iette.Though Adele must have been deeply hurt by Victor’s actions she maintained a selfless love and an extreme amount of tolerance for his behavior. Saint-Beuve, a dear friend of Victor’s and Adele’s, abandoned Victor because of his affair with Juliette. But Adele held onto their relationship. She understood her husband well. In a truly amazing letter to Victor she expresses her acceptance of his activities.I don’t want to deprive yourself of anything. I, for my part, feel no need of pleasures; all I want is peace and quiet. I am very much the old lady. I have but one wish, that those whom I love shall be happy. The joy of life is for me a thing of the past. I seek it only in satisfying others. There is, in spite of everything, much sweetness to be found in their contentment. You speak very truly when you say that I have an indulgent smile. Heaven knows I don’t mind what you do. So long as you are happy I shall be so, too. I would not have you think that this attitude of mine is due to indifference. No, it is the form that devotion takes in me, and it makes it possible for me to live detached from life…I shall never take advantage, where you are concerned, of the rights bestowed upon me by marriage. It is my wish that you should feel yourself as free of all constraint as a bachelor; you, my dear friend, who entered on matrimony at the age of twenty! I do not wish you to be bound to a poor woman like me. What you give me, you will at least give freely and frankly . . . (Maurois 195)What a magnanimous woman that can handle such situations with such love and compassion, without hate and contempt! It seems ironic to look at the words of Victor in his first letter to Adele now. You may always make use of me as if I were a thing and not a person. Wherever I may be, near or far, write to me and tell me what I am to do for you. I will obey you or die. (Maurois 11)Victor continued his affair with Juliette, an...
