After a long pause, her seeming resignation, her mute dejection, irritated Pierre's nerves.
"But do say something!" he implored; "let us think matters over together.

Is there really no hope left us ?" "None, you know very well," she replied; "you explained the situation yourself just now; we have no help to expect from anyone; even our children have betrayed us." "Let us flee, then.

Shall we leave Plassans to-night--immediately ?" "Flee! Why, my dear, to-morrow we should be the talk of the whole town.
Don't you remember, too, that you have had the gates closed ?" A violent struggle was going on in Pierre's mind, which he exerted to the utmost in seeking for some solution; at last, as though he felt vanquished, he murmured, in supplicating tones: "I beseech you, do try to think of something; you haven't said anything yet." Felicite raised her head, feigning surprise; and with a gesture of complete powerlessness she said: "I am a fool in these matters.

I don't understand anything about politics, you've told me so a hundred times." And then, as her embarrassed husband held his tongue and lowered his eyes, she continued slowly, but not reproachfully: "You have not kept me informed of your affairs, have you?
I know nothing at all about them, I can't even give you any advice.

It was quite right of you, though; women chatter sometimes, and it is a thousand times better for the men to steer the ship alone." She said this with such refined irony that her husband did not detect that she was deriding him.