"Old maids, having never bent their temper or their lives to other lives and other tempers, as woman's destiny requires, have for the most part a mania for making everything about them bend to them"

In this quote, Honore de Balzac is commenting on the social expectations placed on females, particularly those who stay unmarried and are referred to as "old house maids." He recommends that these ladies have actually never ever had to jeopardize or adjust to the requirements and characters of others, as is anticipated of females in conventional gender functions. As an outcome, they develop a self-indulgent frame of mind and a desire for everything and everyone to revolve around them. Balzac suggests that this is a negative quality, as it goes against the natural fate of women to be supporting and accommodating. In general, the quote highlights the limiting and frequently unfair expectations placed on women in society.