No, no, no, sir! A thousand times no!
Manuela Sáenz slams the door
Born in Ecuador in 1797, Manuela Sáenz was a force of nature—revolutionary, spy, and the devoted lover of Simón Bolívar, the man at the heart of South America’s fight for independence. At 19, she was pushed into marriage with an English merchant, James Thorne, but she was never one to be tamed. Five years later, she walked away from her husband and into the arms of Bolívar, throwing herself fully into his cause. Thorne, however, refused to let go—until, that is, Sáenz reached boiling point and sent him a letter so sharp that it destroyed any hope he had left.
No, no, no, sir! A thousand times no!
Why do you force me to write to you, breaking my resolution? What do you hope to achieve but to make me suffer through the pain of rejecting you over and over again?
You are an excellent man, truly one of a kind—I would never deny that. But leaving you for General Bolívar? That is something. Leaving another man, one without your qualities? That would be nothing.
Do you believe that after being Bolívar’s chosen companion for seven years, knowing full well that I hold his heart, I would choose to be someone else’s wife—not even God the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, or the Holy Trinity?
If I regret anything, it’s that you weren’t a better man, making my leaving you a greater act of honour. I know that I could never be joined to Bolívar in what you call honour. Do you think me less respectable because he is my lover and not my husband? Ah, I do not live by the petty social conventions designed to torment us all.
Leave me in peace, my dear Englishman. Let us strike a new deal: we will marry again in heaven, but not on this earth. Would you find this arrangement disagreeable? If so, then you are very hard to please.
On this earth, you are a tiresome man. But in heaven, everything will be English, as monotony seems made for your people: love without pleasure, conversation without charm, walking slowly, greeting solemnly, moving stiffly, joking without laughter.
But enough of my teasing. With all the sobriety, truth, and precision of an Englishwoman, I tell you this: I will never return to you. You are Protestant, and I am an atheist—surely, that is obstacle enough. But beyond that, I am in love with another man, and that is the greatest, most unmovable reason of all. Can you not see how clear and deliberate my thinking is?
Your unwavering friend,
Manuela
Originally published in 1922 in the book, Cartas de Bolívar, 1825-1826-1827.
Support Letters of Note…
Brilliant! I love it. And what a hilarious take on the English. No wonder South Americans were seen as wild and colorful.
"[M]onotony seems made for your people..."