Honoré de Balzac no relation Analytical studies
La Comédie humaine (French: [la kɔmedi ymɛn]; English: The Human Comedy) is Honoré de Balzac's 1829–48 multi-volume collection of interlinked novels and stories depicting French society in the period of the Restoration (1815–30) and the July Monarchy (1830–48).
La Comédie humaine consists of 91 finished works (stories, novels, or analytical essays) and 46 unfinished works (some of which exist only as titles). It does not include Balzac's five theatrical plays or his collection of humorous tales: "Les Cent Contes drolatiques" (1832–37).
A pioneer of the modern novel, Balzac aims to describe the totality of reality and is interested in realities hitherto ignored in literature, because they were ugly or vulgar. He shows in its various forms the rise of capitalism and the omnipotence of money, leading to the disappearance of nobility and the dissolution of social ties. The title was chosen in reference to Dante's Divine Comedy. But instead of a theological enterprise, the author wanted to be a sociologist and created a non-Manichean universe, where love and friendship hold a great place, and which highlights the complexity of beings and the deep immorality of a social mechanism where the weak are crushed while the crooked banker and the venal politician triumph.
Gifted with a genius for observation, Balzac created human types that are strikingly true. Some of his characters are so vivid that they have become archetypes, such as Rastignac, the ambitious young provincial, Grandet, the miserly domestic tyrant, or Father Goriot, the icon of fatherhood. He gives an important place to financiers and notaries, but also to the character of Vautrin, the outlaw with multiple identities. His work includes a large proportion of courtesans and grisettes, alongside admirable and angelic women. The importance he gives to these women and their psychology earned him an enthusiastic female readership very early on.
In spite of the opposition of the Church, this work quickly became a printing phenomenon and obtained an immense repercussion in France and in Europe, deeply influencing the genre of the novel. Translated into many languages, it is still published today and has often been adapted for film and television.Characters
Recurring characters
Eugène de Rastignac – student, dandy, financier, politician (appears in 28 works)
Lucien Chardon de Rubempré (the use of "de Rubempré" is contested) – journalist, parvenu
Jacques Collin a.k.a. Abbé Carlos Herrera a.k.a. Vautrin a.k.a. Trompe-la-Mort – a criminal run away from forced labour
Camusot – examining magistrate (The Collection of Antiquities, A Commission in Lunacy, Scenes from a Courtesan's Life; his father also appears in A Distinguished Provincial at Paris)
Blondet, Emile – journalist, man of letters, prefect (The Collection of Antiquities, A Distinguished Provincial at Paris, Scenes from a Courtesan's Life). Compare and contrast with Raoul Nathan.
Raoul Nathan – in 19 works, writer, politician
Daniel d'Arthez
Delphine de Nucingen née Goriot
Roger de Granville
Louis Lambert
la duchesse de Langeais
la comtesse de Mortsauf
Jean-Jacques Bixiou – in 19 works, artist
Joseph Bridau – in 13 works, painter
Marquis de Ronquerolles – in 20 works
la comtesse Hugret de Sérisy – in 20 works
Félix-Amédée de Vandenesse
Horace Bianchon – in 24 works, doctor
des Lupeaulx – public servant
Salon leaders: the Duchesse de Maufrigneuse, the Marquise d'Espard
Dandies: Maxime de Trailles, Henri de Marsay
Courtesans: La Torpille (Esther van Gobseck), Madame du Val-Noble
Financiers: Ferdinand du Tillet, Frédérick de Nucingen, Keller brothers
Actresses: Florine (Sophie Grignault), Coralie
Publishers/Journalists/Critics: Finot, Etienne Lousteau, Felicien Vernou
Money lenders: Jean-Esther van Gobseck, Bidault a.k.a. GigonnetCharacters who appear in several titles but only significantly in one of themBirotteau
Goriot
Claude Vignon
Mademoiselle des Touches (aka Camille Maupin)
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