Jealousy

Jealousy is at the heart of Lisbeth Fischer's struggle to bring low her cousin Adeline Hulot and her entire family. Bette begins the story as unrefined and eccentric in a rather coarse and unbecoming way. Adeline is beautiful and kind; she marries a successful man and lives in fine style in Paris. Bette's jealousy of Adeline's seeming overabundance of good fortune is what motivates her actions and drives her internal monologue. Even when Baron Hulot's affairs with various young women continue to severely erode the family's financial status, Bette proves that jealousy can eat a person alive if it is nurtured and cultivated over a number of years. Bette goes out of her way to manipulate others into her debt. She forms relationships with key players like Madame Marneffe and Monsieur Crevel in order to fill her pockets and feed her plan. Cousin Bette is also adept at...