The weight of the name

"The Weight of the Name" by Paul Bourget is a story set in France about a nobleman named Landri who's in love with Valentine, a widow. Landri wants to marry her, even though they come from different social classes: he's a nobleman, and she's not. The book looks at big ideas, like how love can be complicated by things like social class and what people expect. It starts with Landri meeting Valentine to tell her he wants to marry her, but Valentine turns him down because she's worried about what people will think of her marrying someone so important. The story then looks at the problems the characters have with their feelings and the pressures of society as their relationship grows.