Isak Dinesen: “The Blank Page”

Isak Dinesen short story “The Blank Page” has many stories within it. We have the old story-teller woman and her story of how she came to learn her art from her grandmother. There is the story of the convent and the Carmelite sisters with their work and the production of the finest linen of Portugal. We also hear the story of the flax they use, which goes back to the Bible and the Crusades. But the most intriguing story is the last one, of the sheets produced by the sisters of the convent for the royal family of Portugal and that were given back to them with the stain that proved that a princess had been a virgin on her wedding night. The convent collects the pieces of the sheets in a gallery with the name of each princess, but in the midst of the row of stained white linen sheets there is one which is completely blank and without the name of the princess that owned it. The story teller does not clarify if the princess was not a virgin or if she did not marry at all. The old woman tells only that it was this framed piece of sheet that most held the attention of those old princesses of Portugal that visited the gallery as well as the nuns and we are left to wonder at the meaning behind it. Were them wondering at the disobedience of one of their ancestors? Were they wishing they were as bold as that one princess? The story finishes in a way that gives the reader leave to drawn their own conclusions and see this story as it may better fit them.

Virginia Woolf: “Women and Fiction” and “Professions for Women”

Virginia Woolf’s essay “Women and Fiction” discuss how fiction written by women is influenced by their circumstances in life. This text helps to understand better how the structure of society and the position held by women in it has a large influence in the literature written by them.

The ideas discussed by Woolf bring to mind the few women writers that we know about that were writing before the 18^th century. Julian of Norwich and Margery Kempe, for example, were only allowed to write because they were involved with the church and writing religious texts. The position of women in the society of the fourteenth century did not give them access to education through any other means but the church. This has limited the possibilities of women’s writings and their themes.

The essay points out how the limitations imposed to women of the eighteenth century narrowed their breadth of subjects and the form of their writing that was restricted to novels (Woolf 46-47). The novels written by women then show how little of the world they were able to see and it reflected directly in their writing. Woolf argues that the changes that have occurred into women’s writing were a result of a change of their attitude (48). From what we know from history and from our experience in today’s society it is possible to relate this alteration of attitude to the transformation of the world and the way it is organized.

“Women and Fiction” is, in my impression, an essay that points plainly to how women’s writings were shaped by the society of the times in which each woman lived and how the past still influences women’s writing even though they are changing their attitudes and starting to overcome the limits imposed to them throughout the years.

CQ - Paradise Lost Book 9

Degradation in Paradise Lost – Book 9

One of the points that calls attention in Books 1 and 2 of Paradise Lost is the fact that Satan is represented like a hero, so much so that it is difficult for the reader not to sympathize with him and feel the injustices he has been victim of. In Book 9 this image of Satan as a hero is deconstructed.

In Book 9 of Paradise Lost Satan “involved in rising mist” (75) infiltrates in Paradise one more. He observes God’s newest creations and realizes that he could have been happy if he could have walked around and enjoyed “hill and valley, rivers, woods and plains” (116) and he suffers from this realization and turns all this good into poison. Here Satan is no longer represented as the strong character that we sympathized with previously. He is set on seeking his revenge, but his arguments are not organized, he is confusing and seems to be deceiving himself with lies, contrary to what happens in the begging of the Paradise Lost, when he uses his cunning to deceive his fellow Fallen Angels.

This contrast between the first impression that the reader gets of Satan as a heroic figure and the degraded single-minded bitter being that he turns into in Book 9, seems to emphasize Milton’s ideas that sin is destructive and nothing good can come from disobeying God and distancing yourself from Him. Satan is lost in his own lies and desire of revenge, he cannot think properly anymore and this is a direct result of his fall.

Similarly, Adam and Eve show their different behavior from when they are yet innocent and pure in the beginning of Book 9 and when they have eaten from the Tree of Knowledge. Their first discussion about whether or not to work separately is more sensible, their discussion after disobeying God is bitter and irrational. Their change in behavior is also clear in the different from the pure lovemaking of before to the lust they surrender to after eating from the Tree of Knowledge.

The falls of Satan and Adam and Eve are similar in the sense that their behaviors are changed the moment they disregard God to follow their own ideas, passions and desires. All of them suffer changes that cannot be undone as a direct consequence of the sin they committed.

  

Milton, John. The Annotated Milton. Ed. Burton Raffel. New York: Bantam Dell, 2008. E-book.

CQ - Paradise Lost Book 3

Free will  in Paradise Lost – Book 3

In Paradise Lost – Book 3, one of the central ideas that Milton presents is that of Man’s free will and the consequences of his choices, an idea that can be found in the New Testament: “All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.” (1 Corinthians 6.12)

In the third book of Paradise Lost there is a shift from Hell and the Fallen Angels to Heaven and God, The Son and the Faithful Angels. Here God watches the events in Hell, see Satan flying to Earth to approach Man and try to corrupt them as his revenge on God. The Father sees what is happening and foresees what will yet happen. The Father explains to His Son that Man will bend to temptation and be responsible for their fall. God’s discourse in Book 3 and his arguments are essential for Milton’s goal of justifying God and his actions towards mankind.

Knowing that Man will fall, the Father says that they have to be punished or they can be redeemed if someone would die in their place. The Son offers himself to die for mankind. This sacrifice is the opposite of the one undertaken by Satan. When in Hell, Satan offers to sacrifice himself to look for God’s new creation, Man, and corrupt them, causing their fall. The Son offers himself to die in order to restore Man to their original place.

As the message in Corinthians 6.12 points out, God argues that he has given Man free will, but when Man chooses badly they shall face the consequences. Therefore God defends Himself and for He cannot be blamed by Man’s decision based on the free will that was granted them.

This idea defended by Milton goes against what was believed by the Calvinists during his time, that every man’s fate was decided before his birth and he could do nothing to alter this. The God believed in by the Calvinists would be, according to the ideas expressed by Milton in Paradise Lost – Book 3, extremely difficult to defend and justify, therefore the need of the extended argument given by God in defense of himself and in negation of a predestination in the fall of Man.

  

Milton, John. The Annotated Milton. Ed. Burton Raffel. New York: Bantam Dell, 2008. E-book.

CQ - Paradise Lost Book 2

Corrupted nature of the Fallen Angels in Paradise Lost – Book 2

The second book of John Milton’s Paradise Lost presents us with the consultation of the Fallen Angels regarding what would be the best thing for them to do now that they are stranded in Hell. Satan requests that those who have any ideas speak up and Moloch, Belial, Mammon and Beelzebub present what they think to be the best alternative.

Satan invokes the congregation of Fallen Angels saying that they are still the “Powers and Dominions, deities of Heaven” because they are immortal and even a place like Hell would not be enough to weaken them and that he has not given up on Heaven. He asks that those who have ideas on how better to regain their place in Heaven speak to them. The debate that thus ensues is reminiscent of political debates and could be a parody of these events which Milton used to take part in.

Moloch is the first to speak and he suggests open war. In truth, he knows that they cannot hope to win and his suggestion is only an attempt to end things, for he has difficult accepting defeat and suffering. Moloch would rather die, if they can be killed at all. Belial is the next one to speak and he suggests that they accept defeat and remain calm. He is soft-spoken but his words actually reveal his character as a lazy being. What he tries to induce his companions to is a total lack of action; he argues that it is better for them to do nothing than to risk more punishment.

Mammon has a different suggestion, and probably the one that would have been better for the Fallen Angels. He proposes that they transform Hell in their own kingdom, mimicking Heaven. His idea is well received by his companions, but Beelzebub noticing this interferes. The idea presented by Beelzebub is that they seek their revenge on God by corrupting his beloved new creation: men. This plan is actually what Satan has wanted from the beginning and is present by Beelzebub eloquently and, once the others accept that this is the better course of action, Satan can offer himself as their hero who will face the perils of leaving Hell to seek this new world where men will live.

The corrupted nature of the Fallen Angels is very clear in their speeches, in how they try to deceive the others to accept their ideas. Worst of all is Satan who, not only claimed for himself the command of Hell, but also manipulated the others into following his idea of revenge while passing by the hero who will sacrifice himself for the benefit of them all. So far in the poem, Satan is very clearly a political figure and his speeches are sophisticated, which works well to his purposes but exposes his true deceptive nature.

Milton, John. The Annotated Milton. Ed. Burton Raffel. New York: Bantam Dell, 2008. E-book.

CQ - Paradise Lost Book 1

Paradise Lost as a combination of the classical and the Christian traditions

The Book 1 of John Milton’s Paradise Lost establishes the subject matter of the epic poem which is the first disobedience of man and its consequences. The beginning of the poem is an invocation of the Muses and a declaration of the poet’s belief in the superiority of his work.

In the first two sentences of the poem, Milton explains that he will talk of the loss of Paradise when man first disobeyed God by eating a fruit from the forbidden tree and of its restoration to man by Christ. The poet then invokes a “Heav’nly Muse” to inspire him in his work. It is interesting to notice that Milton Christianizes a figure of the classical world by saying that the muse he is invoking is heavenly and that she inspired Moses to write the Ten Commandments and teach it to the Jews, as we can read on lines 6-8.

Milton declares his intention of writing an epic poem that will be above those of the classical authors that inspired him, Homer and Virgil. He wants to try in his poem “Things unattempted yet in prose or rhyme.” (16) The fact that he invokes a Christianized Muse to help him achieve this seems to indicated that Milton believe his work to be more important than those who came before, because his inspiration comes from the true God, even if the figure represented is a classical one.

Milton draws together two traditions, the classical and the Christian, to compose his epic poem. He expects to explain the disobedience of man, not only Adam, but all mankind, and “justify the ways of God to men” (26). The juxtaposition of the two traditions shows that Milton acknowledges the greatness of the classical epic poems and is paying attention to the lessons learned with them by writing in the appropriate format, including by evoking the muses in the begining. But he also believes his poem to have a more important subject because he is inspired by the Holy Spirit and that it will make Paradise Lost the greatest epic poem written so far.

Milton, John. The Annotated Milton. Ed. Burton Raffel. New York: Bantam Dell, 2008. E-book.

Death in John Milton’s poem “Lycidas”

John Milton’s poem “Lycidas” is a pastoral elegy that not only laments the death of a dear friend drowned in the sea, but also discusses death and the promise of eternal life after the material existence on earth.

            The lyrical voice begins the poem by mentioning many plants that are each sacred to a different god and he says “I come to pluck your berries harsh and crude / And with forced fingers rude” (122), which sets out the tone of his lamentation throughout the poem. Like the berries that he is plucking before their time he thinks that his friend is “dead ere his prime” (123). The lyrical voice also seems to be worried about his own death in the face of his friend’s early demise, this can be seen when he invokes the Muses and say “So may some gentle muse / With lucky words favor my destined urn” (123).

The poem follows to tell us how the lyrical voice and Lycidas were friends and happy shepherds and that now all of nature is morning the young man’s death as much as his friend: “Whom universal nature did lament”. (125) The lyrical voice questions where the muses where when his friend died, but reckons that they would not have been able to do anything.

The lyrical voice then expound how unfair he thinks it is that his friends that had lived laborious days and was a pure spirit was taken from life before he could receive his reward for leading such a life, before his fame. The god Phoebus interrupts the poet to correct him saying that fame is not for the mortal life and that Lycidas may expect his reward in Heaven. It is interesting that we have a Greek god, Phoebus Apollus, promising the existence of a Heaven that is clearly Christian: “And perfect witness of all-judging Jove, / As he pronounces lastly on each deed. / Of so much fame in Heav’n expected thy meed”. (126)

“Lycidas” is a poem that discusses death and the possible existence of a Heaven and a Hell. The lyrical voice questions the unfairness of death at a young age, before you had the chance to live your life to its fullest, but the interference of a god correcting him and reminding him of the fair judgment of Jove and a Haven for eternal life, seems to express the poet’s belief in this eternal existence in bliss after the fleeting period of life on earth.

Milton, John. “Lycidas” The Annotated Milton. Ed. Burton Raffel. New York: Bantam Dell, 2008. 122-132. E-book.

CQ - As You Like It (Acts IV and V)

As You Like It by William Shakespeare

In William Shakespeare’s play As You Like It various themes can be noticed as the play is developed, one of these is the opposition of life among nature and life in the court.

In the beginning of the second act, Duke Senior asks his fellow exiles if it isn’t true that “Hath not old custom made this life more sweet than that of painted pomp? Are not these woods more free from peril than the envious court?” (II. i. 1-4). In his speech it is clear that he now prefers his new life in the Forest of Arden than the life he had in the court from which he was exiled by his brother. Duke Senior points out that life in the court offers more dangers than life in a forest because envy moves the human beings in there and the results are such as the betrayal he himself was victim in the hands of his brother.

Throughout the play the characters leave the court and go to the Forest of Arden as Duke Senior and the other exiles did. We can notice that these characters usually have some sort of transformation when they get there, be it physical or psychological. Rosalind and Celia go to the forest and continue with their disguises as Ganymede and Aliena. Oliver arrives in the Forest with the intention of killing his brother Orlando, but ends up promising to give him their father’s fortune and title in order to stay in the forest as a shepherd married to Aliena. Duke Frederick, who had usurped his brother’s dukedom, goes to the forest to end the congregation of great men in the place. But as he get there he talks to an old man and is also transformed, regretting his errors and restoring his brother to his rightful place. Not only these characters are transformed, but they find happiness in the forest, as the many weddings that occurred there show.

All these examples indicate that the Forest of Arden, the representation of nature in the play, seem a place of transformation and healing. The character abandon the life at court, which is dangerous and full of envy and disputes that disrupt even the family peace, to go to the forest where they find a better version of themselves and make better choices than previously. If it was Shakespeare intention to propose that nature has a powerful effect in the transformation and healing of human beings we cannot be sure, but the elements in the play indicated to this idea.

Shakespeare, William. As You Like It. The New Cambridge Shakespeare. Ed. Michael Hattaway. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press. 2000.

CQ - As You Like It (Acts I to III)

As You Like It by William Shakespeare

In the first three acts of William Shakespeare’s play As You Like It the themes of the play are presented and developed, one of them call attention: that of love, especially love at first sight.

It is common in Shakespeare’s plays to find character that fall in love with each other at first sight. In As You Like It, the first couple to fall in love as soon as they meet is Rosalind and Orlando. They first see each other when Orlando goes to a wrestling match in the new Duke’s court, who is Rosalind’s uncle and usurped her father’s dukedom. Later Rosalind is disguised as Ganymede when she encounters Orland at the Forest of Arden after finding the poems he has written about her and his love and left on the trees. She proceeds to tell him that “Love is merely a madness” (III. iii. 331) and persuades him to pretend that he, Ganymede, is her beloved and court him in order to get cured from his love.

Another instance of the so called loved at first sight is that of Phoebe, a shepherdess, who believes to have fallen in love with Ganymede, who is actually Rosalind dressed up as a man. Phoebe asks of Silvius, the man who is in love with her: “Who ever loved that loved not at first sight?” (III. Vi. 81).

These two examples seem to call the reader’s attention to the feebleness of such instances of love. Rosalind professes to have fallen in love with Orlando at first sight and yet, talking to him under the disguise of Ganymede she dismisses the notion of love itself declaring it a malady that can be cured. It could be that her intention was to test the strength of his feeling for her, but it can also be her honest opinion on the business of love that she cannot reveal as Rosalind, but feels free to speak under the protection of her disguised self.

 The Duke Senior’s daughter also classifies love as an emotion that cannot be trusted when talking to Phoebe: “I pray you do not fall in love with me for I am falser than vows made in wine.” (III. Vi. 71-72) In this passages it seems that she is implying that love is so blind that Phoebe believes herself to be falling for one that is actually another woman, which could be accepted nowadays but could not at the time.

Based on these examples we can wonder at Shakespeare’s mentions of love at first sight and whether he meant to criticized this belief more than to endorse it.

Shakespeare, William. As You Like It. The New Cambridge Shakespeare. Ed. Michael Hattaway. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press. 2000.

CQ - The Tempest (Acts III to V)

The Tempest by William Shakespeare as a representation of the theater

The play The Tempest by William Shakespeare discusses ideas of forgiveness, especially of Prospero to his traitors, but we could question how honest these feelings are, based on the actions of this character throughout the play.

The Tempest begins with a raging storm that seems at first to be a real natural event but we soon ascertain that it was caused by Prospero with his magic. We learn his reasons for this when he tells his daughter, Miranda, who he really is, the rightful Duke of Milan, and how he was betrayed by some of those who are in the ship wrecked by the storm.

During the entire play, Prospero manipulates the events on the island to obtain the results he wishes for. He provides the encounter between Miranda and Ferdinand, prevents Antonio and Sebastian from killing the King Alonso, interferes in Caliban’s plot to assassin him and brings everyone together in the end and offers his forgiveness: “But you, my brace of lords, were I so minded I here could pluck his highness’ frown upon you and justify you traitors. As this time I will tell no tales.” (V. I. 126-130).

Prospero’s actions during the play are inconsistent with his forgiveness in the end. Can it really be called forgiveness when you put your enemies through torments such as a ship wreck, the idea that one of them died, all the terrors and pain of being stranded in an unknown place with no hopes for rescue? At first Prospero seems to have found the goodness in himself by the prompting words of Ariel; “[…] if you now beheld them, your affections would become tender.” (V. I. 19-20). But the words he directs at his brother are incompatible with this idea: “For you, most wicked sir, whom to call brother would even infect my mouth, I do forgive” (V. I. 131-131). Prospero is giving forgiveness at the same time that he refuses to acknowledge his brother as such.

Prospero’s forgiveness seems to be superficial, just a way to ensure peace and avoid causing problems for his daughter’s future life with Ferdinand, the King’s son. He offers forgiveness but assures his traitors that for now he will not accuse them for what they are, implying that he could come to do that if they were to displease him. The Duke of Milan’s act of forgiveness could be viewed as another instance of his manipulation of those around him in order to obtain what he wants and, although he seemly gives up his revenge, he ultimately gets it through Miranda and Ferdinand. What could be a better revenge than having his daughter as the future queen of Naples and heiress to the dukedom of Milan, getting back to his own blood what had been taking from him and more?

Shakespeare, William. The Tempest. The New Cambridge Shakespeare. Ed. David Lindley. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press. 2002.

CQ - The Tempest (Acts I to II)

The Tempest by William Shakespeare as a representation of the theater

            William Shakespeare’s play The Tempest is often described as his most elusive work. It has been read as “a romance of reconciliation, a Christian allegory of forgiveness, a meditation on the powers of the imagination and the limits of art” (Lindley 1) among other readings. These different interpretations can be supported by elements in the text, which makes all of them valid and does not allow one reading to be pointed out as the right one. Although the play can be read in many different ways, the similarity the story being told has to theater itself is a relevant reading of the playwright’s work. The Tempest is a reflection on theater and art and constantly reminds us of the made-up quality of what we are reading while highlighting its reformative power in the real world. From the beginning of the play when Prospero uses his art to cause the shipwreck to the epilogue, in which the character, and not the actor, is the one closing the play, we are presented with many metatheatrical elements that emphasize this reading of the play. (Egan, Johnston)

            In the first scene of the first act of The Tempest we watch a terrible storm in the sea and the fight of mariners to avoid the wreck of their ship. The King of Naples, Alonso, and his companions are not happy with the tempest and the threat it represents to their lives and want to talk to the master of the ship. The boatswain tells them to go back below deck because they are not helping them by standing in the way. Even when Gonzalo remembers him that he is talking to a king he is still adamant that they should leave. On the next scene we learn that the storm was actually caused by Prospero, it was not a natural occurrence: “MIRANDA: If by your art, my dearest father, you have / Put the wild waters in this roar, allay them” (1.2 – 1-2). Prospero orchestrates the storm, being careful not to cause harm to those in the ship, as a director or a playwright orchestrates a dramatic scene in a play. Here we can already recognize Prospero as the one who will direct all the other characters, through his art, into following the necessary steps for them to better themselves.

            Prospero proceeds to tell his daughter, Miranda, the story of how they came to live in the island. He tells her of how he was betrayed and lost his dukedom, but assumes that he was not a good ruler because he was more interested in his books. According to Johnston, Prospero’s admission of his own fault in losing his position reminds us that “whatever the powers and wonders of the illusion, one has to maintain a firm sense of what it is for, what it can and cannot do, and where it is most appropriate” for art cannot substitute life. He then puts Miranda to sleep by use of his magic so that he can talk to Ariel, the spirit that serves him. The dramatic, metatheatrical aspect of Prospero’s magic is again evidenced when he asks the “PROSPERO: Hast thou, spirit, performed to point the tempest that I bade thee?” (1.2, 193-194), the tempest was no more than a performance by Ariel that gives a report of the wreck and the ship passengers and is then requested to continue to help Prospero, which is actually an order since Ariel is not free but bound to the exiled duke by his magic.

           

As the play progresses, until the end of the second act, we learn that Prospero uses his powers to control the islander Caliban; to contrive the meeting between Miranda and Ferdinand, the king’s son; and to prevent the murder of Alonso and Gonzalo by the hands of Sebastian and Antonio. The way that Prospero conducts the events in the island is reminiscent of the way the writer or the director controls a play. We are constantly faced with Prospero’s art as Mirands calls his magical powers: “If by your art, my dearest father” (I. II. 1). The betrayed duke guides the events and the people on the island to fit his own proposes of revenge, although he changes his mind and chooses forgiveness later, with the same skill that a playwright would guide the characters in a play.

            The Tempest seems to imply that art has power and that real life is much like the life shown in the plays in the theater, which is an idea recurrent in Shakespeare plays. Prospero constantly asks Miranda if she is paying attention to what he is saying, “Dost thou attend me?” (I. II. 78), which could be also a way to ask the audience if they are paying attention, not only to the play The Tempest, but also to the play of real life in which they are the main characters.

           

Shakespeare, William. The Tempest. The New Cambridge Shakespeare. Ed. David Lindley. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press. 2002.

“Desiree’s Baby” Comment and Query

            The short story “Desiree’s Baby” by Kate Chopin is one that keeps the reader in constant expectation for explanations that never come. At the end of the short story, the reader anticipates a final resolution and is presented instead with a new opening that gives rise to a handful of new questions that remain unanswered. The ending is surprising and unexpected because the obvious conclusion that the reader imagines will come is the complete opposite of what really happens. The reader feels the need to go back to the beginning of the short story to try to understand how she/he could have been so wrong.

            The beginning of the story is reminiscent of a fairy tale because it presents the reader with a foundling girl that is adopted by rich parents that could not have children of their own and grows up to be “beautiful and gentle, affectionate and sincere”, and inspires the love of a handsome man. It is understandable that the reader should expect the happily ever after ending of fairy tales after such a beginning, but the realistic conclusion of the story shatters this illusion and leaves the reader curious to know what happens next with the characters. Once the reader gets to the end of the story she/he can finally see the clues that were giving throughout the text that had gone unnoticed before. The warning of Desiree’s adoptive father to Armand about the uncertain origins of the girl is one of the clues that lead the reader to the wrong conclusion of believing Desiree to be the one with black ancestry. However, the description of L’Abri as a dark, gloomy place that could not be the scenario of a happy ending and the account of Armand’s face as being “dark, handsome” would be clues leading to the real ending of the story. It is clear that appearances are not reliable sources to make judgments. The reader is deceived into the wrong conclusions by the appearance of the characters and their situations; it is difficult to imagine a reader that would see past Armand’s position in society and the pride of his family name to believe him to be the origin of the black features of the baby.

            In addition to the clues that are not noticed, “Desiree’s Baby” also gives out hints that the reader can identify on the first reading, but cannot conclude what they mean. The most obvious of these hints in my opinion is the scene when Desiree’s adoptive mother visits her and the baby. When Madame Valmonde sees the baby her immediate reaction is to exclaim “This is not the baby!” Here the reader knows that something is wrong with the baby, but she/he cannot imagine what it could be. Chopin certainly manages to create suspense and build tension in the short story with moments like this because, although the reader knows something is amiss, the author does not give enough information to make the situation clear.

            The unexpected ending is very ironic and finally makes the reader see the irony in other aspects of the story. For example, Desiree’s name, which means “desired” is ironic because in the end, she is rejected by her husband that goes as far as burning every reminder of her existence; she is no longer desired. It is also ironic that Armand who has “one of the oldest and proudest [name] in Louisiana” turns out to be the one whose mother “belongs to the race that is cursed with the brand of slavery”. Even though we cannot be sure that Desiree does not have black antecedents, the feeling that we have at the ending of the story is that she is a blameless victim of her circumstance.

            One of the intriguing questions that the ending of the short story brings up is whether or not Armand has known the truth all along. The narrator does not tell the reader what are Armand’s feelings and thoughts upon reading the old letter that contains the truth. However, the reader could question Armand’s eagerness to marry Desiree despite her obscure origin. Considering that he was the heir to an old and proud name, it seems a bit weird that he would disregard the possible consequences of this marriage so easily. It is also strange that he should think God unjust and take revenge by hurting his wife. Could these two facts be hidden hints meaning that Armand knew the truth and chose Desiree exactly because he could blame her in case his children were born with black features and keep the pride of his family intact?

Thalita Carvalho