# Eighteenth and Nineteenth Trials of the Ring explained — The Indiscreet Jewels

> Chapter companion for The Indiscreet Jewels by Denis Diderot.

## What happens

Mangogul recounts the eighteenth and nineteenth trials of the ring, involving the flatted Spheroïd, a woman obsessed with geometry, and Girgiro the Entangled, whose Toy delivers a long-winded, self-important discourse on the nature of Toys. Mirzoza interrupts with impatience, comparing the speech to the chiromancer of the Manimonbanda.

## Themes in this chapter

### Satire of Court and Society

The absurdity of the flatted Spheroïd's geometric self-image and Girgiro's pompous speech mock social and intellectual vanity.

### Literary and Intellectual Satire

The chapter parodies convoluted academic jargon and self-important rhetoric, particularly in the Toy's speech.

## Character check-ins

### Mangogul

Narrates the trials of the ring to Mirzoza, demonstrating his memory and wit.

### Mirzoza

Interrupts Mangogul's account with sharp commentary, showing her impatience with obscure discourse.

### Manimonbanda

Referenced by Mirzoza in comparison to the chiromancer.

## Key lines

> I shall take the liberty to avoid seeking, to the contempt of my own reason, a model of thinking and expressing myself.

I will not blindly follow others' ways of thinking or speaking.

_The Toy's opening declaration of intellectual independence, though ironically delivered in a convoluted style._

> Such is the advantage of primacy, that it seizes the idea, and forms a barrier against everything that would afterwards present itself under other forms

First impressions are so powerful that they block out later alternatives.

_Reflection on the difficulty of replacing a first love or experience._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_indiscreet_jewels_se/chapters/xxxvi-eighteenth-and-nineteenth-trials-of-the-ring
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_indiscreet_jewels_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_indiscreet_jewels_se/chapters