Stoicism

Meaning

Lemma.

The narrator calls Gamelin’s withdrawal from Élodie “proud stoicism,” immediately coupling it with increasingly fierce shyness. Here the word names an ideal of self-command or endurance, not documented adherence to the doctrines of an ancient philosophical school. The pairing complicates the refusal: firmness can be principle and a way of not risking intimacy. His severe letter hides love and pain rather than calmly explaining them, and Élodie responds by arranging a meeting he cannot easily evade.