For others, freedom takes a wholly negative form; what is remarkable in Mme de Chasteller is her indifference to everything secondary; subjected to her father's will and even his opinions, she still manages to contest bourgeois values by means of the indifference she is criticized for as childish, and that is the source of her carefree gaiety; Cl lia Conti also stands apart by her reserve; balls and other traditional entertainments for girls leave her cold; she always seems distant 'either out of scorn for what surrounds her or out of regret for some missing chimera'; she judges the world, she takes offense at its indignities.