... is a declaration of her implicit faith in the ideological boundaries which governed Artigues. To her, sleeping with a man other than her husband under any circumstances was morally, socially, and legally wrong. She had 'sinned' and done 'great wrong', and it was her "[desire for] absolution" which motivated Bertrande to try to redeem herself to a 'greater power' (both God and Men), to once again be able to experience 'warmth and security'. Despite the fact that almost overwhelmingly, the family "would still have [her] be deceived", she could not bear the burden of possessing a 'secret weight of shame upon her soul', and selfishly did not purchase them any 'peace and happiness', but instead endeavoured to "free [herself] from a deceit which was consuming and killing [her]". Although she indeed could have at any stage agreed to 'her madness' and prevented any further degradation of pride and happiness for ...

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