Les Destinées Sentimentales plot
"Love is the most rewarding sacrifice"
1900. Jean Barnery is a young Protestant cleric in Barbazac. He divorces his deeply religious wife after falling in love with Pauline, the independent free-thinking niece of a distinguished parishioner. Jean is also the heir to a highly regarded porcelain factory in Limoges. He donates the rest of his fortune to his ex-wife to buy off his guilt about the divorce. He manages to conquer Pauline. They get married and live peacefully and happily in Switzerland. When his family asks him to run the porcelain factory, he does so against Pauline's wishes. His new job and his participation in the First World War change him and his relationship with Pauline.