We know that she
is in danger of yielding to the fascinations of a seductive
man-about-town; and having shown us this danger, the author proceeds to
emphasize the manly and sterling character of the husband. He has the
gentleness that goes with strength; but where his affections or his
honour is concerned, he is not a man to be trifled with. This having
been several times impressed upon us, we naturally expect that the wife
is to be rescued by some striking manifestation of the husband's
masterful virility. But no such matter! Rescued she is, indeed; but it
is by the intervention of her half-brother, who fights a duel on her
behalf, and is brought back wounded to restore peace to the
mathematician's household: that man of science having been quite passive
throughout, save for some ineffectual remonstrances. It happens that in
this case we know just where the author went astray. Helene (the wife)
is the unacknowledged daughter of a great lady, Mme. de Voves; and the
subject of the play, as the author first conceived it, was the relation
between the mother, the illegitimate daughter, and the legitimate son;
the daughter's husband taking only a subordinate place.
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