Le Cabinet des Antiques
Encyclopedia
Le Cabinet des Antiques (The Cabinet of Antiquities
) is a French novel published by Honoré de Balzac
in 1838 under the title les Rivalités en province (Rivalries in the provinces) in le Constitutionnel
, then published as a work in its own right in 1838 by the Souverain publishing house.
With la Vieille Fille, the work fits into les Rivalités, an isolated group in the Scènes de la vie de province collection of la Comédie humaine
. In it, Balzac portrays the old nobility in the French provinces, ruined by the French Revolution
and forgotten by the restored Bourbons
. The marquis d’Esgrignon, his sister and his friends represent this social group, which the author had already portrayed in la Vieille Fille. The younger generation within this class, represented by the marquis's son, causes his loss, sucked in by the whirlpool of Paris, where he lives merrily and ruins his fortunes.
Le Cabinet des Antiques works as a sequel to la Vieille Fille although the names of its main characters and not exactly the same. It is an adventure story, full of twists and with suspense created by the young son that borders on that of a crime novel as he lies and risks imprisonment.
Cabinet of curiosities
A cabinet of curiosities was an encyclopedic collection in Renaissance Europe of types of objects whose categorical boundaries were yet to be defined. They were also known by various names such as Cabinet of Wonder, and in German Kunstkammer or Wunderkammer...
) is a French novel published by 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....
in 1838 under the title les Rivalités en province (Rivalries in the provinces) in le Constitutionnel
Le Constitutionnel
Le Constitutionnel was a French political and literary newspaper, founded in Paris during the Hundred Days by Joseph Fouché. Originally established in October 1815 as The Independent, it took its current name during the Second Restoration. A voice for Liberals, Bonapartists, and critics of the...
, then published as a work in its own right in 1838 by the Souverain publishing house.
With la Vieille Fille, the work fits into les Rivalités, an isolated group in the Scènes de la vie de province collection of la Comédie humaine
La Comédie humaine
La Comédie humaine is the title of Honoré de Balzac's multi-volume collection of interlinked novels and stories depicting French society in the period of the Restoration and the July Monarchy .-Overview:...
. In it, Balzac portrays the old nobility in the French provinces, ruined by 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 forgotten by the restored Bourbons
Bourbon Restoration
The Bourbon Restoration is the name given to the period following the successive events of the French Revolution , the end of the First Republic , and then the forcible end of the First French Empire under Napoleon – when a coalition of European powers restored by arms the monarchy to the...
. The marquis d’Esgrignon, his sister and his friends represent this social group, which the author had already portrayed in la Vieille Fille. The younger generation within this class, represented by the marquis's son, causes his loss, sucked in by the whirlpool of Paris, where he lives merrily and ruins his fortunes.
Le Cabinet des Antiques works as a sequel to la Vieille Fille although the names of its main characters and not exactly the same. It is an adventure story, full of twists and with suspense created by the young son that borders on that of a crime novel as he lies and risks imprisonment.