Delphine is the first novel by Germaine de Staël, published in 1802. The book is written in epistolary form and examines the limits of women's freedom in an aristocratic society. Although de Staël denied political intent, the book was controversial enough for Napoleon to exile the author.
“A man must know how to fly in the face of opinion; a woman to submit to it.”
Un homme doit savoir braver l'opinion; une femme s'y soumettre.
Delphine (1802), epigraph
The epigraph is taken from the writings of de Staël's mother, Suzanne Necker.
Delphine (1802), Preface
