La Comédie humaine
Encyclopedia
La Comédie humaine is the title of Honoré de Balzac
Honoré de Balzac
Honoré de Balzac was a French novelist and playwright. His magnum opus was a sequence of short stories and novels collectively entitled La Comédie humaine, which presents a panorama of French life in the years after the 1815 fall of Napoleon....
's (1799–1850) multi-volume collection of interlinked novels and stories depicting French society in the period of the Restoration and the July Monarchy
July Monarchy
The July Monarchy , officially the Kingdom of France , was a period of liberal constitutional monarchy in France under King Louis-Philippe starting with the July Revolution of 1830 and ending with the Revolution of 1848...
(1815–1848).
Overview
The Comédie humaine consists of 91 finished works (stories, novels or analytical essays) and 46 unfinished workUnfinished work
An unfinished work is creative work that has not been finished. Its creator may have chosen never to finish it or may have been prevented from doing so by circumstances outside of their control such as death. Such pieces are often the subject of speculation as to what the finished piece would have...
s (some of which exist only as titles). It does not include Balzac's 5 theatrical plays or his collection of humorous tales, the "Contes drolatiques" (1832–37). The title of the series is usually considered an allusion to Dante
DANTE
Delivery of Advanced Network Technology to Europe is a not-for-profit organisation that plans, builds and operates the international networks that interconnect the various national research and education networks in Europe and surrounding regions...
's Divine Comedy; while Ferdinand Brunetière
Ferdinand Brunetière
Ferdinand Brunetière was a French writer and critic.-Early years:Brunetière was born in Toulon, Var, Provence. After school at Marseille, he studied in Paris at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand. Desiring a teaching career, he entered for examination at the École Normale Supérieure, but failed, and the...
, the famous French literary critic, suggests that it may stem from poems by Alfred de Musset
Alfred de Musset
Alfred Louis Charles de Musset-Pathay was a French dramatist, poet, and novelist.Along with his poetry, he is known for writing La Confession d'un enfant du siècle from 1836.-Biography:Musset was born on 11 December 1810 in Paris...
or Alfred de Vigny
Alfred de Vigny
Alfred Victor de Vigny was a French poet, playwright, and novelist.-Life:Alfred de Vigny was born in Loches into an aristocratic family...
. While Balzac sought the comprehensive scope of Dante, his title indicates the worldly, human concerns of a realist novelist. The stories are placed in a variety of settings, with characters reappearing in multiple stories.
Evolution of the project
The Comédie humaine was the result of a slow evolution. The first works of Balzac were written without any global plan ("Les Chouans" is a historical novel; "La physiologie du mariage" is an analytical study of marriage), but by 1830 Balzac began to group his first novels (SarrasineSarrasine
Sarrasine is a novella written by Honoré de Balzac. It was published in 1830 , and is part of his Comédie Humaine.-Commentary:...
, Gobseck
Gobseck
Gobseck is an 1830 novel by French author Honoré de Balzac and included in the Scènes de la vie privée section of his novel sequence La Comédie humaine. Gobseck first appeared in outline form in La Mode in March 1830 under the title l’Usurier , and then in August 1830 in the periodical Le Voleur...
) into a series entitled "Scènes de la vie privée" ("Scenes from Private Life").
In 1833, with the publication of Eugénie Grandet
Eugénie Grandet
Eugénie Grandet is an 1833 novel by Honoré de Balzac about miserliness, and how it is bequeathed from the father to the daughter, Eugénie, through her unsatisfying love attachment with her cousin. As is usual with Balzac, all the characters in the novel are fully realized...
, Balzac envisioned a second series entitled "Scènes de la vie de province" (Scenes from Provincial Life). Most likely in this same year Balzac came upon the idea of having characters reappear from novel to novel, and the first novel to use this technique was Le Père Goriot
Le Père Goriot
Le Père Goriot is an 1835 novel by French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac , included in the Scènes de la vie Parisienne section of his novel sequence La Comédie humaine...
(1834-5).
In a letter written to Madame Hanska in 1834, Balzac decided to reorganize his works into three larger groups, allowing him (1) to integrate his "La physiologie du mariage" into the ensemble and (2) to separate his most fantastic or metaphysical stories — like La Peau de chagrin
La Peau de chagrin
La Peau de chagrin is an 1831 novel by French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac . Set in early 19th-century Paris, it tells the story of a young man who finds a magic piece of shagreen that fulfills his every desire. For each wish granted, however, the skin shrinks and consumes a portion of...
(1831) and Louis Lambert
Louis Lambert (novel)
Louis Lambert is an 1832 novel by French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac , included in the Études philosophiques section of his novel sequence La Comédie humaine...
(1832) — into their own "philosophical" section. The three sections were:
- Etudes de Moeurs au XIXe siècle (Studies of Manners in the 19th Century) - including the various "Scène de la vie..."
- Etudes philosophiques
- Etudes analytiques - including the "Physiology du mariage"
In this letter, Balzac went on to say that the "Etudes de Moeurs" would study the effects of society and touch on all genders, social classes, ages and professions of people. Meanwhile, the "Etudes philosophiques" would study the causes of these effects. Finally, the third "analytical" section would study the principles behind these phenomena. Balzac also explained that while the characters in the first section would be "individualités typisées" ("individuals made into types"), the characters of the "Etudes philosophiques" would be "types individualisés" (types made into individuals").
By 1836, the "Etudes de Moeurs" was already divided into six parts:
- "Scènes de la vie privée"
- "Scènes de la vie de province"
- "Scènes de la vie parisienne"
- "Scènes de la vie politique
- "Scènes de la vie militaire"
- "Scènes de la vie de campagne"
In 1839, in a letter to his publisher, Balzac mentioned for the first time the expression Comédie humaine, and this title is in the contract he signed in 1841. The publication of the Comédie humaine in 1842 was preceded by an important preface or "avant-propos" describing his major principles and the work's overall structure (see below). For this edition, novels which had appeared in serial form were stricken of their chapter titles.
Balzac's intended collection was never finished. In 1845, Balzac wrote a complete catalogue of the ensemble which includes works he started or envisioned but never finished. In some cases, Balzac moved a work around between different sections as his overall plan developed; the catalogue given below represents that last version of that process.
Balzac's works were slow to be translated into English because they were perceived as unsuitable for female readers. Individual works appeared, but not until the 1890s did "complete" versions appear, from Ellen Marriage
Ellen Marriage
Ellen Marriage was an English translator from French, notably of Balzac's novels...
in London (1895-8, forty volumes edited by George Saintsbury
George Saintsbury
George Edward Bateman Saintsbury , was an English writer, literary historian, scholar and critic.-Biography:...
, five omitted as too shocking) and from G. B. Ives and others in Philadelphia (1895-1900).
The "Avant-propos"
In 1842, Balzac wrote a preface (an "Avant-propos") to the whole ensemble in which he explained his method and the collection's structure.Motivated by the work of biologists Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon
Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon
Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon was a French naturalist, mathematician, cosmologist, and encyclopedic author.His works influenced the next two generations of naturalists, including Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and Georges Cuvier...
, Georges Cuvier
Georges Cuvier
Georges Chrétien Léopold Dagobert Cuvier or Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric Cuvier , known as Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and zoologist...
and most importantly Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire
Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire
Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire was a French naturalist who established the principle of "unity of composition". He was a colleague of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and expanded and defended Lamarck's evolutionary theories...
, Balzac explains that he seeks to understand "social species" in the way a biologist would analyse "zoological species", and to accomplish this he intends to describe the interrelations of men, women and things. The importance of the woman is underlined by Balzac's contention that, while a biologist may gloss over the differences between a male and female lion, "in Society the woman is not simply the female of the man".
Balzac then gives an extensive list of writers and works that influenced him, including Sir Walter Scott, François Rabelais
François Rabelais
François Rabelais was a major French Renaissance writer, doctor, Renaissance humanist, monk and Greek scholar. He has historically been regarded as a writer of fantasy, satire, the grotesque, bawdy jokes and songs...
and Miguel de Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was a Spanish novelist, poet, and playwright. His magnum opus, Don Quixote, considered the first modern novel, is a classic of Western literature, and is regarded amongst the best works of fiction ever written...
.
He then describes his writerly role as a "secretary" who is transcribing society's "history"; moreover, he posits that he is interested in something that no previous historian has attempted: a history of "moeurs" (customs, manners and morals). He also notes his desire to go behind the surface of events, to show the reasons and causes for social phenomena. Balzac then professes his belief in two profound truths — religion and monarchy — and his concern for understanding the individual in the context of his family.
In the last half of his preface, Balzac explains the Comédie humaines different parts (which he compares to "frames" and "galeries"), and which are more or less the final form of the collection (see below).
Sources of the Comédie humaine
Because of its volume and complexity, the Comédie humaine touches on the major literary genres in fashion in the first half of the 19th century.The historical novel
The historical novelHistorical novel
According to Encyclopædia Britannica, a historical novel is-Development:An early example of historical prose fiction is Luó Guànzhōng's 14th century Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which covers one of the most important periods of Chinese history and left a lasting impact on Chinese culture.The...
was a European phenomenon in the first half of the 19th century — largely through the works of Sir Walter Scott, James Fenimore Cooper
James Fenimore Cooper
James Fenimore Cooper was a prolific and popular American writer of the early 19th century. He is best remembered as a novelist who wrote numerous sea-stories and the historical novels known as the Leatherstocking Tales, featuring frontiersman Natty Bumppo...
and, in France, Alexandre Dumas, père
Alexandre Dumas, père
Alexandre Dumas, , born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie was a French writer, best known for his historical novels of high adventure which have made him one of the most widely read French authors in the world...
and Victor Hugo
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo was a Frenchpoet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France....
. Balzac's first novel Les Chouans
Les Chouans
Les Chouans is an 1829 novel by French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac and included in the Scènes de la vie militaire section of his novel sequence La Comédie humaine. Set in the French region of Brittany, the novel combines military history with a love story between the aristocratic...
was inspired by this vogue and tells of the rural inhabitants of Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
during the revolution with Cooper-like descriptions of their dress and manners.
Although the bulk of the Comédie humaine takes place during the Restoration and the July Monarchy, there are several novels which take place during the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
and others which take place in the Middle Ages or the Renaissance, including "About Catherine de Medici" and "The Elixir of Long Life".
The popular novel
Balzac's later works are decidedly influenced by the popular "roman feuilleton" (especially in the works of Eugène SueEugène Sue
Joseph Marie Eugène Sue was a French novelist.He was born in Paris, the son of a distinguished surgeon in Napoleon's army, and is said to have had the Empress Joséphine for godmother. Sue himself acted as surgeon both in the Spanish campaign undertaken by France in 1823 and at the Battle of Navarino...
which concentrate on depicting the secret worlds of crime and vice that hide below the surface of French society) and by the melodrama
Melodrama
The term melodrama refers to a dramatic work that exaggerates plot and characters in order to appeal to the emotions. It may also refer to the genre which includes such works, or to language, behavior, or events which resemble them...
.
Fantasy
Many of Balzac's shorter works have elements taken from the popular "roman noir" or gothic novel, but often the fantastic elements are used for very different purposes in Balzac's work.His use of the magical ass' skin in La Peau de chagrin
La Peau de chagrin
La Peau de chagrin is an 1831 novel by French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac . Set in early 19th-century Paris, it tells the story of a young man who finds a magic piece of shagreen that fulfills his every desire. For each wish granted, however, the skin shrinks and consumes a portion of...
for example becomes a metaphor for diminished male potency and a key symbol of Balzac's conception of energy and will in the modern world.
In a similar way, Balzac undermines the character of Melmoth the Wanderer
Melmoth the Wanderer
Melmoth the Wanderer is a gothic novel published in 1820, written by Charles Robert Maturin .- Synopsis :...
in his "Melmoth Reconciled": Balzac takes a character from a fantastic novel (by Charles Robert Maturin) who has sold his soul for power and long life and has him sell his own power to another man in Paris... this man then sells this gift in turn and very quickly the infernal power is traded from person to person in the Parisian stock exchange until it loses any of its original power.
Swedenborg
Several of Balzac's characters, particularly Louis Lambert, traverse mystical crises and/or develop syncretic spiritual philosophies about human energy and action that are largely modelled on the life and work of Emanuel SwedenborgEmanuel Swedenborg
was a Swedish scientist, philosopher, and theologian. He has been termed a Christian mystic by some sources, including the Encyclopædia Britannica online version, and the Encyclopedia of Religion , which starts its article with the description that he was a "Swedish scientist and mystic." Others...
(1688–1772). As depicted in his works, Balzac's spiritual philosophy suggests that individuals have a limited quantity of spiritual energy and that this energy is dissipated through creative or intellectual work or through physical activity (including sex), and this is made emblematic in his philosophical tale La Peau de chagrin
La Peau de chagrin
La Peau de chagrin is an 1831 novel by French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac . Set in early 19th-century Paris, it tells the story of a young man who finds a magic piece of shagreen that fulfills his every desire. For each wish granted, however, the skin shrinks and consumes a portion of...
, in which a magical wild ass's skin confers on its owner unlimited powers, but shrinks each time it is used in science.
Themes of the Comédie humaine
The following are some of the major themes that recur throughout the various volumes of the Comédie humaine:France after the Revolution
Balzac frequently bemoans the loss of a pre-Revolutionary society of honor which has now become — especially after the fall of Charles X of FranceCharles X of France
Charles X was known for most of his life as the Comte d'Artois before he reigned as King of France and of Navarre from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. A younger brother to Kings Louis XVI and Louis XVIII, he supported the latter in exile and eventually succeeded him...
and the arrival of the July Monarchy
July Monarchy
The July Monarchy , officially the Kingdom of France , was a period of liberal constitutional monarchy in France under King Louis-Philippe starting with the July Revolution of 1830 and ending with the Revolution of 1848...
— a society dominated by money.
Money and power
"At the origin of every fortune lies a crime" : this precept from the "Red Inn" recurs constantly in the Comédie humaine, both as a biographical truth (Taillefer's murderous fortune, Goriot's deals with the Revolutionary army), and as a sign of French collective guilt at the horrors of the Revolution (and most notably by the death of Louis XVI of FranceLouis XVI of France
Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
).
The other source of power is rank. People of good blood aspire to a title, while people with titles aspire to the peerage. The opening section of The Secrets of the Princess Cadignan provides an explanation of why the title of prince
Prince
Prince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess...
is not prevalent nor coveted in France (compared to contemporary Germany or Russia).
Social success
Two young men dominate the Comédie humaine: Lucien de Rubempré and Eugène de RastignacEugène de Rastignac
Eugène de Rastignac is a fictional character from La Comédie humaine series of novels by Honoré de Balzac. He appears as a main character in Le Père Goriot and his social advancement in the post-revolutionary French world depicted by Balzac can be followed through Rastignac's various appearances...
. Both are talented but poor youths from the provinces, both attempt to achieve greatness in society through the intercession of women and both come into contact with Vautrin
Vautrin
Vautrin is a character from the novels of French writer Honoré de Balzac in the La Comédie humaine series. His real name is Jacques Collin...
, but only Rastignac succeeds while Lucien de Rubempré ends his life by his own hand in a jail in Paris. The difference in outcome is partly explained by Balzac's views on heredity: Rastignac comes from a noble family, while only Rubempré's mother comes from a noble family (he had to obtain royal permission to use his mother's family name instead of his father's name Chardon). This deficit is compounded by the fact that his mother had not only married a commoner far beneath her in rank, but she had also performed menial labour to support herself when her husband died.
Another contrast is between Emile Blondet and Raoul Nathan. Both are multi-talented men-of-letters. Blondet is the natural son of the prefect of Alençon and is described as witty but lazy, incurably hesitant, non-partisan, a political atheist, a player of the game of political opinions (along with Rastignac), having the most judicious mind of the day. He marries Madame de Montcornet and eventually becomes a prefect. Nathan is described as half-Jewish and possessing a second-rate mind. Nathan succumbs to the flattery of unscrupulous financiers and does not see that they are prepared to bankrupt him to achieve their purposes. Blondet sees what is happening but does not enlighten Nathan. The downfall drives Nathan to attempt suicide by the method of "any poor work-girl". He then sells out to the government of the day (on Blondet's advice) to secure an income, and returns to living with the actress/courtesan Florine. In the end he accepts the cross of the Legion of Honour (which he formerly satirised) and becomes a defender of the doctrine of heredity.
Paternity
The Comédie humaine frequently portrays the complex emotional, social and financial relationships between fathers and their children, and between father-figures and their mentors, and these relationships are metaphorically linked as well with issues of nationhood (the king as father, regicide), nobility (bloodlines, family names), history (parental secrets), wealth (the origin of parental fortunes, dowries) and artistic creation (the writer or artist as father of the work of art). Father Goriot is perhaps the most famous — and most tragic — of these father figures, but in Le Père GoriotLe Père Goriot
Le Père Goriot is an 1835 novel by French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac , included in the Scènes de la vie Parisienne section of his novel sequence La Comédie humaine...
, Eugène de Rastignac also encounters two other paternal figures, Vautrin and Taillefer, whose aspirations and methods define different paternal paths. Other significant fathers in the series include Eugénie Grandet's abusive and money-hoarding father and César Birotteau, the doomed capitalist.
Maternity
At one end of the scale we have 100% maternal involvement - as depicted by the upbringing of the sisters de Granville (A Daughter of Eve) later Mesdames Felix de Vandenesse and du Tillet.At the other end of the scale we have 0% maternal involvement - as depicted by the upbringing of Ursula Mirouet by four men: her half-uncle-in-law (an atheist and republican), the local priest (saintly), the district judge (learned) and a retired soldier (worldly).
We are left in no doubt that it is the second option that produces what Balzac considers to be the ideal woman. Ursula is pious and prone to collapsing in tears at the slightest emotion.
Women, society and sex
The representation of women in the Comédie humaine is extremely varied — spanning material from both the romantic and pulp traditions — and includes idealized women (like Pauline in La Peau de chagrin or Eugénie Grandet), the tragic prostitute Esther Gobsek (Splendeurs et misères des courtisanes), the worldly daughters of Goriot and other women in society who can help their lovers advance, the masculine and domineering Cousine Bette, and the alluring and impossible love object (Foedora in La Peau de chagrin or the heroine of La fille aux yeux d'or). The latter category also includes several lesbian or bisexual characters.Structure of La Comédie humaine
Balzac's final plan (1845) of the Comédie Humaine is as follows (projected works are not included):Scenes from private life (Scènes de la vie privée)
- At the Sign of the Cat and RacketLa Maison du chat-qui-peloteLa Maison du chat-qui-pelote is a novel by Honoré de Balzac. It is the opening work in the Scènes de la vie privée , which comprises the first volume of Balzac's La Comédie humaine.First entitled Gloire et Malheur , this short novel was written in 1829 and published by...
(La Maison du chat-qui-pelote, 1830) - The Ball at SceauxLe Bal de SceauxLe Bal de Sceaux is the fifth work of Honoré de Balzac, one of the oldest texts of la Comédie Humaine.The first edition of this novella was published in 1830 by Mame and Delaunay-Vallée in the Scènes de la vie privée...
(Le bal de Sceaux, 1830) - Letters of Two BridesMémoires de deux jeunes mariéesMémoires de deux jeunes mariées is an epistolary novel by the French writer Honoré de Balzac. It was serialized in the French newspaper La Presse in 1841 and published by Furne in 1842 as the first work in the second volume of Balzac's La Comédie humaine...
(Mémoires de deux jeunes mariées, 1842) - The PurseLa BourseLa Bourse is a short story by the French novelist Honoré de Balzac. It was published in 1832 by Mame-Delaunay as one of the Scènes de la vie privée in La Comédie humaine...
(La bourse, 1832) - Modeste MignonModeste MignonModeste Mignon is a novel by the French writer Honoré de Balzac. It is the fifth of the Scènes de la vie privée in La Comédie humaine....
(1844) - A Start in LifeUn début dans la vieUn début dans la vie is a novel by the French writer Honoré de Balzac. It is the sixth of the Scènes de la vie privée in La Comédie humaine....
(Un début dans la vie, 1844) - Albert SavarusAlbert SavarusAlbert Savarus is an 1836 novel by French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac and included in his series of novels known as La Comédie humaine which parodies and depicts French society in the period of the Restoration and the July Monarchy .-Plot summary:Rosalie is the only daughter of the...
(1842) - The VendettaLa Vendetta (Balzac)La Vendetta is a novel by the French writer Honoré de Balzac. It is the eighth of the Scènes de la vie privée in La Comédie humaine. The novel was first published in 1830 by Mame et Delaunay-Vallée. In 1842 it appeared in the first Furne edition of La Comédie humaine...
(La Vendetta, 1830) - A Second Home (Une double famille, 1830)
- Domestic Peace (La paix du ménage, 1830)
- Madame Firmiani (1832)
- Study of a Woman (Étude de femme, 1835)
- The Imaginary MistressLa Fausse MaîtresseLa Fausse Maîtresse is an 1843 novel by French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac and included in his series of novels known as La Comédie humaine which parodies and depicts French society in the period of the Restoration and the July Monarchy...
(La fausse maîtresse, 1842) - A Daughter of Eve (Une fille d'Ève, 1835)
- The Message (Le Message, 1832)
- La Grenadière (1833)
- The Deserted Woman (La femme abandonnée, 1834)
- HonorineHonorine (novel)Honorine is an 1843 novel by French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac and included in his series of novels known as La Comédie humaine which parodies and depicts French society in the period of the Restoration and the July Monarchy...
(1845) - BéatrixBéatrixBéatrix is an 1839 novel by French author Honoré de Balzac and included in the Scènes de la vie privée section of his novel sequence La Comédie humaine....
(1839) - GobseckGobseckGobseck is an 1830 novel by French author Honoré de Balzac and included in the Scènes de la vie privée section of his novel sequence La Comédie humaine. Gobseck first appeared in outline form in La Mode in March 1830 under the title l’Usurier , and then in August 1830 in the periodical Le Voleur...
(1830) - A Woman of Thirty (La femme de trente ans, 1832)
- Old Goriot (le père Goriot, 1835)
- Le Colonel ChabertLe Colonel Chabert (novel)Le Colonel Chabert is an 1832 novella by French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac . It is included in his series of novels known as La Comédie humaine , which depicts and parodies French society in the period of the Restoration and the July Monarchy...
(1844) - The Atheist's Mass (La messe de l'athée, 1837)
- L'interdiction (1836)
- A Marriage ContractLe Contrat de mariageLe Contrat de mariage is an 1835 novel by French author Honoré de Balzac and included in the Scènes de la vie privée section of his novel sequence La Comédie humaine...
(Le contrat de mariage, 1835) - Another Study of a Woman (Autre étude de femme, 1842)
Scenes from provincial life (Scènes de la vie de province)
- Ursule MirouëtUrsule MirouëtUrsule Mirouët, an often overlooked novel, belongs to Honoré de Balzac’s great series of 94 novels and short stories La Comédie humaine. Written in 1841 and published in 1842, it forms part of his Scènes de la vie de province....
(1842) - Eugénie GrandetEugénie GrandetEugénie Grandet is an 1833 novel by Honoré de Balzac about miserliness, and how it is bequeathed from the father to the daughter, Eugénie, through her unsatisfying love attachment with her cousin. As is usual with Balzac, all the characters in the novel are fully realized...
(1834) - Lost Illusions (Illusions Perdues, 1843)
The Celibates (Les Célibataires)
- Pierrette (1840)
- The Vicar of Tours (Le Curé de ToursLe Curé de ToursLe Curé de Tours is a long short story by Honoré de Balzac, written in 1832. Originally entitled Les Célibataires , it was published in that year in volume III of the 2nd edition of Scènes de la vie privée, then republished in 1833 and again in 1839, still with the same title but as one of the...
, 1832) - The Black SheepLa RabouilleuseLa Rabouilleuse , is a 1842 novel by Honoré de Balzac as part of his series La Comédie humaine. The Black Sheep is the title of the English translation by Donald Adamson published by Penguin Classics...
(La Rabouilleuse, 1842, aka A Bachelor's Establishment)
Parisians in the Country (Les Parisiens en province)
- The Illustrious Gaudissart (L'Illustre Gaudissart, 1834)
- The Muse of the Department (La Muse du département, 1843)
The Jealousies of a Country Town (Les Rivalités)
- The Old Maid (La Vieille Fille, 1837)
- The Collection of Antiquities (Le Cabinet des Antiques, 1839)
Scenes from Parisian life (Scènes de la vie parisienne)
- César BirotteauCésar BirotteauHistoire de la grandeur et de la décadence de César Birotteau or César Birotteau, is a 1837 novel by Honoré de Balzac as part of his series La Comédie humaine...
(Histoire de la grandeur et de la décadence de César Birotteau, 1837) - The Firm of Nucingen (La Maison Nucingen, 1838)
- Splendors and Miseries of CourtesansSplendeurs et misères des courtisanesHonoré de Balzac's Splendeurs et misères des courtisanes, translated either as The Splendors and Miseries of Courtesans or as A Harlot High and Low, was published in four parts from 1838-1847. It continues the story of Lucien de Rubempré, who was a main character in Illusions perdues, a preceding...
(Splendeurs et Misères des courtisanes, 1847, aka A Harlot High and Low) - The Secrets of the Princess Cadignan (Les Secrets de la princesse de Cadignan, 1840)
- Facino CaneFacino Cane (novel)Facino Cane is an 1836 novel by French author Honoré de Balzac and included in the Scènes de la vie parisienne section of his novel sequence La Comédie humaine. It first appeared in the Chronique de Paris on March 17, 1836 and in 1837 was classified by Balzac as a Philosophical Study...
(1836) - SarrasineSarrasineSarrasine is a novella written by Honoré de Balzac. It was published in 1830 , and is part of his Comédie Humaine.-Commentary:...
(1831) - Pierre Grassou (1839)
- A Man of Business (Un homme d'affaires, 1846)
- A Prince of Bohemia (Un prince de la Bohème, 1840)
- Gaudissart II (1844)
- The Government Clerks (Les Employés, 1838)
- The Unwitting Comedians (Les Comédiens sans le savoir, 1848)
- The Lesser Bourgeoisie (Les Petits Bourgeois, 1855)
- The Seamy Side of History (L'envers de l'histoire contemporaine, 1848, aka The Wrong Side of Paris)
The Thirteen (Histoire des Treize)
- Ferragus (1834)
- The Duchess of Langeais (La Duchesse de Langeais, 1834)
- The Girl with the Golden Eyes (La fille aux yeux d'or, 1835)
Poor Relations (Les parents pauvres)
- Cousin Bette (La Cousine Bette, 1847)
- Cousin Pons (Le Cousin Pons, 1847)
Scenes from political life (Scènes de la vie politique)
- An Episode Under the Terror (Un épisode sous la Terreur, 1830)
- Murky Business (Une ténébreuse affaire, 1841)
- The Deputy for Arcis (Le député d'Arcis, 1847)
- Z. Marcas (1841)
Scenes from military life (Scènes de la vie militaire)
- The ChouansLes ChouansLes Chouans is an 1829 novel by French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac and included in the Scènes de la vie militaire section of his novel sequence La Comédie humaine. Set in the French region of Brittany, the novel combines military history with a love story between the aristocratic...
(Les Chouans, 1829) - A Passion in the Desert (Une passion dans le désert, 1830)
Scenes from country life (Scènes de la vie de campagne)
- The Peasants (Les Paysans, 1844)
- The Country Doctor (Le Médecin de campagne, 1833)
- The Village Rector (Le Curé de Village, 1841)
- The Lily of the ValleyLe Lys dans la valléeLe Lys dans la Vallée is an 1835 novel about love and society by French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac . It concerns the affection — emotionally vibrant but never consummated — between Felix de Vandenesse and Henriette de Mortsauf...
(Le Lys dans la vallée, 1836)
Philosophical studies (Études philosophiques)
- The Wild Ass's SkinLa Peau de chagrinLa Peau de chagrin is an 1831 novel by French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac . Set in early 19th-century Paris, it tells the story of a young man who finds a magic piece of shagreen that fulfills his every desire. For each wish granted, however, the skin shrinks and consumes a portion of...
(La Peau de chagrin, 1831) - Christ in Flanders (Jésus-Christ en Flandre, 1831)
- Melmoth Reconciled (Melmoth réconcilié, 1835)
- The Unknown MasterpieceLe Chef-d'œuvre inconnuLe Chef-d’œuvre inconnu is a short story by Honoré de Balzac. It was first published in the newspaper L'Artiste with the title "Maître Frenhofer" in August 1831...
(Le Chef-d'oeuvre inconnu, 1831) - Gambara (1837)
- Massimilla Doni (1839)
- The Quest of the Absolute (La Recherche de l'Absolu, 1834)
- The Hated Son (L'Enfant maudit, 1831)
- Farewell (Adieu, 1832)
- The Maranas (Les Marana, 1834)
- The Conscript (Le Réquisitionnaire, 1831)
- El Verdugo (1831)
- A Drama on the Seashore (Un drame au bord de la mer, 1834)
- Maître Cornélius (1832)
- The Red Inn (L'Auberge rouge, 1832)
- About Catherine de' Medici (Sur Catherine de Médicis, 1842)
- The Elixir of Life (L'Élixir de longue vie, 1831)
- The Exiles (Les Proscrits, 1831)
- Louis LambertLouis Lambert (novel)Louis Lambert is an 1832 novel by French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac , included in the Études philosophiques section of his novel sequence La Comédie humaine...
(1832) - SéraphîtaSéraphîtaSéraphîta is a French novel by Honoré de Balzac with themes of androgyny. It was published in the Revue de Paris in 1834.The work plunges into the fantastic and the supernatural self ....
(1835)
Analytical studies (Études analytiques)
- Physiology of Marriage (Physiologie du Mariage, 1829)
- Little Miseries of Conjugal Life (Petites misères de la vie conjugale, 1846)
Recurring characters
- Eugène de RastignacEugène de RastignacEugène de Rastignac is a fictional character from La Comédie humaine series of novels by Honoré de Balzac. He appears as a main character in Le Père Goriot and his social advancement in the post-revolutionary French world depicted by Balzac can be followed through Rastignac's various appearances...
- student, dandy, financier, politician (appears in 28 works) - Lucien Chardon de Rubempré (the use of "de Rubempré" is contested) - journalist, parvenu
- Jacques CollinVautrinVautrin is a character from the novels of French writer Honoré de Balzac in the La Comédie humaine series. His real name is Jacques Collin...
aka Abbé Carlos Herrera aka Vautrin aka Trompe-la-Mort - a criminal run away from forced labour - Camusot - examining magistrate (The Collection of Antiquities, A Commission in Lunacy, Scenes from a Courtesan's Life; his father also appears in A Distinguished Provincial at Paris)
- Blondet, Emile - journalist, man of letters, prefect (The Collection of Antiquities, A Distinguished Provincial at Paris, Scenes from a Courtesan's Life). Compare and contrast with Raoul Nathan.
- Raoul Nathan - in 19 works, writer, politician
- Daniel d'Arthez
- Delphine de Nucingen née Goriot
- Roger de Granville
- Louis Lambert
- la duchesse de Langeais
- la comtesse de Mortsauf
- Jean-Jacques Bixiou - in 19 works, artist
- Joseph Bridau - in 13 works, painter
- Marquis de Ronquerolles - in 20 works
- la comtesse Hugret de Sérisy - in 20 works
- Félix-Amédée de Vandenesse
- Horace Bianchon - in 24 works, doctor
- des Lupeaulx - public servant
- Salon leaders: the Duchesse de Maufrigneuse, the Marquise d'Espard
- Dandies: Maxime de Trailles, Henri de Marsay
- Courtesans: La Torpille (Esther van Gobseck), Madame du Val-Noble
- Financiers: Ferdinand du Tillet, Frédérick de Nucingen, Keller brothers
- Actresses: Florine (Sophie Grignault), Coralie,
- Publishers/Journalists/Critics: Finot, Etienne Lousteau, Felicien Vernou
- Money lenders: Jean-Esther van Gobseck, Bidault aka Gigonnet
Characters who appear in several titles but only significantly in one of them.
- Birotteau
- Goriot
Characters in a single volume
- Raphaël de Valentin
- le baron Hulot
- Balthazar Claës
- Grandet
- le cousin Pons
External links
- Comprehensive works with dates
- Full text of Repertory of the Comedie Humaine (an extensive reference of characters appearing in La Comédie humaine)