Chapter 10 of 10 · 3'26"
Arielle's farewell is a letter, not a conversation. She tells her history - a career that began at eleven and was ending by twenty-five, a marriage built on affection and respect rather than passion - and admits she never believed in love until Brian. But she will not leave her children, so she says goodbye and asks him not to contact her.
A Happiness Out of Nowhere
❝ Monologue · 45 lines More Than a Matter of Honor
Arielle's goodbye comes as a letter. She confesses that she started working at eleven, felt her career ending by twenty-five, and married Valery for affection and respect rather than passion, never believing in love. Then Brian arrived, bringing a happiness that came out of nowhere. But she cannot abandon her children, so she ends the affair and asks him not to contact her.
The farewell is written rather than spoken, which lets Arielle explain herself without a fight. She builds the case for her marriage slowly: she was a child worker, a model who aged out early, and she settled for a love of affection and respect - "That is a kind of love" - without ever believing in the romantic kind. Brian, then, is the exception she did not expect, the happiness that "came out of nowhere." The refusal is not a rejection of him but a limit she will not cross: "to leave them is to leave yourself." The letter ends with a compliment and a wound at once - she wishes she could find a fault in him, and says no love is perfect, but they never met him.
A1–C2 is the CEFR scale. Cards above the level you pick fade, and playback will not auto-pause on them.
“One day, Brian, when you have children you'll understand that to leave them is to leave yourself.”
It turns motherly love into an equation, so leaving her children would mean leaving herself.
literary
“Maybe... if we had had more time I would have found something about you I didn't like, really couldn't stand which would be very useful right now.”
She wishes for one flaw to hate, which is the saddest way to say she found none.
literary
“They say that no love is perfect.”
It opens with a proverb only to set up the next line, where she quietly denies it.
Neutral
“That is a kind of love.”
It grants respect and affection the name of love, which dignifies a passionless marriage and quietly breaks the heart.
Neutral
I started working when I was 11. By 25, I could feel the end of my career coming. I thought, "What happens now?" "What will be my life?" I was terrified. And so I made an error of youth. Some of the girls were lucky. They had fallen in love, but not me. Not once. Even though I had been all over the world and I had met everyone. That spring, I was introduced to Valery. He was then just as he is now. Solid. Substantial. And good. "The salt of the Earth," as Americans like to say. I felt a great affection for him. A great respect. That is a kind of love. I thought it was the only kind I would ever know. I didn't believe enough. I didn't believe in love. 8 years later I discovered that I should have. It has stunned me, this new happiness which came out of nowhere. This secret door that has opened in me. I have never felt so alive... as when I am in your arms. It is tempting, so tempting to forget about everything and just accept this gift. But I cannot. And not because I don't believe that you would be a marvelous stepfather to Marc and Elodie. And a wonderful father to the children we might have had together. Not because of lifestyle or the difference in our ages or the opinions of others. When Valery and I married, we wrote our own vows. He has always kept his promise and I feel I must keep mine. But it's more than a matter of honor. One day, Brian, when you have children you'll understand that to leave them is to leave yourself. And to injure them, unthinkable. I told you, I'm an old-fashioned girl. Please do not try to contact me. It will not change anything. I am so sad to say goodbye. To be parted. I can't believe it, really. We had so many adventures still ahead of us. Maybe... if we had had more time I would have found something about you I didn't like, really couldn't stand which would be very useful right now. But I doubt it. They say that no love is perfect. But then, they never met you.
She will not leave her children, and leaving them would mean leaving part of herself. The farewell letter explains that the limit is not Brian but her duty to her family.
She says she felt great affection and respect for him and calls that a kind of love, but she admits she never believed in romantic love. Valery was solid and good rather than a passion.
She calls it tempting to forget everything and simply take the gift, but she will not abandon her children for it. The love is real, yet it cannot be allowed to displace her family.
Because she has decided and does not want the decision undone. Contact would only reopen something she has chosen to close for her children's sake.
It means a thoroughly good, dependable person. Arielle uses the American phrase to describe Valery's solid, honest character.
