The story of Swann Mercury goes beyond the usual scope of the extraordinary. Although the tale may be violent, salacious, and--that sin which is allowed only to old people--sentimental, it is was as true a story as any that was ever told. Madame Phuong Kawabata explained to Marguerite that the story was simply one of a man who had sinned, and for all his penance, for all the love and goodness in his heart, this man, with his messy hair and crooked smile, could not help but sin more.