There are sacrifices which a man can never accept from the woman he loves--which humiliate him as they ennoble her.

I should blush before your nobility; it would bow me into the dust.

Leonore de Simonie must not leave the pure, proud sphere in which she lives; she must remain what she is, the queen of the drawing-room." "Is this your final answer ?" she asked, turning deadly pale.
"My final one." "Well, then, hear me! You shall know who I am; you shall at least learn that you might accept every sacrifice from me without ever being obliged to blush in my presence.

You thrust me from you, that is, you thrust me into death! Yes, I will die, I wish to die, but first you shall hear from my lips the truth, that you may not grieve, may not shed a single tear for me.
So hear me, Carl, hear me! I am not what you believe.

My foot is not accustomed to the soft paths of life--the world of splendor and honor is not mine.