Debauchery Quote by Jean Lorrain
““Look, de Mazel, you've known him for years - hasn't he been known to sleep for forty hours in two days?' 'Forty hours?' 'Certainly. He awoke at meal times, just to take nourishment, and afterwards fell again into his torpor. And Freneuse had a strange horror of sleep; there was some abnormal phenomenon associated with it, some lesion of the brain or neurotic depression.' 'The troublesome cerebral anaemia which results from excessive debauchery. Another myth! I've never believed, myself, in the supposed debauchery of that poor gentleman. Such a frail chap, with such a delicate complexion! Quite frankly, there was no scope in him for debauchery. 'Pooh! About as much as Lorenzaccio!' 'You associate him with the Medicis! Lorenzaccio was a Florentine impassioned by rancour, a man of energy slowly brooding over his vengeance, caressing it as he might caress the blade of a dagger! There is not the slightest comparison to be drawn between Lorenzaccio and that gall-green, liverish creature Freneuse.””
About This Quote
Source Play: Le Docteur Lerne, 1896
A character is mocked for his extreme sleep pattern and presumed moral weakness, highlighting absurd stereotypes about health and vice.
In simple terms: A man’s strange sleep is used to ridicule his character.
Question stereotypes and look deeper.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- literary analysis
- psychology class
- medical discussion
- debate on moral judgments
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- How do we differentiate satire from genuine concern?
- What biases influence our view of odd behavior?
The humor may obscure serious health issues behind the mockery.