Monday, December 12, 2005

Heaven has no rage

Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, nor hell a fury like a woman scorned.
That was William Congrieve.
Yvonne Chevalier was particularly interesting. She killed her husband the day he became a minister in France. She had been a lowly nurse and Piere, her husband a Doctor and decorated war hero. It turned sour somewhere along the line and despite her efforts to improve herself and her social bearing, she meets serious rebuke from her husband.
He started having an affair, calls his wife a cow...
Well, she shot him 5 times I read, 4 times after he made an obscene gesture after a lot of abuse.
The public called for her head but had a change of heart when they saw and sorrow and mask of a feature. Piere had openly been keeping a lover whose husband seemed to be content being cuckolded by a decorated war veteran (Piere), a male complascent I think they are called in france.
The jusry fell so sorry for her they were going to give her just 2 years but one of the wanted to know what obscene gesture Pierre had made which earned him the shots. The jury acquited her when they she showed them the gesture in private, It must have been bad.
There was another who got a light term for stabbing a lover. The public evidently felt sympathy for her. Crime of passion as they are well known in France. Other parts of the world are not known to be so lenient.

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