"It seems to me immensely difficult, here in Paris, to meet a woman who's young, beautiful, rich, elegant, and unattached..." Eugéne 🤣
Yet he's genuine, as Mme de Beauséant sees and values. "You'd be a faithful lover, I know you would!" For now, at least, until Paris gets to him. 😬 #balzactogether
“It is a true saying that there is no more beautiful sight than a frigate in full sail, a galloping horse, or a woman dancing.”
#BalzacTogether
Père Goriot
Tr. Ellen Marriage
imnjupiter
David Reader 🐳📚🐦
Maureen McGranaghan
I suspect/fear Eugéne might turn into a Maxime, though I doubt Rastignac can reach that level of casual ruthlessness; nature and upbringing do matter. In any case, let it not be so!
#balzactogether
"Man's an imperfect creature. He gets either more or less hypocritical, depending... And I don't think common people are any better than rich ones: human beings are the same no matter where you find them." Vautrin is cynicism incarnate. Not without reason. #balzactogether
Mother, sisters, aunt all scraping together money, sending their savings, and selling precious things in a spirit of sublime sacrifice, so that Eugéne can seduce a rich woman? Become sophisticated? He has tenderness for them, but it's not going to stop him from ruining them all. #BalzacTogether
It's funny and sad that Eugéne cannot simultaneously avoid being mud-spattered and plan his witty campaign at Madame de Restaud's. Both require his undivided attention. "If I were a rich man," he laments, "I would have come in a carriage...and thought it all through."
#BalzacTogether
Vautrin on the "strange mud pit" of Paris: "Make the mistake of grabbing anything out of the mud, no matter how insignificant, and they'll pillory you in the courts of law. But steal millions, and they'll point you out as a hero, in the very best houses." Hmm. Not just Paris. #balzactogether
"Eugéne could not restrain a few tears [for poor Goriot]... Indeed, honest emotions have such an effect on others that, for some moments, all three of them remained silent."
Radical in this callous Parisian world.
#balzactogether
"Rastignac wanted to give the mailman a tip, but there was nothing in his pockets. Vautrin dug into his and threw a coin to the fellow." Eugéne receives the family sacrifice, but Vautrin takes care of the tip, understanding everything. Something ironic and ominous in that. #BalzacTogether
