How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph). We used Justin O'Brien's translation.
Quote #7
Without desire, women bored me beyond all expectation, and obviously I bored them too. No more gambling and no more theater – I was probably in the realm of truth. But truth, cher ami, is a colossal bore (5.6).
This quotation explains the deception built into Jean-Baptiste’s "confession." In one sense, this passage suggests, he’s playing a game with you. Gambling and theatre – that’s all The Fall really is.
Quote #8
But what do I care? Don’t lies eventually lead to the truth? And don’t all my stories, true or false, tend toward the same conclusion? Don’t they all have the same meaning? So what does it matter whether they are true or false if, in both cases, they are significant of what I have been and of what I am? Sometimes it is easier to see clearly into the liar than into the man who tells the truth. Truth, like light, blinds. Falsehood, on the contrary, is a beautiful twilight that enhances every object (6.2).
And there you have it. Jean-Baptiste justifies all of his lies by this fuzzy rationale; he’s doing what he used to do before his period of "enlightenment" – acting like a jerk and pretending he has noble reasons for his behavior.