Moral wounds have this peculiarity - they may be hidden, but they never close; always painful, always ready to bleed when touched, they remain fresh and open in the heart.

Dumas contrasts physical injuries, which can scar over, with “moral” wounds—injuries to conscience, honor, love, or self-respect—that can be concealed from others yet remain internally raw. The image of a wound that “never close[s]” suggests that time alone does not heal certain kinds of guilt, betrayal, humiliation, or grief; instead, memory and circumstance can reopen the pain instantly “when touched.” The quote captures a Romantic-era preoccupation with inner life and psychological suffering, implying that the deepest harms are often invisible and that emotional trauma can persist beneath outward composure.