NONFICTION
The Notorious Madame S.
The toast and terror of Belle Epoque Paris, Marguerite Steinheil was a society hostess, a woman of letters, a muse — and probably a murderer.臭名昭著的S夫人 瑪格麗特·施泰因海爾 (Marguerite Steinheil) 是巴黎美好時代的敬酒和恐怖*(案：名人兼恐怖分子？)，她是一位社交女主人、一位文人、一位繆斯女神——也可能是一名殺人犯。google
*Where and when did the phrase "toast of the town" (meaning a well-known person, usually in a specific city or region) originate?
How exactly was she able to compel the attention of the greatest minds and talents of the Belle Epoque? And what was it like to live in this era, so notable for its cultural ferment, scientific achievements, colonial intrigues, masterpieces of literature, music, theater and painting? More exhilarating, presumably, than the anachronistic dryness of this conscientious text, which repeatedly describes a muse to Jules Massenet and Émile Zola, a hostess to the Grand Duke Alexandrovich and the Prince of Wales, as “a sex worker.”
The answers may be found in her own words. “My friends,” she wrote of her salon, “said what they meant and meant what they said, and what is more, they had ideas and knew how to think things out and express themselves. I encouraged the explorer to speak of his travels, the officer of the army or of his men, the artist of art, the lawyer to talk of interesting cases, the scientist to describe his latest researches or discoveries.” Moreover, “There came to my house unknown geniuses and famous mediocrities, and I gently urged the former to make use of the latter; there came people who were aggressively biased and prejudiced, and I gently waged war on them, declaring that impartiality was blindness or weakness, or both; and to those who were hopelessly impartial, I hinted discreetly that a person who has no opinion must lead a very tedious existence.”
她到底是如何吸引美好時代最偉大的思想家和人才的注意的？ 生活在這個以文化動盪、科學成就、殖民陰謀、文學傑作、音樂、戲劇和繪畫而著稱的時代是什麼感覺？ 大概比這本盡職盡責的文本過時的枯燥更令人振奮，它反復將朱爾斯·馬斯內 (Jules Massenet) 和埃米爾·佐拉 (Émile Zola) 的繆斯女神，大公亞歷山德羅維奇 (Grand Duke Alexandrovich) 和威爾士親王的女主人描述為“性工作者”。
答案或許可以從她自己的話中找到。 “我的朋友們，”她在談到她的沙龍時寫道，“言出必行，言出必行，而且，他們有想法，知道如何思考和表達自己。 我鼓勵探險家談論他的旅行，軍隊的軍官或他的手下，藝術的藝術家，律師談論有趣的案例，科學家描述他的最新研究或發現。” 此外，“有無名的天才和有名的庸才來到我家，我溫和地勸說前者利用後者； 出現了帶有強烈偏見和偏見的人，我溫和地向他們宣戰，宣稱公正是盲目或軟弱，或兩者兼而有之； 對於那些毫無偏見的人，我謹慎地暗示說，一個沒有主見的人一定會過著非常乏味的生活。” Google
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