"As one loves a mistress."

When Solange insists she loves Claire-as-Madame in Part One, Claire reminds her that it is not a pure love. While Claire implies that this love is one that seeks favors, throughout the rest of the play we see that love for an authority figure is mostly a combination of fear and loathing. A superior rarely mixes resentment, and even more rarely fear, with his love for an inferior but, if love is present at all, loves condescendingly. The maids, devoid of any real power, crave receiving this brand of hateful love, since it suggests they have some power over the lover. Their sado-masochistic fantasies give them the illusion of power—Claire feels she is important enough for someone to have hateful love for her, while Solange gets to release her hatred to its fullest extent.