Delila

"Delila" by Guy de Maupassant is a poignant and intimate novella that explores themes of love, desire, and betrayal. The story revolves around a passionate yet tumultuous relationship between the protagonist and the beautiful Delila, whose allure captivates him and leads him into a web of emotional turmoil. Maupassant delves into the complexities of human emotions and the consequences of unbridled passion, ultimately portraying the fragility of love in a world rife with deception and moral ambiguity. With his characteristic psychological depth and masterful prose, Maupassant offers a gripping narrative that examines the interplay between attraction and destruction.

• Short story

								
In a former reminiscence,[6] we made the acquaintance of a lady, who had
done the police many services in former years, and whom we called Wanda
von Chabert. It is no exaggeration, if we say that she was at the same
time the cleverest, the most charming and the most selfish woman whom
one could possibly meet. She was certainly not exactly what is called
beautiful, for neither her face nor her figure were symmetrical enough
for that, but if her head was not beautiful in the style of the antique,
neither like the Venus of Milo nor Ludoirsi's Juno, it was, on the
other hand, in the highest sense delightful like the ladies whom Wateau
and Mignard painted. Everything in her little face, and in its frame of
soft brown hair was attractive and seductive, her low, Grecian forehead,
her bright, almond shaped eyes, her small nose, and her full, voluptuous
lips, her middling height and her small waist with its, perhaps, almost
too full bust, and above all her walk, that half indolent, half
coquettish swaying of her broad hips, were all maddeningly alluring.

[Footnote 6: An Exotic Prince.]

And this woman, who was born for love, was as eager for pleasure and as
amorous as few other women have even been, but for that very reason she
never ran any danger of allowing her victims to escape her from pity; on
the contrary, she soon grew tired of each of her favorites, and her
connection with the police was then extremely useful to her, in order to
get rid of an inconvenient, or jealous lover.

Before the war between Austria and Italy in 1859, Frau von Chabert was
in London, where she lived alone in a small, one-storied house with her
servants, and was in constant communication with emigrants from all
countries.

She herself was thought to be a Polish refugee, and the luxury by which
she was surrounded, and a fondness for sport, and above all for horses,
which was remarkable even in England, made people give her the title of
Countess. At that period Count T---- was one of the most prominent
members of the Hungarian propaganda, and Frau von Chabert was
commissioned to pay particular attention to all he said and did; but in
spite of all the trouble she took, she had not hitherto even succeeded
in making his acquaintance. He lived the life of a misanthrope, quite
apart from the great social stream of London, and he was not believed to
be either gallant, or ardent in love. Fellow-countrymen of his, who had
known him formerly, during the Magyar revolution, described him as very
cautious, cold and silent, so that if any man possessed a charm against
the toils, which she set for him, it was he.

Just then it happened that as Wanda was riding in Hyde Park quite early
one morning before there were many people about, her thoroughbred
English mare took fright, and threatened to throw the plucky rider, who
did not for a moment lose her presence of mind, from the saddle. Before
her groom had time to come to her assistance, a man in a Hungarian
braided coat rushed from the path, and caught hold of the animal's
reins. When the mare had grown quite quiet, he was about to go away with
a slight bow, but Frau von Chabert detained him, so that she might thank
him, and so had leisure to examine him more closely. He was neither
young nor handsome, but was well-made, like all Hungarians are, and had
an interesting and very expressive face. He had a sallow complexion,
which was set off by a short, black full beard, and he looked as if he
were suffering, while he fixed two, great, black fanatical eyes on the
beautiful young woman, who was smiling at him so amiably, and it was the
strange look in those large eyes which aroused in the soul of the woman
who was so excitable, that violent, but passing feeling which she called
love. She turned her horse and accompanied the stranger on his side,
and he seemed to be even more charmed by her chatter than by her
appearance, for his grave face grew more and more animated, and at last
he himself became quite friendly and talkative. When he took leave of
her, Wanda gave him her card, on the back of which her address was
written, and he immediately gave her his in return.

She thanked him and rode off, looking at his name as she did so; it was
Count T----.

She felt inclined to give a shout of pleasure when she found that the
noble quarry, which she had been hunting so long, had at last come into
her preserves, but she did not even turn her head round to look at him,
such was the command which that woman had over herself and her
movements.

Count T---- called upon her the very next day, soon he came every day,
and in less than a month after that innocent adventure in Hyde Park, he
was at her feet; for when Frau von Chabert made up her mind to be loved,
nobody was able to withstand her. She became the Count's confidante
almost as speedily as she had become his mistress, and every day, and
almost every hour, she, with the most delicate coquetry, laid fresh
fetters on the Hungarian Samson. Did she love him?

Certainly she did, after her own fashion, and at first she had not the
remotest idea of betraying him; she even succeeded in completely
concealing her connection with him, not only in London but also in
Vienna.

Then the war of 1859 broke out, and like most Hungarian and Polish
refugees, Count T---- hurried off to Italy, in order to place himself at
the disposal of that great and patriotic Piedmontese statesman, Cavour.

Wanda went with him, and took the greatest interest in his revolutionary
intrigues in Turin; for some time she seemed to be his right hand, and
it looked as if she had become unfaithful to her present patrons.
Through his means, she soon became on intimate terms with Piedmontese
government circles, and that was his destruction.

A young Italian diplomatist, who frequently negotiated with Count T----,
or in his absence, with Wanda, fell madly in love with the charming
Polish woman, and she, who was never cruel, more especially when she
herself had caught fire, allowed herself to be conquered by the
handsome, intellectual, daring man. In measure as her passion for the
Italian increased, so her feelings for Count T---- declined, and at last
she felt that her connection with him was nothing but a hindrance and a
burden, and as soon as Wanda had reached that point, her adorer was as
good as lost.

Count T---- was not a man whom she could just coolly dismiss, or with
whom she might venture to trifle, and that she knew perfectly well; so
in order to avoid a catastrophe, the consequences of which might be
incalculable for her, she did not let him notice the change in her
feelings towards him at first, and kept the Italian, who belonged to
her, at a proper distance.

When peace had been concluded, and the great, peaceful revolution, which
found its provisional settlement in the Constitution of February and in
the Hungarian agreement, began in Austria, the Hungarian refugees
determined to send Count T---- to Hungary, that he might assume the
direction of affairs there. But as he was still an outlaw, and as the

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