Paris Spleen, 1869 Chapter Summary & Analysis - Section 13: The Port, Portraits of Mistresses & The Gallant Marksman Summary

Section 13: The Port, Portraits of Mistresses & The Gallant Marksman Summary

In "The Port", the narrator describes a port as resting place for the wearied eyes. He sees the port as a place where the adventurous leave and the weary return. In "Portraits of Mistresses", four men sit talking and smoking in a gambling house. One man begins a conversation of women, of which he proceeds to describe the stages that a man progresses through when he takes on a mistress. The man tells of his last Mistress, who was the bastard child of a Prince and was power hungry, so much so that she continuously commented that "If she were a man" or made further comments on her benefactor's choices. The second man interjected with his own story that although he had not had complaints of himself, he had missed his chance at happiness. His tale of his mistress was that she was always willing to...
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