220th Birthday of Honoré de Balzac

  Almost two weeks ago, precisely on May twentieth, the French writer Balzac, one of the founders of the literary movement called Realism would complete 220 years old, so this post is a tribute to him. When I was doing my graduation, I read and analysed his masterpiece, "Lost Illusions," This post is a summary of four articles. The first was published http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honor%C3%A9_de_Balzac.  The second was published at http://books.google.com.br/booksid=JcFC4oiDmpgC&pg=PA63&lpg=PA63&dq=impact+of+balzac%60s+realism+on+poli.Thirdmuse.jhu.edu/loginauth=0&type=summary&url=/journals/french_f. The fourth was published at http://www.artcasaverde.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/BAaronsonBalzacLecture.pdf

             Honoré de Balzac ( 1799-1850 ) was a French writer, which novels collectively entitled, "La Comédie Humaine."  Which presents a panorama of French life in the XIX Century. Due to his keen observation of detail and unfiltered representation of society, Balzac is regard as one of the founders of realism in literature. Balzac was born into a family which had struggled nobly to achieve respectability. His father Bernard François was one of eleven children from a poor family in the south of France. At age ten Balzac was sent to a school in Vendôme, where he studied for seven years. His father, sought to instill the same hardscrabble work ethic which him had been raised. He studied at Sorbonne and worked in a law office for three years. He always was an enthusiastic reader and independent thinker. "Eugenie Grandet," was his first best-selling novel. The writing was simple, yet the individuals are dynamic and complex. "Old Father Goriot,"  was his next success, in which Balzac transposes the story of King Lear to 1820s in Paris in order to rage at a society bereft of all love save the love of money. Balzac`s work habits are legendary, he toiled with an incredible focus and dedication. He would often work for fifteen hours at a stretch, fueled by innumerable cups of coffee. Some critics consider Balzac`s writing exemplary of naturalism, a more pessimistic and analytical form of realism. Balzac said, "the streets of Paris possess human qualities and we can not shake off the impressions they make upon our minds." This is key to Balzac`s legacy as a realist. His keen insight regarding working-class conditions earned him the esteem of many socialists. Engels said that him was his favorite writer. Marx`s work, "The Capital," also makes constant reference to the works of Balzac. Balzac influenced many writers of his time and beyond. Critic Richard Lehan says that, "Balzac was the bridge between the realism of Dickens and the naturalism of Zola." Gustave Flaubert was also influenced by Balzac, and Marcel Proust studied his works carefully. Perhaps the author most affected by Balzac was Henry James. Both authors used the realist novel to probe the machinations of society and the myriad motives of human behavior. Balzac`s vision of a society in which class, money and personal ambition are the major players has been endorsed by critics of all political tendencies. Engels wrote, " I have learned more from Balzac than from all historians and economists together."

                       Le Dernier Chouan (1829) was the first work Balzac signed with his own name. The novel follows Walter Scott in its treatment of history, and earned the praise of Georg Lukacs in, The Historical Novel, as did Balzac work as a whole, which for Lukacs epitomized the best realistic fiction in its ability to present society as an interconnected totality and individual characters as the products of larger historical forces. Balzac discovered his vocation as social historian, and created a method of description and analysis that later used in his works devoted to contemporary history. While honing his novelistic skills, Balzac was also active as a contributor to journals. In 1830 alone, he published more than a hundred articles. 

                    The question of Balzac`s scientific vision is not new. It is an issue which has been studied in its own right, and also in relation to more purely literary concerns. In a sense, it is no in fact possible to separate Balzac`s scientific vision from his literary style. He seems to combine a "romantic" vision with a "realist" style. Balzac conceived the outline of his novel-cycle at a time of fundamental epistemological re-organization. "Science" was undergoing a divorce from "Philosophy" the better to establish itself as an independent type of knowledge. The mark of the scientific approach was its objective empirical method; and conversely, the distinguishing mark of the philosophical approach was its association with the subjective consciousness. Of course, these two approaches did not absolutely have to be antagonist: it was possible to study a phenomenon initially in a empirical way, before passing on to a more intuitive way. This is precisely what Balzac aimed to do with his chosen phenomenon: the social being.

                 In France the history of novel begins with medieval epics. But it is in the 19th century that the novel is going to blossom to meet its fullest expression during the 20th century. The French revolution in 1789 broke with the past in many ways. After the revolution there are two Frances. The novel is the new locus where conflicts and resolution between the old world and the new world take place. The novel becomes the instrument of modernity. As Balzac said in the prevace of his Lost Illusions. " The writer is the voice of his century." Another important facet of the French novel is its political dimension. Balzac wrote what he saw and heard. He wrote about the forgotten history, the one that historians prefer to avoid. He wanted to show society as it is and the reasons of societal changes, because society carries within itself the reasons of its movements.  Around six months after got married, Balzac died in Paris in 1850. He had three goals: First, to reproduce all the political and social events between 1789 and 1848. He wanted to write the history of his time, to be the witness of an era. Second, to give life to all professional "milieux" and social classes. His intellectual curiosity propelled him into studying all social classes. His books are a microcosm of French society. Third, to study all social and psychological phenomena. Balzac started what we call now as Human Sciences. However, he does not establish theories because theories incarcerate people. Yet, Balzac is inspired by the scientific theories of Geoffroy Hilaire. Balzac once wrote, "man is neither good, nor bad. He is born with instincts and aptitudes. Society does not deprave him, society perfects him better at what he does. It is greed that develops his bad tendencies."