One can imagine the look the two lovers exchanged; it was like a flame, for virtuous lovers have not a shred of hypocrisy.
Children, dear and loving children, can alone console a woman for the loss of her beauty.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the special bond between a mother and her children, suggesting they provide solace and joy despite the loss of youthful beauty.
Honore De Balzac's quote reflects the profound relationship between a mother and her children, indicating that the love and affection of children are unparalleled comforts that can heal the emotional wounds of losing one's physical beauty. It suggests that while societal standards may place great value on beauty, the unconditional love and connection with children are what truly enrich a woman's life and bring her the deepest satisfaction and joy.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
At a mother's day celebration to emphasize the importance of children in a mother's life.
More from Honore De Balzac
All quotes βLoyalty in time of need is possibly one of the noblest of victories a courtier can win over himself.
Marriage must incessantly contend with a monster that devours everything: familiarity.
Who is to decide which is the grimmer sight: withered hearts, or empty skulls?
However gross a man may be, the minute he expresses a strong and genuine affection, some inner secretion alters his features, animates his gestures, and colors his voice. The stupidest man will often, under the stress of passion, achieve heights of eloquence, in thought if not in language, and seem to move in some luminous sphere. Goriot's voice and gesture had at this moment the power of communication that characterizes the great actor. Are not our finer feelings the poems of the human will?
Love is a religion, and its rituals cost more than those of other religions. It goes by quickly and, like a street urchin, it likes to mark its passage by a trail of devastation.
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