Eugénie Grandet

Author: (French) Balzac (Balzac, H) written by Zhou Zongwu translated
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2002-02-01
Features: "Eugenie Grandet" is one of the "most outstanding paintings" in "La Comédie Humaine." The work consists of three threads: the Grandet family, the nephew Charles, and the pursuers of Eugenie. The story combines them all at the beginning for description, quickly escalates to a climax upon the emergence of family conflicts, and then abruptly ends, leaving a lasting impression. The entire work, with its concise structure, contains a moving artistic power. Through the family conflicts between Grandet husband and wife, father and daughter, uncle and nephew, the work profoundly reveals the money relationships in bourgeois families.
The storyline of "Eugenie Grandet" is simple: the innocent and beautiful Eugenie is the only daughter of a miserly and shrewd millionaire. She falls in love with her bankrupt cousin and, to support him, angers her money-loving father and uses up all her private savings to help him start a new life. As a result, the father-daughter relationship breaks down, and her timid and virtuous mother falls ill with fear. The girl, who has lost her father and wasted her youth in, finally waits for the unfaithful man who has returned wealthy. Balzac provides a realistic background for the entire storyline and, within this background, creates vivid characters. These characters are not only typical individuals but also personalized archetypes. This kind of storyline not only avoids clichés in Balzac's work but also further showcases the master's style and charm, fully displaying the brilliance of the entire work.