By nature independent, gay, even exuberant, seductively responsive and given to those spontaneous sallies that sparkle in the conversation of certain daughters of Paris who seem to have inhaled since childhood the pungent breath of the boulevards laden with the nightly laughter of audiences leaving theaters, Madame de Burne's five years of bondage had nonetheless endowed her with a singular timidity which mingled oddly with her youthful mettle, a great fear of saying too much, of going to far, along with a fierce yearning for emancipation and a firm resolve never again to compromise her freedom. Guy De Maupassant
About This Quote

Madame de Burne was an 18th century French aristocrat who was imprisoned by her father for helping to save the life of her lover. After her release, she wrote this quote to describe herself and her condition years later. She had always lived independently and felt that she had been given everything that she could ever wish for. However, it was not until she experienced imprisonment that she realized how much more there is to life than what she had previously known. It is hard to be independent when you are imprisoned, but eventually you will learn that it is better to be free than to be in prison.

Source: Alien Hearts

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