Balzac's masterpiece

Human Comedy (French: la Comédie Humaine) is a French novel written by Honoré de Balzac, with 9 1 book, including all kinds of long, medium and short stories and essays. The general name "Human Comedy" is named after Dante's long poem "Divine Comedy", that is, "Divine Comedy".

Honoré de Balzac

2. Eugenie Grandet

Eugenie Grandet was written in 1833 by Balzac, a French realist writer. It is a masterpiece in the novel collection of Human Comedy, and is known as "one of the best descriptions of characters". Among Balzac's works, Eugénie Grandet's works with simple structure and complete theme are rare.

content

The novel describes the family life of the miser Grandet. Through Grandet's greed and meanness, it reveals the tragedies such as the destruction of human nature and the breakdown of family brought by money.

Grandet was a miser who became rich during the French Revolution. He was selfish and heartless. In order to save money, he doesn't buy food and meat at home all year round, nor does he repair the broken stairs. He used his daughter as bait to seduce men who proposed to his daughter in order to make a profit from it, ignoring the happiness of his only daughter, Eugenie Grandet.

Eugénie is gentle and kind, and resists his father's strict control for love. Grandet was furious when he found out that his daughter had given the gold coin to his bankrupt cousin Charlie and imprisoned her daughter. There is no fire to keep warm in winter, only cold water and inferior bread are given. Scared hyun-sook's mother into illness.

1827, the miser Grandet died in the madness of chasing money, leaving a legacy of180,000 francs. Eugénie became the richest man in this area. Everyone proposed to her, but she was infatuated with Charlie, but was abandoned by her cousin Charlie, just because Charlie wanted to be attached to his rich in-laws.

After learning the news of Charlie's infidelity, Eugénie agreed to Mr. Peng Feng's proposal in a rage. She is very generous. She not only helped Charlie's father pay off his debts, but also donated a lot of money to churches and schools. When Charlie knew that Eugénie had so much money, he regretted it. Eugénie became a widow at the age of 33, and the city people began to pursue the rich widow again.

3. The story of donkey skin

French writer Balzac's series La Peau de chagrin, published in 183 1, is one of the most influential articles in the field of philosophical research. As soon as the book was published, it aroused the strong interest of the German writer Goethe. He said: "There are two tragedies in life, one is that you can't get any tragedy; The first is the tragedy after getting everything. " And asserted that "this is a new novel."

This novel tells the story of a young man from a noble family, Valentin, who entered a social place after bankruptcy and finally went to the end of the road. When he was about to commit suicide by drowning, an antique dealer gave him a donkey skin with Tianzhu characters printed on it. This donkey skin can realize any wish for the owner, but once the wish is realized, the donkey skin will shrink immediately and its life will be shortened.

Valentin started from the pleasure of grabbing money to the endless desire to fill the gap. On the other hand, the donkey skin, which symbolizes his life, gradually narrows, leading him to death. Valentine suddenly realized that death was approaching and watched his own doom come.

4. "Gao Laotou"

"Gao Lao Tou" (French) is a novel written by French novelist and screenwriter Honoré de Balzac in 1835, which is included in the private life scene of the human comedy series. The story is set in Paris in 18 19. This book is Balzac's most profound description and attack on money worship, and it is also one of the representative works of the series of Human Comedy.

Gao Laotou was first published in serial form at 1834 Winter Solstice Day 1835, which is generally regarded as Balzac's most important work. [2] Balzac used a unique writing method, that is, using characters from another novel in his own works. This novel is also famous for its realistic style, which uses tiny details to describe characters or subtext.

The background of the novel is the restoration of Bourbon dynasty, which has a far-reaching influence on French society. The theme of the novel is when an individual gains a higher position in society. Paris also has its own characteristics? Especially the young Rasty Nie, who comes from a province in the south of France. Balzac used old man Gao and others to analyze family and marriage, and showed a pessimistic attitude towards it. The evaluation of this novel is mixed.

Some critics praised the author's portrayal of characters and details; Other writers refute the descriptions of corruption and greed. In any case, Balzac's novels are accepted by the public and often adapted into plays or movies. It coined a French word "Rastignac" (Rasty's Nie), that is, a guy who tries his best to curry favor with powerful people and climb to the top.

5. "Colonel Xia Bei"

Colonel Chabbert is a novel by Balzac. The current edition was completed in 1844, the first edition was written in 1832 (published in the artist magazine with the title of reconciliation), and it was serialized again in the literary supplement of 1847.

Later, the novel was included in the "Paris Life Scene" of "Human Comedy" and was included in the "Private Life Scene" when it was reprinted. This is an ode to Napoleon's veterans.

Colonel Shapiro did not appear in other novels of Human Comedy, but Philip Bridau mentioned the colonel's glorious deeds in the Battle of Elo in The Woman Who Stir the Water. Other characters have appeared in the novels before and after, especially lawyers including Mr. Dainville.

References:

Baidu Encyclopedia-Honoré de Balzac