He had her in his arms, her face like a wet flower at his lips, and all their vain terrors shriveling up like ghosts at sunrise.

Wharton was a committed supporter of French imperialism describing herself as a "rabid imperialist" and the war solidified her political conservatism. In 1908 her husband's mental state was determined to be incurable. She called the villa "Sainte-Claire du Chateau" and filled the garden with cacti and subtropical plants.