Alphonse de Lasalle

Author: Balzac
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features: The story takes place in Paris during the Restoration period. The protagonist, Old Goujon, made a fortune by dealing in flour during the French Revolution. When he first arrived at the Bovary apartment, his luggage was full. People respectfully addressed him as Monsieur Goujon. However, later, his wealth was exhausted by his two daughters, who had risen to the upper class of Parisian society. In the end, he fell into poverty and illness, dying alone in the small attic of the Bovary apartment. Meanwhile, the young Eugène de Rastignac came to Paris alone to study law. Although he saw through the true face of the upper class, he still tried every means to climb the social ladder.
Balzac (1799–1850) was a great French critical realist writer. Throughout his life, he wrote 96 long, medium, and short stories and essays, collectively titled The Human Comedy. Old Goujon is one of its representative works. Balzac's works are ingenious in conception and unconstrained in structure. He excelled at combining generalization with precise description, using techniques such as reflecting inner essence through outward appearance to shape characters. He also recreated the era's atmosphere with meticulous and vivid environmental descriptions. Balzac's creations have established an immortal monument in the history of world literature.