Vautrin
Encyclopedia
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. He appears in the novels Le Père Goriot
(Father Goriot, 1834/35) under the name Vautrin, and in Illusions perdues (Lost illusions, 1837–43) and Splendeurs et misères des courtisanes
(Scenes from a Courtesan's Life, 1838–44), the sequel
of Illusions perdues, under the name of Abbé Carlos Herrera. In prison, he got the nickname Trompe-la-Mort (Dodgedeath), because he helped convicts evade death penalty.
series using the name of Vautrin, so he is usually referred to in literary criticism
under this name. Balzac was inspired to the character by Eugène François Vidocq
(1775–1857) a former criminal who later became chief of the Paris police.
. Later, it is revealed that Collin escapes prison disguised as a guard escorting another prisoner.
Some years later, in the novel Illusions perdues, one Abbé Carlos Herrera stops Lucien de Rubempré from drowning himself in the Charente. He strikes a pact with Lucien: He will make him rich and successful, but Lucien has to obey him without questions. The novel ends there.
In Splendeurs et misères de courtisanes, set in 1830, Herrera and Lucien have moved to Paris. Here we quickly learn that Herrera is really Collin. Lucien falls in love with one Esther Gobseck, but so does the Baron Nucingen. Collin realizes that they can get a lot of money out of Nucingen if he becomes Esther's lover. This plan works for some time, until Esther has to sleep with Nucingen, and kills herself. Because she leaves all her money to Lucien, and her suicide note is not discovered, Lucien and Herrera are suspected of having killed her, and are arrested.
The police suspect Herrera of being Collin, but can't prove it. Collin pretends that he is Lucien's father, but under questioning, Lucien cracks and reveals Herrera's true identity. Lucien subsequently hangs himself.
Three of Collin's former partners in crime are also in prison, but Collin convinces them to treat him as Abbé Herrera. He learns from them that his friend Théodore Calvi is currently awaiting execution, and that another of the men, La Pouraille, also has no hopes of escaping the death sentence. Collin uses his ingenuity to twist the facts and prove Calvi innocent (even though Calvi is in fact guilty), and saves La Pouraille too. This involves giving himself up: like his historical model Eugène François Vidocq
he offers to serve as an informer to the prosecutor. After he manages to treat the madness of one of Lucien's former mistresses (she became mad after learning about Lucien's death) with one of Lucien's letters, his offer is accepted.
A small note informs us that Collin remained chief of the Sûreté for fifteen years and retired in 1845.
Charles Rabou, who finished the novel The Deputy of Arcis after Balzac's death, included Vautrin in this story. However, his Vautrin loses most of his former genius. The novel gives Vautrin a son (unlikely, seeing as it is made very clear that he had never any interest in women) and includes his death at the hands of a forger. Vautrin's later lifestory is not considered canon
.
and later through Lucien de Rubempré. In some respects, Vautrin/Collin/Abbé Herrera recalls the tempting
devil
s in "pact with the devil" themes like Faust
. He promises both young men fame, power and wealth and proposes to become their mentor. Yet, Vautrin's plans with them are thwarted: Rastignac is far too independent to need a mentor, and Lucien is too dreamy, romantic and feeble to be able to realize Collin's dreams.
, it is also erotic/sentimental in character, especially in the case of Lucien. The fact that he is not only bound to them by his hunger for power, but also by emotional ties considerably increases the psychological tension of the novels and makes Collin's character more humane. Though he can often act as a real villain
, his love, especially for Lucien, is obviously genuine, seeing the way he breaks down when informed of his death.
Love even makes him sacrifice himself: He was first condemned to five years hard labour for a fake that a young "friend" (Franchessini) of his committed and for which Vautrin, even though he was entirely innocent, took the blame. He does not claim so himself, the then-chief of the Sûreté, Bibi-Lupin, informs the reader of this fact.
Vautrin had another young friend in prison, Théodore Calvi, nicknamed Madeleine. The goal of all his efforts of rehabilitation towards the end of Splendeurs et misères de courtisanes is eventually just to save "Madeleine" from the guillotine
.
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 the 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:...
series. His real name is Jacques Collin. He appears in the novels 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...
(Father Goriot, 1834/35) under the name Vautrin, and in Illusions perdues (Lost illusions, 1837–43) and Splendeurs et misères des courtisanes
Splendeurs et misères des courtisanes
Honoré 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...
(Scenes from a Courtesan's Life, 1838–44), the sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
of Illusions perdues, under the name of Abbé Carlos Herrera. In prison, he got the nickname Trompe-la-Mort (Dodgedeath), because he helped convicts evade death penalty.
Background
By the time the Comédie humaine series begins, Jacques Collin is an escaped convict and criminal mastermind fleeing from the police. The character first appears in the La Comédie humaineLa 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:...
series using the name of Vautrin, so he is usually referred to in literary criticism
Literary criticism
Literary criticism is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often informed by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of its methods and goals...
under this name. Balzac was inspired to the character by Eugène François Vidocq
Eugène François Vidocq
Eugène François Vidocq was a French criminal and criminalist whose life story inspired several writers, including Victor Hugo and Honoré de Balzac...
(1775–1857) a former criminal who later became chief of the Paris police.
Story
In Father Goriot, set in 1818, Collin lived under the name of Vautrin in the House Vauquer. He is described as a cynical man, who likes to crack jokes, speaks rather intimately with everyone, and seems to know everything and have been everywhere. He also is very adept in repairing locks. However, the police are on his tracks: The then-chief of the Sûreté, one Bibi-Lupin, confronts two other inhabitants of the House Vauquer, telling them that Vautrin is really the escaped convict Jacques Collin, and still has ties to the criminal underworld. Bibi-Lupin asks them to help arrest Vautrin, but they need proof that he really is Jacques Collin. He gives them a drug that will knock Vautrin unconscious, so they can search on his shoulders for the branded letters T.F., which stand for "Travaux forcés" (hard labor). The plan works, and Collin is arrested and imprisoned in RochefortRochefort, Charente-Maritime
Rochefort is a commune in southwestern France, a port on the Charente estuary. It is a sub-prefecture of the Charente-Maritime department.-History:...
. Later, it is revealed that Collin escapes prison disguised as a guard escorting another prisoner.
Some years later, in the novel Illusions perdues, one Abbé Carlos Herrera stops Lucien de Rubempré from drowning himself in the Charente. He strikes a pact with Lucien: He will make him rich and successful, but Lucien has to obey him without questions. The novel ends there.
In Splendeurs et misères de courtisanes, set in 1830, Herrera and Lucien have moved to Paris. Here we quickly learn that Herrera is really Collin. Lucien falls in love with one Esther Gobseck, but so does the Baron Nucingen. Collin realizes that they can get a lot of money out of Nucingen if he becomes Esther's lover. This plan works for some time, until Esther has to sleep with Nucingen, and kills herself. Because she leaves all her money to Lucien, and her suicide note is not discovered, Lucien and Herrera are suspected of having killed her, and are arrested.
The police suspect Herrera of being Collin, but can't prove it. Collin pretends that he is Lucien's father, but under questioning, Lucien cracks and reveals Herrera's true identity. Lucien subsequently hangs himself.
Three of Collin's former partners in crime are also in prison, but Collin convinces them to treat him as Abbé Herrera. He learns from them that his friend Théodore Calvi is currently awaiting execution, and that another of the men, La Pouraille, also has no hopes of escaping the death sentence. Collin uses his ingenuity to twist the facts and prove Calvi innocent (even though Calvi is in fact guilty), and saves La Pouraille too. This involves giving himself up: like his historical model Eugène François Vidocq
Eugène François Vidocq
Eugène François Vidocq was a French criminal and criminalist whose life story inspired several writers, including Victor Hugo and Honoré de Balzac...
he offers to serve as an informer to the prosecutor. After he manages to treat the madness of one of Lucien's former mistresses (she became mad after learning about Lucien's death) with one of Lucien's letters, his offer is accepted.
A small note informs us that Collin remained chief of the Sûreté for fifteen years and retired in 1845.
Charles Rabou, who finished the novel The Deputy of Arcis after Balzac's death, included Vautrin in this story. However, his Vautrin loses most of his former genius. The novel gives Vautrin a son (unlikely, seeing as it is made very clear that he had never any interest in women) and includes his death at the hands of a forger. Vautrin's later lifestory is not considered canon
Canon (fiction)
In the context of a work of fiction, the term canon denotes the material accepted as "official" in a fictional universe's fan base. It is often contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of fan fiction, which are not considered canonical...
.
Tempter, criminal and nemesis
Vautrin is a seductive, enigmatic and complex character, not easily classified, not even as a villain. He is a well-built, strong man, about forty years old at the time he first appears in the series. Vautrin has a strong criminal energy and is ruthless in obtaining his purposes, manipulating people and sometimes even resorting to murder. He tries to realize his dreams of power and wealth first through 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...
and later through Lucien de Rubempré. In some respects, Vautrin/Collin/Abbé Herrera recalls the tempting
Temptation
A temptation is an act that looks appealing to an individual. It is usually used to describe acts with negative connotations and as such, tends to lead a person to regret such actions, for various reasons: legal, social, psychological , health, economic, etc...
devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
s in "pact with the devil" themes like Faust
Faust
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend; a highly successful scholar, but also dissatisfied with his life, and so makes a deal with the devil, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures. Faust's tale is the basis for many literary, artistic, cinematic, and musical...
. He promises both young men fame, power and wealth and proposes to become their mentor. Yet, Vautrin's plans with them are thwarted: Rastignac is far too independent to need a mentor, and Lucien is too dreamy, romantic and feeble to be able to realize Collin's dreams.
Lover
Though Vautrin's attraction towards Rastignac and Lucien apparently remains platonicPlatonic love
Platonic love is a chaste and strong type of love that is non-sexual.-Amor Platonicus:The term amor platonicus was coined as early as the 15th century by the Florentine scholar Marsilio Ficino. Platonic love in this original sense of the term is examined in Plato's dialogue the Symposium, which has...
, it is also erotic/sentimental in character, especially in the case of Lucien. The fact that he is not only bound to them by his hunger for power, but also by emotional ties considerably increases the psychological tension of the novels and makes Collin's character more humane. Though he can often act as a real villain
Villain
A villain is an "evil" character in a story, whether a historical narrative or, especially, a work of fiction. The villain usually is the antagonist, the character who tends to have a negative effect on other characters...
, his love, especially for Lucien, is obviously genuine, seeing the way he breaks down when informed of his death.
Love even makes him sacrifice himself: He was first condemned to five years hard labour for a fake that a young "friend" (Franchessini) of his committed and for which Vautrin, even though he was entirely innocent, took the blame. He does not claim so himself, the then-chief of the Sûreté, Bibi-Lupin, informs the reader of this fact.
Vautrin had another young friend in prison, Théodore Calvi, nicknamed Madeleine. The goal of all his efforts of rehabilitation towards the end of Splendeurs et misères de courtisanes is eventually just to save "Madeleine" from the guillotine
Guillotine
The guillotine is a device used for carrying out :executions by decapitation. It consists of a tall upright frame from which an angled blade is suspended. This blade is raised with a rope and then allowed to drop, severing the head from the body...
.