Balzac's Views on Family

Paper Summary:

This paper looks at how Balzac used his works to express his views regarding French social life, particularly in relation to families. The paper examines "Cousin Bette", "Father Goriat," and "Lost Illusions." By using these sources, the paper demonstrates Balzac's belief that modern society, with its greed, corruption, and temptation, threatened the basic family structure, making families into monetary units of far less importance than they had been in previous days.

From the Paper:

"In Cousin Bette (Balzac, 1991), the main character, Lisbeth "Bette" Fischer, is a homely, middle-aged spinster who has lived her whole life in envy of her pretty cousin Adeline, who is married to Baron Hector Hulot DErvy, a prestigious military and government official who does not make a lot of money and is a complete womanizer. Hector has a slew of mistresses, despite his wife's loyalty and devotion to him. Their daughter, Hortense, develops a crush on Bette's "boyfriend," Wenceslas Steinbock, a young Polish sculptor, and marries him, convinced that his dreams of becoming a rich artist will someday come true. Bette, still wounded by her years as the homely cousin, decides that the Hulot family has upstaged her too many times and concocts an elaborate revenge scheme."

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