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Poetry · Chapter
Chapter CXIII explained
A brief aphorism suggesting that boasting about romantic success with women is likely to alienate male listeners.
What happens
A brief aphorism suggesting that boasting about romantic success with women is likely to alienate male listeners.
Themes in this chapter
Deception and Self-Deception
The narrator implies that self-congratulation in romantic matters is a form of self-deception that fails to impress others.
Key passages
“He who relates his success in charming woman’s heart may be assured of his failure to charm man’s ear.”
Anyone who boasts about winning a woman's love will certainly bore or irritate other men.
The chapter is a single aphorism on the social futility of romantic bragging.