Great Books
Group 2
M. diMuro, M. Moua, J. Popp, K. Heaslet, M. Hemphill, and R. McNamara
Our website for discussions of the books read in English 260.
History During this Time Period
Around the time Père Goriot was published there was a lot going on in France. There was the French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution, which saw the overthrow of King Charles X, the French Bourbon monarch. It marked the shift from on constitutional monarchy, the Bourbon Restoration, to another, the July Monarchy; the transition of power from the House of Bourbon to its cadet branch, the House of Orléans; and the substitution of the principle of popular sovereignty for hereditary right. After this in 1931 came the first Canut revolt, which were major revolts by silk workers in Lyon, France, provoked by a bad economy and a resultant drop in silk prices, which caused a drop in workers' wages. In an effort to maintain their standard of living, the workers tried to see a minimum price imposed on silk. Later on in 1838 came the Pastry War, also known as the First French intervention in Mexico, which began with the naval blockade of some Mexican ports and the capture of the fortress of San Juan de Ulúa in Veracruz by French forces in November 1838 and ended with a British-brokered peace in March 1839. The early 19th century had a lot going on in France, what with revolutions, and revolts, and wars, it was an interesting time for France, and a time when things were constantly changing.
Written by:
Melanie diMuro
Père Goriot opens with a description of the Maison Vaquer boarding house, in Paris' rue Neuve-Sainte-Geneviève. Some of the main characters include Madame Vaquer (the owner of the house), Eugène de Rastignac, Vautrin, and Père Goriot. Rastignac, a young man trying to enter the Parisan society, becomes very attracted to the upper class and tries to find a romance with one of the two daughters of Père Goriot, who are in very little contact with their father due to his inability to give them more money. Meanwhile Vautrin tries to convince Rastignac to marry Victorine, whose fortunate is blocked by her brother, and offers to kill the brother for Rastignac for a price. He refuses, and soon af
ter, the house of boarders come to find out that Vautrin is a wanted masted criminal known as Trompe-la-Mort ("Cheater of Death"). Vautrin is caught by the police as he is arranging for the brother's death. Père Goriot, who is enthusiastic about the idea of Rastignac dating one of his daughters, come to find himself unable to help. When he is informed that his other daughter is being forced to sell her husband's family jewels to take care of their debt, Père Goriot is overcome with pain and remorse that he is unable to help the expenses, and he suffers from a stroke. On his deathbed and even at his funeral, his daughters refuse to come see him. Instead of being present at the ceremony, the girls send empty coaches, each bearing their families' coat of arms. After the ceremony, Rastignac sets out to dine with one of the daughters, and declares to the city: "À nous deux, maintenant!" ("It's between you and me now!")
Written by:
Madeline Hemphill
Other Works
Honoré de Balzac had a collection of novels called La Comédie Humaine, also known as The Human Comedy about the French society from 1815-1848, the period of Restoration and the July Monarchy. The collection was huge and it had 91 finished works and 46 unfinished works. A cool thing about these stories are that the settings are all around and some characters appear in multiple books. In the beginning, Balzac wanted to write these stories and group them together to cover the contemporary society in a diverse but in multiple books together. There were three main categories for the novels when Balzac first came up with his ideas. The first one was the Analytic Studies, dealing with human and society as a whole. The second one was Philosophical Studies, which focuses on human actions and why we do what we do. The last one is the Studies of Manners, which is the effects and outcome of the first two. The third part though, is divided into six sub-groups; private, provincial, Parisian, political, military, and country life. With all of these groups, his collection became a total of 12 volumes. By 1837, Balzac had started to write more and in the end of it all, the final edition that was released contained 20 volumes. There are so many stories in this collect but some of the main themes are Paternity, money and power, France after the revolution, social success, women, society, and sex. During that time, the themes seemed unsuitable for the female readers so the collection was translated into english at a slower pace. Even though that is a lot of stories to be read at the same time, Balzac got what he wanted, to cover a wide variety of society in multiple books.
Written by:
Mao Moua
Literary Realism
Literary realism, considered the "faithful representation of reality", seeks to focus on the small details of everyday life in the 1800's, throwing romanticism and dramitization to the wind. Without dramitization, realism in literature leaves the subject to that of objective reality. usually this only exists in the third person, as the writer seeks to unearth truth in the subjects objectives. Many saw this as "bourgeois realism", a ridgid response to the romanticism of the day. Honore de Balzac is regarded as one of the founders of realism in European literature. "He is renowned for his multifaceted characters, who are morally ambiguous". Balzac's work influenced many important novelists, such as Charles Dickens and William Faulkner, as well as philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. The realism movement eventually gave way to other movements in literature, such as modernism, specifically responding to its rigidity and convention.
Written by:
Reilly McNamara
Vautrin: Vautrin is described as being “obliging and full of laughter”. He is an amiabl, middle-class man who is partial to playing jokes. Throughout the novel, Vautrin overcomes many obstacles, and his character is displayed as being strong and strong-willed. Vautrin carries a love interest for Eugene in the novel, and admires his charm. The reader has mixed feelings about Vautrin whether he is too mysterious and villian-ish, or whether he is admirable.
Pere Goriot: This character is the elderly man who is a former manufacturer of vermicelli,and has given up his fortunes that he earned during the revolution at the expense of pleasing his daughters. He lives a life of misery and despair on the third floor of the boarding house. His life is analyzed in the book, and the reader learns how his wealth was sacrificed, and how he lives only for his daughters, whom he doesn’t have much of a relationship with. He resents his daughters choice in husbands. He is full of love, and his daughters reap all of his financial benefits until he dies, with not much left to his name.
Eugene De Rastignac: A law school student from an aristocratic family, who’s parents saved and sacrificed to send him to law school. He lives on the third floor of the boarding house. He is a sympathetic character, and the reader likes him because of his partial likeness to Goriot. He is a very charming and elegant character in the beginning, whose traits are admired by Vautrin. He yearns to be rich and live a life filled with luxury; however he realizes he will have to trade his good morals to do so. His psychological battle eventually points him in the direction of lying, cheating, quitting school, and exploiting his family in order to gain as much finances as he can. When the money runs out, he turns to Vautrin, and he is ultimately responsible for Pere Goriot’s death.
Mme. Vaquer: Madame Vauquer is the head of the boarding house. She is 50 years old, and described as being somewhat stingy and selfish. She is drawn to Vautrin.
Mme. De Restaud and Mme. De Nucingen: These are Goriot’s two daughters who are seen as incredibly selfish in the novel. They care immensely about money and fortune, and will do anything to receive it, whether that means marrying into fortune, or just taking all of their father’s wealth. Anastasia spoiled, self-centered, and is the older daughter. She married to have an aristocratic position. Delphine de Nucingen is the younger daughter, and she married a wealthy banker for his fortune. Delphine however, is a more likable character for her slight sensitivity toward her father, and her love for Rastignac. Throughout the book, Balzac exemplifies the slow deterioration of the daughters’ morality. They are both incredibly egotistical.
Written By:
Kathleen Heaslet
Born in Tours, France on May 20, 1799, Balzac was the son of Anne Charlotte and Bernard François Balssa. Balzac attended a grammar school in Tours and was later a student of Collège de Vendôme before moving to Sorbonne in Paris to study law in 1816 after which he worked at several law offices. However, in 1819 Balzac decided to choose writing for a career. Balzac used pen names such as Lord R’hoone and Horace de Saint-Aubin to write several early novels. However they didn't recieve much attention. He also tried to set up a business by opening a publishing company and buying a printing house. Having no luck in establishing himself as a successful writer or businessman, Balzac at the age of 29 had given up all hopes of a successful life when the hospitality of General de Pommereul allowed him to live in their house in Fougères for some time. He gained inspiration for his book Le dernier Chouan (1829) after which he started gaining recognition as a writer. Balzac married his long time pen-pal Madame Hanska in March, 1850. His declining health did not allow them a long companionship and Balzac died five months later on August 18, 1850.
Written by:
Jacklyn Popp
The Human Comedy is a collection of novels and stories written by Honore de Balzac who was a French novelist and considered one of the founders of realism in European fiction. The Human Comedy presented a broad image of French society in the period of the Restoration and the July Monarchy. Both biologists Georges Cuvier and Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire inspired him. They influenced much of the biological and zoology facts in his writings. These scientists were both biologists that studied evolution. Cuvier focused mostly on vertebrate and invertebrate zoology and paleontology. St. Hilaire focused more on the thought that all organisms are derived from one single form. Hilaire and Cuvier worked closely together as scientists.
Written By:
Kathleen Heaslet
Book Summary
How Georges Cuvier and Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire Inspired Balzac's "Human Comedy"
Key Characters
Author Bio: Honoré de Balzac
Suggested Reading!
The Queen's Tiara
By: Carl Jonas Love Almquist
Written in Sweden about a girl who is involved in the assasination of King Gustav III
Le Père Goriot
