"Women, although they complain to men that they do not love them in the right way, still have very little regard for men whose souls are half-feminine. Their whole superiority consists in making men believe that man is inferior to woman in love; thus, they easily leave their lover alone, if he is inexperienced enough to remove from them all the fears with which they like to play, the pleasurable torments of feigned jealousy, the anxieties of disappointed hope, fruitless waiting, in short, the whole range of the delights of their sweet feminine frailty.
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Author
Honoré de BalzacAll Translations
All Translations
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Women, although they complain to men that they do not love them in the right way, still have very little regard for men whose souls are half-feminine. Their whole superiority consists in making men believe that man is inferior to woman in love; thus, they easily leave their lover alone, if he is inexperienced enough to remove from them all the fears with which they like to play, the pleasurable torments of feigned jealousy, the anxieties of disappointed hope, fruitless waiting, in short, the whole range of the delights of their sweet feminine frailty.
""Az asszonyok, bár fölhánytorgatják a férfiaknak, hogy ezek nem helyes módon szeretik őket, mégis nagyon kevésre becsülik az olyan férfiakat, akiknek a lelkülete félig-meddig nőies. Egész felsőbbségük abban áll, hogy elhitetik a férfiakkal, hogy a szerelem terén a férfi alacsonyabb rendű a nőnél; így aztán könnyen faképnél hagyják a kedvesüket, ha az elég járatlanul leveszi róluk mind ama félelmeket, melyekkel szeretnek páváskodni, a színlelt féltékenység jóleső kínjait, a csalódott reménység, a hasztalan várakozás szorongásait, egyszóval édes asszonyi gyarlóságuk gyönyöreinek egész sorát."