New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-03-13

life, both by his contemporaries and his success
sors; but no adequate biography of the author
| of the " Coincide Humane" has hitherto appeared
Among his contemporaries there were few who
| understood the man. Perhaps Cautier came
nearer a true comprehension than any other OF
his intimates; but even Gautier failed, through
temperament in crashing the whole truth. The
Frenchmen who knew only his eXternalitles. ana
| whose point Of view essentially Parislan,
never rose to a perception of Balzac's scope and
depth; above all, they failed in estimating the
spirit Of his work and the nature OF the aims he
placed before himself In nearly every one Of the
early sketches we find the writer's chiefly inter-
csted in the oddities and ecoentrlcties of their
subject They write like reporters upon sensa-
| tional newspaper They are always seeking for
effects They do not attempt to represent the
inner and therefore the true. life Of Balzac. but
are content to relate anecdotes about his laboTious
method of composition and proof-reading; ABOUT
the sometimes extravagant play Of his imagina-
ton: about his habit of regarding his characters
as living men and women; about his amniuous
visions about his personal idiosyncracies IN short
about those things which only indirectly Illus
trate the deeper and more important auailtles
and attributes.
The modern bioaraphers of Balzac have in the
| absence of personal knowledge and new materla'
followed his contemporaries TO dangerous EXTENT
They have. for the most part. even copied the tone
of semi-cynicism in which his gay friends OF inc
| Boulevard and the press discussed his character-
istcs and Judged his genius ana his he Inc
general result is that this mrster OF hcuoh I'd"
suffered from criticism occupying dis'nc'iS
low plane Judging from such estimates as those
OF Taine and Henry James for example, IL might
be thought that Balzac was at bottom essentially
coarse material and deficient in spirituality
whereas. the truth is almost the direct reverse OF
this For the truth is that he is the most spirit
nal author in all the literature of fiction; than
he has the widest scope, the highest aims the most
subtle and comprehensive plans: that Ills gigantic
undertaking embraces survey ana prcsehthehV
of socety-the society Of his own day. be 1t under
stood-extending from centre to circumference
and including types from every grade OF human
character. from the lowest to the highest But
his biocraphers have nearly all missed the mean
ing OF his work; and they have reached their de-
grading misconceptions by beginning their studies
prepossessed against his higher objects by the
grossness of the media through which they exam
ined him.
Miss Wormeleys memoir differs radically from
all that have preceded il, and we have no heslta-
ton in saying that the keynote OF her work. and
that which constitutes it's distinctive superiority
question of Balzac's views upon woman which has
been the stumbling block Of his critics and beg
raphers and which has also been responsible for
Interpretation Of his character. life, and writings
by no means creditable, from an ethical point OF
view to those who evolved them. An Immense
amount Of offensive and injurious nonsense has
been written about this matter and Miss Wormeley
discusses it with special authority, for she Is
woman Judging what is in its very nature
womans question. Speaking of Henry James's
criticism on Balzacs women lin which he charges
the author with taking Z" the old-fashioncd view
of woman as the female Of man. and In all respects
his subordinate Miss Wormeley observes
Women themselves have had no voice in the
Judgment so far as the public are aware. 1t is
not likely that many could be found TO ndorse the
views lust quoted because, In :he first place lard
without touching upon the questions OF Balzac at
alb the tone Of these remarks is contemptuous OF
womanhood They belong to period Of ideas
on which is written passagere. When we turn
to Bazac himself for their refutaton we find that
we must 60 to his life as well as 10 his books. IN
order to discover the spirit Of his mind toward
woman. lie was not, as a general thing, In the
habit Of cnunciating principles; he lived them,
and made his characters live and illustrate them
We may not find confession Of faith on this sub
ject but enough remains Of his words ana dceds
to show plainly what was his own conception Oh
woman and her relation to man-what it was, and
what it ought to be"
She goes on to examine his early life, and finds
that in the earliest years when a sentiment toward
women could enter his SOUL nothing could exceed
the arior with which he longed to meet a woman-
angel: to him pure love was the coming together
of two angelic natures: and these thoughts kept
him pure in heart and decd during his adoesccnt
life The mind that analysed itself in Louis
Lambert analysed this particular belief and de-
veloped il in "Serephita." What follows is fully
warranted as expression OF Balzac's views by
his own writings and it is astonishing that IN the
face of what he had written his position has been
SO greatly Inexperienced and-which Is worse
misre presented. In the words of Miss Wormeley
He saw early that man is dual being; that
man and woman are needed TO express humanity.
Hc saw also that the thread Of the Divine which
makes man in the image Of God is transmitted
through woman that she Is the soul Of humanity,
legaining full intuition Of God. Man u.s. in himself
not man, but male; unable to bring his powers to
bear until he recognizes and appropriates her as
his soul; through her alone he attains to manhood
and is enabled to act She is the transmitter OF the
Divine eiluence the iusprer he is the worker the
executor 1t is not until her qualities Of cndur-
ance love and intuition added to his qualities
of will force and intellect that he is nan at ALL
capable of any hope or any ambition beyond the
grovelng and passing life Of his three-score years
and ten Receiving this impulse from her. power is
born in him, and he ultimates this power, this eff
fuence, in acts
1t is not to be imagined that Bazac originated
this doctrine. 1t is of immemorial antiquity and
las ever been associated with the esoeric teachings
of religion In the gross and material ages it
has been denomnatcd Mysticism, a term which
connotcs conceptions too refined and elevated to be
attractive to or comprehensive by the majority.
But no man ever attached himself to or accepted
such doctrines unless he possessed lofty aspirations
and Bazacs acceptance of them is in itself con-
elusive refutation of the shallow criticism which
represents him as merely kind of man-milliner
or mantua-maker. The truth is that in pursuance
of his magnificent undertaking he had planned to