| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from La Grenadiere by Honore de Balzac: of her instep and ankle than for the more ordinary merit of
slenderness; her gloved hands, too, were shapely. There were flitting
patches of deep red in a pale face, which must have been fresh and
softly colored once. Premature wrinkles had withered the delicately
modeled forehead beneath the coronet of soft, well-set chestnut hair,
invariably wound about her head in two plaits, a girlish coiffure
which suited the melancholy face. There was a deceptive look of calm
in the dark eyes, with the hollow, shadowy circles about them;
sometimes, when she was off her guard, their expression told of secret
anguish. The oval of her face was somewhat long; but happiness and
health had perhaps filled and perfected the outlines. A forced smile,
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Early Short Fiction of Edith Wharton by Edith Wharton: warm ventilated atmosphere, high above sordid earthly worries.
The cardinal rule of his existence was not to let himself be
'worried.' . . . I remember his advising me to try it myself, one
day when I spoke to him about Kate's bad health, and her need of
a change. 'I never let myself worry,' he said complacently.
'It's the worst thing for the liver--and you look to me as if you
had a liver. Take my advice and be cheerful. You'll make
yourself happier and others too.' And all he had to do was to
write a cheque, and send the poor girl off for a holiday!
"The hardest part of it was that the money half-belonged to us
already. The old skin-flint only had it for life, in trust for
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Emma by Jane Austen: unnecessarily scrupulous and cautious: I thought her even cold.
But she was always right. If I had followed her judgment, and subdued
my spirits to the level of what she deemed proper, I should have
escaped the greatest unhappiness I have ever known.--We quarrelled.--
Do you remember the morning spent at Donwell?--There every little
dissatisfaction that had occurred before came to a crisis. I was late;
I met her walking home by herself, and wanted to walk with her,
but she would not suffer it. She absolutely refused to allow me,
which I then thought most unreasonable. Now, however, I see nothing
in it but a very natural and consistent degree of discretion.
While I, to blind the world to our engagement, was behaving one
Emma |
