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Women are tenacious, and all of them should be tenacious of respect; without esteem they cannot exist; esteem is the first demand that they make of love.
Honore De Balzac
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Women value respect and esteem highly in relationships, as these are fundamental to their existence and love.

This quote by Honore De Balzac emphasizes the importance of respect and esteem in the lives of women. It suggests that for women to truly thrive and engage in love, they first require acknowledgement and appreciation, indicating that a loving relationship must be built on a foundation of mutual respect.

Themes

RespectEsteemLoveTenacityWomen

In practice

Example use cases

In a discussion about gender equality, this quote can highlight the importance of respect for women.

More from Honore De Balzac

One can imagine the look the two lovers exchanged; it was like a flame, for virtuous lovers have not a shred of hypocrisy.
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Loyalty in time of need is possibly one of the noblest of victories a courtier can win over himself.
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Marriage must incessantly contend with a monster that devours everything: familiarity.
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Who is to decide which is the grimmer sight: withered hearts, or empty skulls?
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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?
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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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