Chapter Forty-One
Denis lay on his bed, his eyes wide-open. One of Marie’s statements occurred to him.
We have read books. We believe we know something because we read them, those novels. We think we understand what makes men and women tick, like in the books. That isn’t so. In real life, men and women are totally different from in novels, whether individually or in a group. We have read about courage, sacrifice, love, nobleness. Do we see these traits in real life? Seldom or never. Do we talk like people in books? We say meaningless things. We think about trivial things. But when the first small flame lights up the darkness, we sigh blissfully: courage, sacrifice, love, nobleness.
