The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness.

Balzac’s line casts maternal love as something vast, dark, and unfathomable—an “abyss” whose depth suggests both mystery and inexhaustible capacity. The striking turn is that, however far one descends into that depth—through wrongdoing, disappointment, or estrangement—one ultimately encounters “forgiveness.” The image implies that a mother’s compassion is not superficial sentiment but a profound moral reservoir that can absorb injury and still respond with mercy. At the same time, the metaphor hints at the emotional cost of such love: an abyss can be lonely and consuming, suggesting that maternal forgiveness may be enduring but not effortless.