Urban vs. Rural Characters in Balzac's "Lost Illusions"

Paper Summary:

This paper focuses on Balzac's depiction of urban vs. rural characters in "Lost Illusions". The writer cites examples from the text to support the argument that Balzac believes that Paris is a corrupting influence on the way of life in the rural French provinces. The paper also examines the novel's main characters in order to support this argument.

From the Paper:

"The problem begins with the provincial characters? fascination with Paris. There is within the provinces a certain inferiority complex that leads its citizens to believe that everything in Paris is somehow better than anything in the provinces. In every realm of life provincials try to emulate their Parisian cousins. Thus, it is in an effort to duplicate Parisian society's elitism with regard to persons from rural areas that Angouleme's "society" looks down on citizens from the lower-class town of L?Houmeau. When Lucien says that he has been invited to Madame de Bargeton's salon, David responds in surprise, ?But there's a wider gulf of prejudice between you and her than if she were in Pekin and you in Greenland!? Because they fully believe in the superiority of Paris to their own home, the provincials mimic the urban culture, oftentimes resulting in the degradation of their ethics."

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