World Literature Classics Library - Frustration (Complete Translation with Illustrations)

Author: Balzac
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-12-01
Features: The Misfortunes of Young Werther is one of Balzac's representative works and is included in Scenes from a Provincial City of The Human Comedy. The novel is set in Paris during the Restoration era and portrays two young provincial figures. One is the ambitious and vain young poet Lucien, who dreams of entering the upper class of Paris through his intelligence and talent, but ultimately ends up ruined and returns to his hometown in disgrace. The other is the sincere and dedicated inventor David, an industrialist, who is forced to abandon his patent due to the cunning of unscrupulous merchants and retreats to the countryside. This novel presents a broad picture of the journey from the provinces to Paris after the French Revolution, depicting the characteristic phenomena of the Restoration period, reflecting how the talents of young people are crushed and their dreams are destroyed in a capitalist society dominated by money, and how the temple of literature becomes a place of shameless transactions, turning into a dirty and desolate hell. Balzac himself called The Misfortunes of Young Werther "the foremost work in my writings" and "a full portrayal of our era." The central theme of The Misfortunes of Young Werther is the story of the disillusionment of two talented and ambitious young men. The protagonist Lucien is a poet who has some reputation in the provinces. He arrives in Paris full of dreams but, under the influence of the corrupt atmosphere in the Parisian press, abandons serious creative pursuits and becomes a shameless journalist. Later, in factional struggles and literary battles, he is ruined. His brother-in-law, David de Sechard, is a hardworking inventor who is forced to abandon his patent due to the treacherous schemes of his competitors and gives up his ideal of scientific research. The author closely links the experiences of these two young men with the spiritual state of an entire generation of youth and the entire social life, especially the influence of Paris, giving it universal significance. In Balzac's portrayal, 19th-century Paris is like the Sirens in Greek mythology, constantly attracting and destroying young provincials.