One after one
The more firmly seated their rank , the more established their position , the more their life stagnates into insipidity . Constance was at the height of her wishes . No one was so courted , so adored . One after one , she had humbled and subdued all those who , before her marriage , had trampled on her pride -- or , who after it , had resisted her pretensions : a look from her had become a triumph , and a smile conferred a rank on its receiver . But this empire palled upon her : of too large a mind to be satisfied with petty pleasures and unreal distinctions , she still felt the Something of life was wanting . She was not blessed or cursed -LRB- as it may be -RRB- with children , and she had no companion in her husband . There might be times in which she regretted her choice , dazzling as it had proved ; -- but she complained not of sorrow , but monotony .