An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
ISTORY OF THE OLD WOMAN. "I had not always bleared eyes and red eyelids; neither did my nose always touch my chin; nor was I always a servant. I am the daughter of Pope Urban X,[10] and of the Princess of Palestrina. Until the age of fourteen I was brought up in a palace, to which all the castles of your German barons would scarcely have served for stables; and one of my robes was worth more than all the magnificence of Westphalia. As I grew up I improved in beauty, wit, and every graceful accomplishment, in the midst of pleasures, hopes, and respectful homage. Already I inspired love. My throat was formed, and such a throat! white, firm, and shaped like that of the Venus of Medici; and what eyes! what eyelids! what black eyebrows! such flames darted from my dark pupils that they eclipsed the scintillation of the stars--as I was told by the poets in our part of the world. My waiting women, when dressing and undressing me, used to fall into an ecstasy, whether they viewed me before or behind; how glad would the gentlemen have been to perform that office for them! "I was affianced to the most excellent Prince of Massa Carara. Such a prince! as handsome as myself, sweet-tempered, agreeable, brilliantly witty, and sparkling with love. I loved him as one loves for the first time--with idolatry, with transport. The nuptials were prepared. There was surprising pomp and magnificence; there were fêtes, carousals, continual opera bouffe; and all Italy composed sonnets in my praise, though not one of them was passable. I was just upon the point of reaching the summit of bliss, when an old marchioness who had been mistress to the Prince, my husband, invited him to drink chocolate with her. He died in less than two hours of most terrible convulsions. But this is only a bagatelle. My mother, in despair, and scarcely less afflicted than myself, determined to absent herself for some time from so fatal a place. She had a very fine estate in the neighbourhood of Gaeta. We embarked on board a galley of the country which was gilded like the great altar of St. Peter's at Rome. A Sallee corsair swooped down and boarded us. Our men defended themselves like the Pope's soldiers; they flung themselves upon their knees, and threw down their arms, begging of the corsair an absolution in articulo mortis. "Instantly they were stripped as bare as monkeys; my mother, our maids of honour, and myself were all served in the same manner. It is amazing with what expedition those gentry undress people. But what surprised me most was, that they thrust their fingers into the part of our bodies which the generality of women suffer no other instrument but--pipes to enter. It appeared to me a very strange kind of ceremony; but thus one judges of things when one has not seen the world. I afterwards learnt that it was to try...
Master this chapter. Complete your experience
Purchase the complete book to access all chapters and support classic literature
As an Amazon Associate, we earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.
Available in paperback, hardcover, and e-book formats
Let's Analyse the Pattern
The Road of Normalized Horror
How institutions wrap harmful actions in official procedures to avoid moral responsibility while maintaining social legitimacy.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter shows how organizations use elaborate procedures to make victims doubt their own experiences while protecting perpetrators.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when someone uses 'policy' or 'procedure' to justify harmful actions—ask yourself who really benefits from these rules.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Key Quotes & Analysis
"I had not always bleared eyes and red eyelids; neither did my nose always touch my chin; nor was I always a servant."
Context: Opening her life story to explain how she ended up in her current condition
This matter-of-fact opening shows how she's learned to accept her degraded state while hinting at a dramatic fall. The physical description emphasizes how completely her circumstances have changed. It sets up the contrast between past glory and present misery.
In Today's Words:
I wasn't always broke and beaten down - I used to be somebody.
"This proceeding appeared very strange to us, but such is the established custom of civilized nations that scour the seas."
Context: Describing how pirates strip-searched the captured women
Voltaire's irony is sharp here - calling pirates 'civilized nations' while they commit assault. The phrase 'established custom' shows how societies normalize horrible behavior by making it seem proper and traditional. It reveals how people justify cruelty through bureaucracy.
In Today's Words:
They said this was just how things are done, like that made sexual assault okay.
"I was dying with hunger when I fell upon the dead bodies of my mother and my companions."
Context: After surviving the massacre in Morocco by hiding under corpses
The casual tone while describing ultimate horror shows how trauma survivors protect themselves emotionally. She treats finding her mother's mutilated body like a minor inconvenience. This detachment reveals the psychological cost of surviving extreme violence.
In Today's Words:
I was so hungry I didn't even care that I was lying on my dead mom.
Thematic Threads
Class
In This Chapter
Ultimate privilege offers no protection—the Pope's daughter becomes a slave overnight
Development
Continues showing how social position is arbitrary and temporary
In Your Life:
Your job title or family status won't protect you when systems collapse
Identity
In This Chapter
The old woman's identity completely transforms from princess to survivor, yet she remains herself
Development
Builds on how external circumstances don't define core self
In Your Life:
Who you are isn't determined by what happens to you or what others do to you
Social Expectations
In This Chapter
Pirates follow 'civilized customs' while committing crimes, showing how social norms can justify evil
Development
Expands the critique of how societies rationalize harmful behavior
In Your Life:
Just because everyone does something doesn't make it right or necessary
Human Relationships
In This Chapter
People become commodities to be bought, sold, and discarded based on utility
Development
Shows how crisis reveals who treats others as human versus property
In Your Life:
Pay attention to how people treat you when you can't benefit them
Personal Growth
In This Chapter
Trauma creates wisdom—the old woman's suffering gives her perspective on others' complaints
Development
Introduced here as survival creating unexpected strength
In Your Life:
Your worst experiences often become your greatest sources of wisdom and resilience
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
How does the old woman describe her transformation from princess to survivor, and what specific 'customs' does she encounter along the way?
analysis • surface - 2
Why do the pirates and Moroccans justify their cruel actions through religion and tradition? What does this accomplish for them?
analysis • medium - 3
Where do you see people today using 'policy' or 'that's just how we do things' to avoid taking responsibility for harmful decisions?
application • medium - 4
When have you had to choose between following official procedures and doing what you knew was right? How did you navigate that situation?
application • deep - 5
What does the old woman's matter-of-fact tone while describing horror teach us about how people survive trauma and maintain hope?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Decode the Justification Machine
Think of a situation where you've been told 'that's just policy' or 'that's how we've always done it' when you knew something was wrong. Write down the official explanation you were given, then identify who really benefits from this system. Finally, imagine what a person with real power to change things would say if they were being completely honest about why the policy exists.
Consider:
- •Look for who profits or gains power from the 'custom'
- •Notice how elaborate justifications often hide simple greed or control
- •Consider what would happen if ordinary people simply refused to participate
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when you had to break or bend an official rule to help someone or protect yourself. What gave you the courage to act, and what did you learn about when rules should be questioned?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 12: The Old Woman's Catalog of Suffering
The old woman's story continues as we learn how she survived her discovery by the mysterious stranger, and what new horrors and unexpected turns her life would take in the years that followed.
