The Kreutzer Sonata |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from My Antonia by Willa Cather: Yulka trotting after us.
When we reached the level and could see the gold tree-tops, I
pointed toward them, and Antonia laughed and squeezed my hand
as if to tell me how glad she was I had come. We raced off toward
Squaw Creek and did not stop until the ground itself stopped--
fell away before us so abruptly that the next step would have been
out into the tree-tops. We stood panting on the edge of the ravine,
looking down at the trees and bushes that grew below us.
The wind was so strong that I had to hold my hat on, and the girls'
skirts were blown out before them. Antonia seemed to like it;
she held her little sister by the hand and chattered away in that
My Antonia |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Don Quixote by Miquel de Cervantes: hair, hastily snatched up a bundle as though of clothes that she had
beside her, and, scared and alarmed, endeavoured to take flight; but
before she had gone six paces she fell to the ground, her delicate
feet being unable to bear the roughness of the stones; seeing which,
the three hastened towards her, and the curate addressing her first
said:
"Stay, senora, whoever you may be, for those whom you see here
only desire to be of service to you; you have no need to attempt a
flight so heedless, for neither can your feet bear it, nor we allow
it."
Taken by surprise and bewildered, she made no reply to these
Don Quixote |
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 Albert Savarus by Honore de Balzac: hands. The man who won the case for the Chapter against the town can
certainly win that of Watteville /versus/ Riceys! Besides," she added,
"les Rouxey will some day be mine--not for a long time yet, I trust.--
Well, then do not leave me with a lawsuit on my hands. I like this
place, I shall often live here, and add to it as much as possible. On
those banks," and she pointed to the feet of the two hills, "I shall
cut flowerbeds and make the loveliest English gardens. Let us go to
Besancon and bring back with us the Abbe de Grancey, Monsieur Savaron,
and my mother, if she cares to come. You can then make up your mind;
but in your place I should have done so already. Your name is
Watteville, and you are afraid of a fight! If you should lose your
Albert Savarus |
