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The excerpt represents the core issue or deciding factor on which you must meditate, and is drawn from The Deserted Woman by Honore de Balzac: motive that led him to try to force the country families to meet the
Vicomtesse.
The women appeared to take counsel of each other by a glance; there
was a sudden silence in the room, and it was felt that their attitude
was one of disapproval.
"Does this Mme. de Beauseant happen to be the lady whose adventure
with M. d'Ajuda-Pinto made so much noise?" asked Gaston of his
neighbor.
"The very same," he was told. "She came to Courcelles after the
marriage of the Marquis d'Ajuda; nobody visits her. She has, besides,
too much sense not to see that she is in a false position, so she has
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