French writer Honor茅 de Balzac (born Honor茅 Balzac), a founder of the realist school of fiction, portrayed the panorama of society in a body of works, known collectively as La com茅die humaine.
Honor茅 de Balzac authored 19th-century novels and plays. After the fall of Napol茅on I Bonaparte in 1815, his magnum opus, a sequence of almost a hundred novels and plays, entitled, presents life in the years.
Due to keen observation of fine detail and unfiltered representation, European literature regards Balzac. He features renowned multifaceted, even complex, morally ambiguous, full lesser characters. Character well imbues inanimate objects; the city of Paris, a backdrop, takes on many qualities. He influenced many famous authors, including the novelists Marcel Proust, 脡mile Zola, Charles John Huffam Dickens, Gustave Flaubert, Henry James, and Jack Kerouac as well as important philosophers, such as Friedrich Engels. Many works of Balzac, made into films, continue to inspire.
An enthusiastic reader and independent thinker as a child, Balzac adapted with trouble to the teaching style of his grammar. His willful nature caused trouble throughout his life and frustrated his ambitions to succeed in the world of business. Balzac finished, and people then apprenticed him as a legal clerk, but after wearying of banal routine, he turned his back on law. He attempted a publisher, printer, businessman, critic, and politician before and during his career. He failed in these efforts. From his own experience, he reflects life difficulties and includes scenes.
Possibly due to his intense schedule and from health problems, Balzac suffered throughout his life. Financial and personal drama often strained his relationship with his family, and he lost more than one friend over critical reviews. In 1850, he married Ewelina Ha艅ska, his longtime paramour; five months later, he passed away.
A poor immature young "man" and I write this word loosely, plans to jump into the Seine River and end it all, yet his dissipated conduct will make others uneasy and lack of sympathy toward him becomes universal..Raphael de Valentin is the boorish main character and while he is no hero this book made the great Balzac an important figure in French literature in 1831 and soon the rest of the planet. Raphael is talented, good-looking women are attractive to him they don't see what's below the surface, a superficial gentleman ...his only goal be rich and vegetate in luxury. Work is not an option he'd rather starve an a life of poverty live. Which brings us the reader to the dire situation the lazy Raphael finds himself, losing the little money in his pocket inside a gambling house in Paris... his late father warned him about... Still a writer of no real value and student of the law which doesn't interest the ne'er -do- well with three similar friends who save the despondent lad from a liquid bath. And instead a banquet for the ages by an affluent and fellow deviant, some would say degenerate too, they take him, wine, women and song, anything as the large group of eaters devour, these males know what they like and are not inhibited by ladies of the evening. An orgy of unlimited excess at tables always full of delectable food and liquor with the fawning girls (supposedly), show their gratitude in the way of the flesh. Raphael can't help himself to spill his troubles to the distracted friends, as turmoil engulfs the large room nobody cares... too much fun around, a near riot. Later falling in love with the landlady's lovely daughter Pauline, he cannot afford the rent even in this modest home, a past romance with the beautiful but cold Fredora, a woman noted for this, has sent him to the depths of despair. A miracle transforms Raphael fortune just before the notorious banquet an ancient shop owner a century old gives the penniless Valentin a piece of skin from a rare wild ass with magical powers, anything he desires comes true but with a heavy price...it shrinks and so will his life. Accepting the dubious offer almost instantly becomes what he most desired, wealth, consequences follow but not for the good...A parable of the era , corruption wins and the noble shrink like the animal's skin and disappears, yet then and now things haven't changed much , bad behavior is more attractive than good...nothing new under the sun, humans are easily led into that turbulence.
La Peau de chagrin = The Skin of Sorrow = The Wild Ass's Skin, Honor茅 de Balzac
The Skin of Sorrow or The Wild Ass's Skin is an 1831 novel by French novelist and playwright Honor茅 de Balzac (1799鈥�1850).
Set in early 19th-century Paris, it tells the story of a young man who finds a magic piece of shagreen that fulfills his every desire.
For each wish granted, however, the skin shrinks and consumes a portion of his physical energy.
The Skin of Sorrow belongs to the Studies philosophical group of Balzac's sequence of novels, The Human Comedy.
Before the book was completed, Balzac created excitement about it by publishing a series of articles and story fragments in several Parisian journals.
Although he was five months late in delivering the manuscript, he succeeded in generating sufficient interest that the novel sold out instantly upon its publication.
A second edition, which included a series of twelve other "philosophical tales", was released one month later.
In the mid-eighteenth century, in France, the media, like the newspaper, had its emergence. As of this date, a revolution in the press through this mass information vehicle would only surpass centuries later with the invention of the remaining media: radio, television, and satellite communication, and that will culminate with the interfaces of hypermedia, that is, the computer. Honor茅 de Balzac, in his book Ilus玫es Perdidas, tells us the whole trajectory of the newspaper since its inception, comparing it with Literature. The work makes us understand that with the appearance of the press, good Literature has fallen into the background once writers have abandoned their "ivory towers" to dedicate themselves professionally to this new medium of communication. Eaten by disposable information, the reader bends over a coffee table, digests the reading, and then tosses the newspaper into the nearest wastebasket. With this, the media we speak here (the Literature) has lost ground, giving space for a new apparatus conveyed by a new type of individual who is neither politician nor literate: the journalist. Like a parasite, he came to earn his living through the "misfortune of others," since his livelihood was driven by the interests and blessings of the new media, which was not (and is not) at the service of truth. In the first conception of the word, but of bringing to the public what is of interest to the news media, it is understood from the benefit of the press the question of boasting, what causes discussion, what causes the chain reaction, and then returns to the initial point. Let us not forget, too, that it was through the Journal that the Critique emerged - a personal point of view that adds nothing to the new: on the contrary. It constructs and destroys intellectual production, whatever depends on the interest of the one in charge of the news. Without fear of productive contradiction, it is possible to say that with the appearance of the Journal, we have a fragmented type of reader, light years away from the one who spent hours, weeks, and months to apprehend literary knowledge. Anyway, the newspaper we read this morning does not mean anything at night when we turn off the light and fall asleep; Literature is immortal. As long as there is room for the imaginary, it is present. Balzac tries to translate, in his way, the portrait of the newspaper at the time and tells us that it would become the future: our present.
To live fully is to die a little with every desire fulfilled.
I must confess - I love Balzac - reading his works is some sort of therapy to me. Love his rich, panoramic, elegant prose, his wit, his deep and timeless insights into human nature, his wisdom and his sense of humour. 'The Wild Ass's Skin' is different from other Balzac's novels and novellas that I have read so far for it is a harmonious blend of philosophy, fantasy and social critique. The novel is the author's attempt to explore the price we, people, pay for fulfilling our desires and their damaging implications on our existence. At the same time Balzac uses this opportunity to criticize the Parisian society - this glittering, cruel, soul-devouring animal and its typical representatives.
'Possessing this skin means living with the certainty of death in every moment of joy.' ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'To wish is to lose; to live is to destroy oneself.' ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'Between the daylight gambler and the player at night there is the same difference that lies between a careless husband and the lover swooning under his lady鈥檚 window.' ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'For pain is perhaps but a violent pleasure? Who could determine the point where pleasure becomes pain, where pain is still a pleasure Is not the utmost brightness of the ideal world soothing to us, while the lightest shadows of the physical world annoy?' ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 'If you are to judge a man, you must know his secret thoughts, sorrows, and feelings; to know merely the outward events of a man鈥檚 life would only serve to make a chronological table 鈥� a fool鈥檚 notion of history.' ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'Conscience is our unerring judge until we finally stifle it.' ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'Between power and renunciation, only wisdom can survive.' ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'In Paris, everyone wants to be someone else.' --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'His genius had found refuge in caf茅s, beneath the smoke of cheap cigars and the applause of mediocre minds.' -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'Science explains everything, yet comforts nothing.'
芦Si me posees, lo poseer谩s todo, pero tu vida me pertenecer谩, Dios as铆 lo ha querido. Pero regula tus deseos seg煤n tu vida. Ella est谩 aqu铆. A cada deseo tuyo, menguar茅 yo como tus d铆as. 驴Me quieres? Toma. Dios te oir谩. 隆Am茅n!禄
Qu茅 se puede agregar de un enorme escritor como Honor茅 de Balzac. Insuperable novelista del siglo XIX y uno de los m谩s importantes que ha dado Francia en la historia junto a Victor Hugo, Gustave Flaubert y Alexandre Dumas. Enfocado en construir esa gran enciclopedia literaria de noventa y siete novelas a la que denomin贸 鈥淟a Comedia Humana鈥�, escrib铆a durante quince horas continuas, aislado de todo y de todos, mientras minaba su salud tomando m谩s de cincuenta tazas de caf茅 a punto tal de que sobre el final del d铆a masticaba los granos directamente. Supo enarbolar la bandera del Realismo franc茅s que inspir贸 a muchos que lo vanagloriaron despu茅s (Guy de Maupassant y Emile Zol谩 son dos claros ejemplos de autores que se rindieron a sus pies) y logr贸 cincelar con su pluma que parec铆a un fr铆o diamante quir煤rgico los distintos estratos sociales de su pa铆s post revoluci贸n a veces de forma despiadada y sin miramientos. 鈥淟a piel de zapa鈥� fue la primera de todas esas novelas que escribi贸 Balzac y en ella conocemos la historia de un muchacho llamado Rafael de Valent铆n a quien nada la sale bien la vida. Luego de perder su 煤ltima moneda de oro en el casino decide suicidarse arroj谩ndose al r铆o Sena, pero por alguna fortuita raz贸n decide aplazar tal decisi贸n yendo a visitar un lugar que le apasiona: una tienda de antig眉edades. All铆 y luego de haber visitado el bazar de arriba abajo, el viejo vendedor le propone regalarle un trozo de piel de zapa, o para explicarlo m谩s claramente, un pedazo de piel de una raza de asno llamada onagro, que posee facultades m谩gicas: la de poder concederle a su due帽o todos los deseos que 茅ste quiere, pero con el riesgo de que cada deseo le va quitando a Rafael a帽os de vida mientras que la piel misma se va encogiendo. Como todo joven impulsivo e impetuoso acepta esta m谩gico talism谩n y en ese mismo instante comienza su decadencia. Por eso mismo el viejo le advierte y repite: 芦Usted ha firmado el pacto y no hay nada m谩s que hablar. De ahora en adelante sus deseos ser谩n escrupulosamente satisfechos, pero a cosa de su vida. El c铆rculo de sus d铆as, figurado por esta piel, se encoger谩 por la fuerza y el n煤mero de sus deseos, desde el m谩s leve al m谩s exorbitante禄. Esta novela fant谩stica debido a su connotaci贸n f谩ustica tiene fuertes similitudes con otras que encontramos en la literatura, siendo muy especialmente la conexi贸n en cierto modo con el Fausto de Goethe; la naturaleza de lo que le sucede a Rafael que nos recuerda al inolvidable 鈥淓l retrato de Dorian Gray鈥� de Oscar Wilde, a la divertida 鈥淎zazel鈥� de Isaac Asimov y a otros relatos m谩s cortos relacionado con el indiscriminado abuso del pedido de deseos que nos relatan Robert Louis Stevenson en 鈥淓l diablo en la botella鈥� y W. W. Jacobs en su impecable 鈥淟a pata de mono鈥�. La novela consta de solo cuatro cap铆tulos siendo el segundo el que retrata el loco desenfreno de Rafael, quien merced a sus constantes pedidos de deseos se transforma en un millonario marqu茅s que sucumbe a todo tipo de tentaciones, lujuria y pecados en el que las mujeres est谩n l贸gicamente a su disposici贸n. En el 煤ltimo cap铆tulo llamado 鈥淟a agon铆a鈥� asistimos al derrumbe de Rafael, donde al final un peque帽o retazo de la piel de zapa que le queda le pasa factura dej谩ndolo al borde de la muerte, pues como dice el autor 芦nada es completo en este mundo sino la desgracia禄. El final es apote贸sico, porque luego de much铆simas p谩ginas en las que adem谩s de narrar la historia de Rafael, Balzac va destripando sin remordimiento a toda la sociedad francesa de su 茅poca (sobre todo a los pol铆ticos, la nobleza, los m茅dicos, los abogados y la iglesia) asistimos al anunciado final de Rafael de Valent铆n, ese muchacho que de la nada lo ha conseguido todo. El mensaje es claro y aleccionador, pues tiene que ver con el poder, la ambici贸n y de c贸mo el destino es el que m谩s trampas le tiende al ser humano. Es interesante ponerse en los zapatos de Rafael y preguntarnos qu茅 har铆amos si tuvi茅ramos la gran posibilidad de que m谩gicamente nos cumpliera los deseos que m谩s ambicionamos un peque帽o trozo de tela llamado 鈥減iel de zapa鈥�.
He made fun of everything, his own prospects included. Always short of money, he remained, like all men with a future before them, wallowing in inexpressible idleness, condensing a whole book into one epigram for the benefit of people who were incapable of putting one witticism into a whole book. Lavish of promises that he never kept, he had made his fortune and reputation into a cushion on which he slept, thus running the risk of coming to his senses, as an old man, in an almshouse. With all that, keeping faith with his friends to the point of death, a swaggering cynic and as simple-hearted as a child, he worked only by fits and starts or under the spur of necessity.
This marked my return to Balzac, a welcome one after many years. When I spend time with my friends' children I make point of telling them to avoid Zola and stick with Balzac.
The Wild Ass's Skin is simply stunning. The depictions of emotional uncertainty and the fluctuations of fortune were remarkable. The display of ornate and obscure objects, avocations and sundry theory were equally compelling.
All the works of this period, including "La Peau de chagrin", constitute a transition from the fictional or adventurous historical novel to the purely realistic. For the time being, however, Balzac's stories are more of an amalgam of different literary genres, bound to a successful narrative technique, striking descriptions, philosophical reflections, humor and emotion, social criticism and satire, intense emotional expressions.
This work is based on the not-very-original idea of a magical object that has the power to fulfill its owner's every wish but carries (as is usually the case with that kind of stories) a heavy price: With every wish the owner's remaining life-time is reduced.
The realistic element can be traced via Balzac's physiologie, the sociological and psychological study of human behavior and activity through a literary filter. This is what makes his work so unique, even when the end result is mediocre.
This review contains major spoilers for La Peau de chagrin, Illusions perdues and Splendeurs et mis猫res des courtisanes
After reading La Peau de chagrin, written near the beginning of Balzac's career, and Illusions perdues, written near the end, I'm wondering about the striking parallelism between the two books. In the later novel, Lucien, a vain, lazy, goodlooking boy from the provinces who thinks he can write, goes to Paris, partly to become a literary star but rather more to pursue to pursue Mme de Bargeton, an older woman who's been leading him on. He borrows money from his family that they can't afford to give him, gets unceremoniously dumped by Mme de Bargeton, tries for a while to live honestly and improve his writing skills, but finds he can earn quick money as a hack journalist. He gets into bad company, everything goes horribly wrong, and he's just about to commit suicide when he's rescued by criminal genius Vautrin, who magically sorts everything out. But it's only a temporary respite: in the sequel, Splendeurs et mis猫res des courtisanes, Lucien gets what's coming to him, and it's considerably worse than the mundane drowning he'd originally planned. The earlier novel, La Peau de chagrin, is the supernatural version: the hero, Rapha毛l, gets platonically but no less painfully involved with F艙dora, another unfeeling rich woman, is again about to drown himself, but is offered a magic talisman which will grant his every wish. The problem is that the talisman shrinks after each wish is made: eventually it will disappear, and Rapha毛l will die with it. As one expects, things end very badly indeed.
This certainly seems to be the same story, told in two versions; Vautrin is painted to look more than a little like the Devil incarnate, come from Hell to fetch Lucien's soul. One can't help wondering whether it in some way tells Balzac's own story. He started off by publishing eight or nine hilariously bad novels under pseudonyms, then at the age of thirty decided that he could write proper books and sign his name to them. La Peau de chagrin was the second one. Over the next nineteen years, he wrote dozens more, to increasing acclaim: La Com茅die humaine is now generally recognised as one of the greatest literary achievements of all time, and influenced authors as diverse as Zola, Dickens, Proust and Marx. But the effort required was more than Balzac could sustain, and he could never keep his finances in check; he died, exhausted and ruined, at the early age of 51.
Maybe this is just a standard deal offered to people who want to become famous novelists: now that I think about it, Karl Ove Knausg氓rd tells a related story in Min kamp. Well, if you're also thinking of selling your soul, be sure to include La Peau de chagrin in your background research.
"Volli, volli, disperatamente volli" sembra esser il pensiero costante del protagonista Rapharl, che, giunto in possesso di un talismano miracoloso, pur a prezzo della sua vita vede realizzarsi i suoi desideri senza, per貌, raggiunger alcuna felicit脿. Balzac sembra metterci in guardia e spingerci a porre attenzione a scoprir cosa meriti davvero d'esser desiderato e fuggire le evenienze che pongono questa realizzazione fuori dalla nostra portata, in mani estranee a noi incontrollabili. Un Dorian Gray alla rovescio, quasi: una storia potenzialmente buona, ma troppo prolissa e sbilanciata nella descrizione del flusso degli eventi occorsi. Peccato.
Evidemment, ce n'est pas la note que je pense que ce livre m茅rite. C'est un classique intemporel, il a travers茅 les si猫cles et les traversera encore quand tout le monde m'aura oubli茅.
Mais il y a plusieurs fa莽ons de lire un livre. Et mon approche de la lecture s'apparente 脿 celle qu'on ferait d'une s茅rie t茅l茅 : un 茅pisode tous les jours, au m锚me rythme. C'est de la lecture r茅cr茅ative, du divertissement, pas une 茅tude, pas de la documentation. Et 脿 ce titre, la lecture de La peau de chagrin a 茅t茅 TR脠S p茅nible.
On suit donc Rapha毛l de Valentin, un protagoniste imbuvable qui passe son temps 脿 geindre, gueuler et prendre les pires d茅cisions. Il est sur le point de se suicider mais avant de se suicider, il se balade et tombe sur une peau de chagrin chez un vieil antiquaire, sauf que c'est une peau de chagrin magique qui exauce chacun de ses voeux mais se r茅duit un peu plus chaque fois et cette peau repr茅sente sa vie et 脿 la fin, spoiler, il meurt. Donc voil脿, le mythe de Faust mais avec la peau du cul d'un 芒ne.
Le style est tr猫s laborieux. Je suis s没r que j'aurais appr茅ci茅, peut-锚tre m锚me aurais je 茅t茅 subjugu茅 si j'avais pris le temps de lire tr猫s lentement, phrase par phrase pour m'impr茅gner de leur signification (莽a n'aurait pas r茅solu d'autres probl猫mes dont on parlera en vid茅o). Mais 脿 mon rythme de lecture habituel, c'est vraiment une 茅preuve. D'autant que j'aime les narrations pr茅cises, concises... et Balzac adoooore les tr猫s longues phrases et les paragraphes qui durent (et je n'exag猫re pas) plus de huit pages.
En fait, les lyc茅ens s'en sortent bien (La peau de chagrin est au programme de Premi猫re g茅n茅rale) parce que d茅couvrir ce roman avec un prof qui va te donner des cl茅s de compr茅hension, qui va te re-contextualiser chaque phrase, pouvoir 茅tudier pr茅cis茅ment plusieurs paragraphes (pardon, "morceaux de paragraphes") ind茅pendamment et dans le d茅tail, c'est vraiment la meilleure fa莽on de d茅couvrir ce livre, j'aurais largement pr茅f茅r茅 le d茅couvrir comme 莽a. Plut么t qu'en... ben vous savez... le lisant.
The Wild Ass's Skin - or The Magic Skin, as it's known in some editions (neither of those titles are particularly appealing, I know) - is a literary novel of magical realism. It's simultaneously a fantasy, a study of character, and a cautionary 'be careful what you wish for' tale. At the beginning we are introduced to a young man who seems deep in despair, gambling away his last coins and thereafter contemplating suicide. Delaying the hour of his impending death, Raphael (as we learn he's called) wanders into an antique shop, where he happens across a strange object which appears to be cut from the hide of an animal. This, the shopkeeper tells him, is a talisman, with the power to fulfil any wish made by the person who possesses it. The old man tries to warn Raphael that the wishes are granted at a terrible price, and extols the virtue of acquiring knowledge and wisdom instead, but Raphael has become fixated on the skin and immediately makes his first wish - for a decadent party - which does indeed come true, in fact as soon as he walks out of the shop, when he encounters some old friends who are on their way to a ball. What follows is partly an exploration of what happens when Raphael's wishes are fulfilled, and partly Raphael's backstory, much of which he tells to a friend in a lengthy monologue, giving the effect of another first-person narrative within the main narrative.
The main thing you need to know is that Raphael is completely and utterly awful. He is unbelievably selfish and self-obsessed throughout. He manages to complain of poverty and destitution when he owns an entire island (yes, an island). Great swathes of his own story are taken up with him whining and complaining about how women don't want him, and why not, when he's so handsome and such a genius (in his opinion) and so willing to devote himself to them? He is, in fact, a proto-Nice Guy through and through. He falls for a beautiful countess, Feodora, who rebuffs his advances but takes great pains to demonstrate that she values his friendship. He reacts by ignoring this and continuing his efforts to force her to love him, ranting about how he loves her enough to kill her, declaring his intention to have his revenge on women in general, and creepily following her around. Ultimately he goes to the extreme of sneaking into her house and spending a night in her bedroom, hiding behind a curtain, to watch her sleep. He goes on to gamble and drink away all his money and more besides, before eventually settling for the simpering Pauline (who's nearly as annoying as him) - although, rather conveniently, he doesn't realise how much he 'loves' her until she's attained money and something of a status in society.
It will be up to the individual reader to decide whether or not he or she can get past the unpleasantness of Raphael's character, and most of the other characters aren't particularly likeable either, although I did like Feodora, with her commitment to independence, and the fearsome Aquilina. Personally, I found the narrative so enjoyable to read that I could deal with this fairly easily - but, that said, my rating might have been five stars if I'd been able to root for Raphael. Although the language is rich and complex, this is a very readable novel, and that makes it more accessible than you might at first expect. The themes, especially with regards to relationships, are surprisingly modern and consequently much of the interaction between characters doesn't seem dated.
This is a banquet of a book. Its detail, description and depth demanded I slow my usual reading pace in order to appreciate and understand everything in it. Although the narrative is driven forward by an underlying plot, it often isn't really about the 'magic skin' and the wishes: for whole chapters it will go off on a tangent about parts of Raphael's past, or incidental characters will have long conversations about philosophy, history, art... It's funny too, with a great deal of dry humour and irony, and a dash of playfulness. I can't comment on how The Wild Ass's Skin compares to Balzac's other novels, this being the first thing I've read by the author, but I can say it's a good place to start.
Aviso a navegantes. Este libro no es lo que parece. Su premisa es altamente atractiva y, a la vez, altamente enga帽osa. La rese帽a que os traigo hoy es m谩s una advertencia que un ejercicio de an谩lisis: mi inexistente ego me permite reconocer que diseccionar a Balzac no esta al alcance de mis humildes talentos como juntaletras.
驴Por qu茅 digo que esta es una novela enga帽osa? Bien, comencemos con su premisa. Un joven calavera, desenga帽ado de la sociedad, el amor y la vida, decide poner fin a todas sus miserias haciendo apnea por el Sena. Antes de dar el paso decisivo se permite un 煤ltimo capricho, visitar una ex贸tica tienda de antig眉edades. All铆, enterrado entre miles y miles de trastos y fetiches cubiertos de polvo, yace la dichosa piel de zapa, una antigualla sin valor aparente con unos extra帽os garabatos en sanscrito y un poder misterioso: conceder cualquier deseo que su poseedor formule. Por supuesto, al igual que cualquier art铆culo de anticuario, tiene letra peque帽a, y es que hay un alto coste por cada deseo formulado.
Ante una premisa as铆, el incauto r谩pidamente se dir谩: 隆cop贸n, una historia de juegos diab贸licos, patas de mono y mefistof茅licas consecuencias, y escrito por Balzac, nada menos! Bueno, pues he ah铆 la trampa. S铆, esta es la historia de un trato siniestro; s铆, hay un elemento sobrenatural orbitando la historia; tambi茅n si, vamos a ver a nuestro protagonista padecer por su inconsciencia y su codicia 驴Entonces, d贸nde est谩 el problema? Que de las 300 paginas que ten铆a mi edici贸n, s贸lo en las ultimas 100 se desarrolla esta intrigante historia. Las otras 200 digamos que poco o nada tienen que ver con lo sobrenatural y s铆 con las inquietudes habituales de su autor, a saber, la hipocres铆a de la sociedad, las pasiones de sus protagonistas, y los innumerables defectos de la bestia humana, su desidia, su lujuria, su codicia, su impostura intelectual y moral, que no eclipsan las virtudes de algunos seres gentiles y, por ende, desgraciados. En efecto, esta obra que a priori tan poco se asemejaba a la producci贸n de su autor es, para sorpresa de todos y satisfacci贸n de nadie, otra novela m谩s de su autor. Aunque la culpa es m铆a, ojo, a veces olvido que este autor tambi茅n cultivaba la fantas铆a; buena muestra de ello puede encontrarse en su Elixir de la larga vida.
驴Con esto quiero decir que la novela es una mala novela? No me atrever铆a. La he disfrutado pese a no haber sido capaz de librarme del amargo regusto del desenga帽o y de ser una obra un tanto irregular. Para empezar, maneja los ritmos de una forma muy extra帽a; no lo digo s贸lo por relegar el desarrollo de su premisa principal al 煤ltimo tercio de la novela, sino por la estructura tan an谩rquica que elige para contar la historia. Empezamos con Rafael, el protagonista, barajando el suicidio; luego le vemos entrar en la tienda de marras, que describe con una prolijidad que deber铆a ser condenada por el Tribunal de la Haya. P谩ginas, p谩ginas y m谩s p谩ginas describiendo cachivaches ex贸ticos: estatuas, vasijas, camafeos, muebles, de todo, no se priva de nada, todo merece una menci贸n y una denominaci贸n de origen. Tras la adquisici贸n de la piel pasamos r谩pidamente a una bacanal en la que, ah铆tos de champan y de descripciones de la degradaci贸n moral de los libertinos parisinos, Rafael se sincera y cuenta a un amigo c贸mo ha llegado a tan miserable estado, un relato de amor no correspondido y penurias econ贸micas que se extiende, oh sorpresa, otras 100 p谩ginas. Voy a repetir esto para que nadie malinterprete lo que quiero decir: Rafael, borracho como una cuba, le cuenta a un amigo una historia lacrim贸gena que ocupa casi otro tercio de la historia 驴Os imagin谩is la cara de ese pobre desgraciado, igual de borracho, con un zumbido que va de sien a sien, oyendo al papanatas de Rafael lloriqueando porque una dama, grandioso 谩ngel y todos los grandilocuentes adjetivos que se deseen, no le da bola? Pues es igual de duro leerlo, creedme. Porque tras esas paginas que pesan como plomo solo sacamos una conclusi贸n: que Rafael es un gilipollas. Y no vale la pena tanto esfuerzo por este descubrimiento.
Sin embargo, si Balzac se toma su tiempo diseccionando y exhibiendo situaciones pasa por el 煤ltimo tercio, el de la piel de zapa, como si tuviera un petardo en el culo. Ocurre demasiado en muy poco tiempo, y para colmo insiste en describirnos con similar nivel de detalle situaciones que tampoco considero que merezcan tanto, m谩xime cuando estamos presenciando el descenso a los infiernos del protagonista. A ver, esta simp谩tico ver c贸mo un f铆sico y un qu铆mico de la academia de ciencias hacen lo imposible por devolver a la maligna piel su tama帽o original -se me olvidaba decir que a cada deseo la piel se encoge, simbolizando lo evidente-, pero creo que es m谩s interesante ver c贸mo los deseos de Rafael se vuelven contra el, o simplemente que contingencias le obligan a desear sabiendo el precio a pagar. Me hubiera gustado m谩s exploraci贸n de la tragedia post-zapa que de la tragedia pre-zapa; no se, llamadme loco.
Si algo salva a esta novela es la embriagadora prosa de su autor. Que Balzac escribe bien no le hace justicia: es hipn贸tico. Hace falta mucho talento y mucho conocimiento para hacer que p谩rrafos y p谩rrafos de verborrea resulten lo suficientemente atractivos como para no recurrir al siempre socorrido lectura en diagonal no yutsu. Eso es arte. Balzac sabe c贸mo introducirte dentro de un sal贸n franc茅s, te sienta frente a los platos y te permite degustar las apetecibles viandas y oler el agrio perfume de tus acompa帽antes -seamos sinceros, en el siglo XIX la higiene era la que era-, te hace participe de una melopea muy sofisticada, en parte gracias a sus artificiosos di谩logos, divertid铆simos de tan incre铆bles como suenan. Puede que el parisino calavera y disoluto no fuera ni tan pedante ni tan 帽o帽o al hablar, pero ojala lo fuera, porque hay escenas que gracias a ese lenguaje recuerdan a una caricatura tont铆sima, haciendo que la cr铆tica a ese entonces nov铆simo estamento burgu茅s de bon vivants y dandis de baratillo aun mas sangrante y visceral. Esos intercambios de di谩logos han sido lo que m谩s he disfrutado de la novela, una pena que esos fragmentos s贸lo sean oasis en un tedioso desierto descriptivo.
En resumen, es una novela de Balzac, cualquiera que sienta debilidad por los dinosaurios decimon贸nicos disfrutar谩 de sus escenarios, su pomposidad y sus hiperb贸licos dramas. Eso si, recordad, est谩is leyendo una novela realista disfrazada de novela fant谩stica. S贸lo aviso, y quien avisa no es traidor.
This book by Balzac is quite good but it pretty much tops me up and out of wanting to read more by him.
Not that it's bad, mind you. It's really quite wonderful when I think about it.
It starts out with a gambling addiction resulting in a desire to kill himself, but then he comes across this strange individual who offers him what appears to be a cursed item. (Yes, realism, no one really disputes that magic happens back then. The wild ass's skin works simply. You can shorten your life but get wonderful things. Kinda like the Monkey's Paw, but totally worldly and not always that evil. :) Riches, women... the whole thing reads with a very familiar theme from Cousin Bette.
Death and Life always in opposition, and both these novels presage Freud.
Ennui, satisfaction ending in boredom and the ever need to drive oneself forward. The alternative is all the crap that makes generally happy folk kinda self-destruct. Art plays a big role here, as does sex and money.
It's quite fascinating for what it is and I am REALLY glad I don't live in France during this time. I think I would hate just about everything. :) But this is a really interesting novel, for all that.
Bardzo trudno pisa膰 o s艂owach opartych jedn膮 stron膮 sensu na grzbiecie powie艣ci realistycznej, drugim - romantycznej. Bardzo trudno, bo albo si臋 napisze ekstatycznym uniesieniem, albo pow艣ci膮gni臋ciem instynktu zachwytu. Chc膮c by膰 pomi臋dzy, napisz臋, 偶e wra偶liwo艣膰 tej ksi膮偶ki rezonuje. Ze mn膮, ale tak偶e (mam poczucie) z pewnym niekonkretnie ludzkim nask贸rkiem cz艂owieka, kt贸rym si臋 t臋 ksi膮偶k臋 czyta; z tym dualistycznym rozro艣ni臋ciem. Mamy tutaj wiele poj臋膰 rzeczy i wiele tych rzeczy pojmowa艅. Mamy portrety bezczasowych czas贸w, w kt贸rych (nie) 偶yjemy. Mamy my艣l膮 i zamiarem przej艣cie 艣wiata drog膮 ponad 艣wiatem. A to wszystko przykryte jest tafl膮 niejednoznacznego w intencji j臋zyka (niemniej jednoznacznie pi臋knego), u偶ywanego wbrew i ku. A wi臋c "nie znalaz艂szy serca na miar臋 mego serca" zostawi艂am kawa艂ek swojego - tutaj.
I ovde je posredi faustovsko zame拧ateljstvo 鈥� napa膰eni Rafael de Valentin dolazi u posed 膷udesne magare膰e ko啪e koja ispunjava sve 啪elje. Me膽utim, umesto da vlasnik poseduje ovu ko啪u, ona poseduje vlasnika 鈥� pri svakoj ostvarenoj 啪elji, ko啪a se skra膰uje, a sa njom i Rafaelov 啪ivot. Tako se menja ekonomija 啪ivotnih odluka 拧to dovodi do neo膷ekivanih linija motivacije, ali i temeljne zapitanosti o svrsi 啪ivotnih ciljeva. I kako to i ina膷e biva kod dobro osmi拧ljenih koncepata 鈥� magi膷no sredstvo nije dovoljno. Umesto da 拧agrinska ko啪a nadomesti ono nedostaju膰e, ona stvara probleme...
Rafael se mu膷i sa integrisanjem u dru拧tvo, sa ljubavlju (prava prete膷a Prustovog Svana), sa smislom 啪ivota, a savetuje ga ni manje ni vi拧e nego Rastinjak, koji je ovaj put pravi cinik i verzirani tumaralac kroz salonske krugove.
Mislim da Balzak nije ro膽eni pisac. Nije ni superiorni stilista, ni veliki inovator. Me膽utim, iskupio ga je nesvakida拧nji trud koji sam nalikuje na pakt sa 拧agrinskom ko啪om. Nevi膽ena predanost i upornost stvorili su jednog od najrelevantnijih pisaca realizma 鈥� jednog od onih koji su svakim novim 膷itanjem sve bolji i zaista je osiroma拧uju膰e zadr啪ati se na samo jednom njegovom romanu. I zaista je neverovatno na koliko je sve nivoa Balzak uticao na potonju francusku knji啪evnost, kao i kakvu enciklopediju znanja on pokazuje 鈥� salonski tra膷evi i onovremena 拧tampa bili su po svemu sude膰i superiorniji od interneta. Tako膽e, Balzak je beskrajno talentovan za fino kombinovanje 鈥� uspeo je da napi拧e filozofski obojen realisti膷ki roman sa fantasti膷nom premisom, koji mo啪e da bude naposletku tuma膷en i kao splet alegorija. A tu je i privla膷na, dokumentarna topografija Pariza, nau膷ni diskurs, gozbene slike, vrsni opisi, duhovitosti, sentimentalisti膷ka prenemaganja koja su na ivici da skliznu u fal拧 ali se ipak dr啪e u knji啪evnoj skalameriji... (A ko ho膰e, ima ovde i dvoboj i pastoralu i raspravu o medicini i lika-pisca (Rafael pi拧e delo O volji) i misteriozne suvonjave 膷i膷ice i kocku i za svakoga po ne拧to.)
P. S. Jedna od najva啪nijih 啪ivotinja u istoriji kulture su magari膰i. Marija je jahala na magaretu na putu za Vitlejem nose膰i malog Isusa. Magarad su prisutna ne samo kod Ezopa i u Kuranu i kod Apuleja. Tu je i 膷uveni neodlu膷ni Buridanov magarac, ali i jo拧 膷uveniji magarac San膷a Panse, kao i magare膰e preru拧avanje u 鈥濻nu letnje no膰i鈥�. Mi imamo magare u Sterijinom 鈥濺omanu bez romana鈥�, a ako ba拧 ho膰emo, magare mo啪emo na膰i i u vidu nam膰orastog Iara u Viniju Puu. Tako je i 拧agrinska ko啪a 鈥� magare膰a ko啪a. Imaju膰i ovo u vidu mo啪emo uraditi dve stvari 鈥� napraviti listu magare膰ih knjiga i loviti tajne veze. Od magareta do magareta. Magneti za magarad!
A poor young writer, Raphael de Valentin is at the end of his tether. He has lost his estates, been ridiculed by the woman he loves and loses his last gold piece gambling. He decided to kill himself at nightfall and in the interim wanders into an antique shop to distract his morbid thoughts.
The centurion owner of the shop gives him a magical ass鈥檚 skin that will grant his wishes鈥攆or a price. After each wish granted, the skin slowly shrinks and the owner鈥檚 life is shortened. Disbelieving the shop owner he suddenly finds himself wealthy from an unexpected inheritance and finds love with Pauline the daughter of the hotel he was staying in his poverty straitened circumstances.
He then is forced to choose between self-sacrifice and self-gratification, Valentin decides on worldly pleasures. Ironically, he had previously been writing a book about the powers of the human will, Valentin soon loses all control over his own life and slips into debauchery. He tries to use science then medicine to avoid the curse. However, he eventually uses up the skin, bringing on his own death.
The morale of the story is perhaps be careful what you wish for and beware of greed and the power of wealth. This philosophical tale explores the choice between ruthless self-gratification and asceticism, between vice and virtue, between dissipation and restraint. He does this through descriptive passages about a gambling den, old antique curiosity shop, an orgy, duel and the use of science and medicine.
I read this book at university in French and it was one of my favourite books. I've since read it in English and it seems to lack something - "je ne sais quoi" but still it is a wonderful book.
Balzac is one of my favourite authors. He has such a style about him and he has turned this simple story into a richly flavoured one. Imagine, a young man in Paris, Rapha毛l de Valentin in 1830, down on his luck, even temporarily contemplating suicide. His surprise indeed overwhelms him when he serendipitously enters an antique shop and finds a shagreen which he purchases. It should be mentioned that it was the antique dealer who asked him to look at the hide. Now why would he do that?
This rough hide is magical and can give the young man whatever he desires. There is one distinct problem here though for every time he "makes a wish", the hide shrinks. There is another sad aspect to this but you have to read the book.
'Like all sick people, he thought only about his illness.'
Maybe it's just my reading experience, but I think that the sad thing about Faustian pact novels is that their protagonists never really wish for anything interesting. And I think this aspect is particularly frustrating in this novel.
Actually, I think Rapha毛l de Valentin is the most antipathetic hero I've read about in years. I've been trying to think up excuses for him: he's young! he's in love! But, wait, he's 26, all he wants to do is party hard, and his sort of love is... peculiar. He's entitled, he has not a single selfless desire, he's often cruel and/or abusive with those who love him. And I think he's really stupid...
The novel, however, is not! I actually very much enjoyed the atmospheric beginning: the gambling house, Paris in the evening, and then, a mysterious curiosity shop鈥攖his sounded quite enticing.
What follows is very 18th century, with references to Rabelais and Sterne, with grotesque and satire. If anybody opens their mouth they go on speaking for pages (and pages).
'Man, always in conflict with himself, betraying future hopes with present woes, and present woes with a future that will not belong to him, leaves his mark of inconsistency and weakness on all his actions. Nothing is as complete as misfortune in this life.'
The whole of it is a pessimistic overview of French society around the Second Bourbon Restoration. Nobody is likeable, except maybe one person who's not very multidimensional, and one tertiary character.
'Study lends a kind of magic to everything around us.'
But there are very precise observations. An interesting read, but honestly, not the most enjoyable one; I expected more from it.
---
Note on the Oxford World's Classics edition: I can read a bit in French and I've read various paragraphs of the original and, comparing them to this translation, I think it's pretty accurate. So I do recommend this translation. And I would recommend the explanatory notes here, because some of them are really useful and enlightening, but they do contain spoilers, and I thought some of them were quite unnecessary. The Introduction is spoiler-ish, too, but then they often are (so I decided to read it later and then almost forgot about it). But all in all, this is probably one of the best editions available.
There is an old saying, 鈥渂e careful what you wish for, it may come true.鈥�
Rapha毛l de Valent铆n was a young man who had a thirst for money. Ambition? No, all he wanted was the elusive countess Foedora.* Money does buy happiness, at least in his eyes. She rejected him.
Every great place has its vices. Spain has bull fights, Rome had the gladiators, and Paris had the casino, le Palais-Royal. Tr猫s gauche! Dejected and penniless after losing in the casino, his thoughts turn to suicide. They have a bridge for that too! Le pont de Arts.
But what luck as he comes across an antique dealer, and in this case, a seller of 鈥渉ope.鈥� The skin of shagreene, the skin of grief, whatever you want to call this ancient artifact. This is what the young man needed, hope.
La Peau de Chagrin is power and desire wrapped up in one. Ask and you shall have. But every powerful thing has a drawback. Each time you draw from it, your days get shorter. The skin shrinks so you know time is running out. A built in warning system.
Ignoring the warning of the shopkeeper, Rapha毛l takes it and the good days roll on. Feasts, women, friends, money and even he becomes a marquis. How good is that?
Foedora is out of the picture. However, he discovers love was closer that he thought, namely the daughter of his old landlady, Pauline. Of course, the minute he falls in love, the clock shows it鈥檚 ugly head. The skin shrinks to the size of a leaf.
Rapha毛l is no quitter. With his money he meets with scientists to discover what is this magical skin, but to no end. Then he spends his money on doctors to save him. As I said before, be careful what you wish for.
This is my first book of the legendary Honor茅 de Balzac. This book combined the fantasy/horror with romance, science and morality. How can one go wrong with this mix. George Sand gave it thumbs up. Not bad support.
I will give this a 4.5.
*according to Wikipedia, Balzac had an affair with one of the leading courtesans in Paris, Olympe P茅lissier. She in turn was having many other affairs. After she dumped Balzac, he used her as a model for the countess Foedora. Olympe, in turn had an affair and later married Gioachino Rossini (William Tell overture). Several times in the novel Rossini is mentioned, but not sure if this is flattery or slagging the maestro? Opera any one?
G眉c眉n眉 fantastik bir 枚臒eden almas谋na ra臒men ger莽ek莽ilik (realizm) ak谋m谋n谋n 枚nc眉llerinden biri olan 鈥淭谋ls谋ml谋 Deri / The Wild Ass's Skin / La Peau de chagrin鈥�, Frans谋z yazar Balzac鈥櫮眓 kaleminin ne kadar g眉莽l眉 oldu臒unu her sat谋r谋nda okuma 艧ans谋 buldu臒umuz etkileyici ve s眉r眉kleyici bir eser. Balzac鈥櫮眓 ele艧tiri oda臒谋nda burjuvazinin bulundu臒u kitapta son paras谋n谋 kumarda kaybetti臒i i莽in intihar etmeye karar veren yazar Raphael鈥檌n intihar etmeden hemen 枚ncesinde girdi臒i antikac谋 d眉kkan谋nda buldu臒u her dile臒i yerine getiren bir deriyi bulmas谋n谋n hemen ard谋ndan de臒i艧en hayat谋n谋 bizlere sunuyor. Derinin tek k枚t眉 yan谋 her dilekte biraz k眉莽眉lmesi ki derinin yok olmas谋 demek karakterin 枚lece臒i anlam谋na geliyor. Raphael鈥檌n burjuva hayat谋nda istedi臒i kadar paras谋 olmas谋na ra臒men bir t眉rl眉 arad谋臒谋 sevgi dolu huzurlu hayat谋 bulamamas谋yla Balzac, insanlar谋n s谋n谋f fark谋 olmaks谋z谋n ihtiya莽 duydu臒u sevgi temas谋na dikkat 莽ekmekte. Raphael鈥檌n kontes Feodora鈥檡a olan kar艧谋l谋k bulmayan a艧k谋 ve zaman谋nda evlerinde kald谋臒谋 s谋rada piyano dersi verdi臒i iyi kalpli ve yard谋msever Pauline鈥檈 gitgide b眉y眉yen sevgisiyle paran谋n insanlar谋 ne kadar de臒i艧tirdi臒ini bizlere g枚steriyor Balzac. Burjuvazinin zay谋f g枚rd眉臒眉 insanlar谋 ezmekten zevk ald谋臒谋n谋n alt谋n谋 莽izen yazar谋n kitab谋nda Shakspeare, Rebalais ve Cervantes gibi di臒er yazarlara yapt谋臒谋 referanslar ise yazar谋n ne kadar donan谋ml谋 oldu臒unu g枚steriyor. 脺nl眉 yazar谋n mutlaka okunmas谋 gereken eserlerinden.
this motherfucker was trying to use all the words in the dictionary like SHUT UP. also almost an entire chapter dedicated to the main character complaining about how he can't get bitches........ please shut the fuck up. just shut up
Qualcuno ha ammonito che leggere le biografie degli autori pu貌 influire sull鈥檃pprezzamento delle loro opere. Io ho letto il Balzac di Zweig e l鈥檋o ritrovato personaggio ne 鈥淟a pelle di zigrino鈥�. Il giovane Raphael de Valentine che gioca il suo ultimo scudo alla roulette e poi decide di uccidersi, 猫 lo scrittore, lo testimonia il fatto che rimandata la decisione ripari nel negozio di un antiquario per bearsi, pur non potendole acquistare, delle cianfrusaglie che vi sono esposte. Proprio dalla biografia di Zweig emergeva il pessimo rapporto con il denaro da parte dello scrittore e il suo debole per il lusso inutile e pacchiano. Nel negozio il commesso lascia il campo al padrone, descritto come un ometto piccolo e infido e costui offre a Raphael un rettangolo di pelle di zigrino che avrebbe la capacit脿 di esaudire tutti i desideri di chi la riceve, salvo consumarsi esaudendoli e portando alla morte colui che troppo desidera. Raphael ovviamente firma il patto come il Dorian di Wilde e prende con s茅 il talismano. Non 猫 l鈥檈scamotage, pi霉 volte sfruttato nei secoli, a difettare, ma la prosa. Raphael pelle alla mano, vede immediatamente svoltare la propria vita ed essere introdotto nel mondo aristocratico che tanto agognava. Viene invitato ad un banchetto in cui si disquisisce senza posa di sociologia, teologia, filosofia affogandole in varie qualit脿 di vini d鈥橭ltralpe. La prosa 猫 velluto rosso striato d鈥檕ro sulla quale si 猫 depositata una polvere secolare. L鈥檌mponente corpo delle note fa luce sui riferimenti ormai smarriti nel tempo, talvolta per貌 aprirle significa ampliare un argomento per il quale non si nutre il minimo interesse. Una noia da romanzo di Balzac (parafrasando Tedoldi); per voltare le pagine servono due mani se si legge di carta e due tocchi qualora si legga in digitale. E quando alla fine del banchetto Raphael ha la pretesa di raccontare all鈥檃mico 脠mile, pi霉 ubriaco di lui, la storia della propria vita partendo dalla scuola dell鈥檌nfanzia? Chiunque in quelle condizioni lo avrebbe neutralizzato addormentandosi da seduto, il povero Emile invece, marionettato da Balzac, 猫 costretto ad assecondare le digressioni infinite e la prosa crassa, barocca, vistosa di Raphael (Emile c鈥檈st moi). Se scrivo che il capitolo migliore del libro si intitola 鈥淟鈥檃gonia鈥�, forse rendo l鈥檌dea di quanto mi sia piaciuto il resto. Sar脿 proprio in quel capitolo che arriveranno le conclusioni filosofiche di Balzac sulla societ脿 francese ottocentesca e sull鈥檈ssere umano nei secoli.
La societ脿 si serve delle caricature per lanciare contro i sovrani decaduti gli affronti che essa pensa di averne ricevuto; simile ai giovani Romani del Circo, essa non concede mai la grazia al gladiatore che cade; vive di oro e di sarcasmo; Morte ai deboli! 猫 il giuramento di questa specie di ordine cavalleresco istituito in tutte le nazioni della terra, cos矛 come si leva dappertutto tra i ricchi, e una tale sentenza 猫 iscritta in fondo ai cuori plasmati dall鈥檕pulenza o nutriti dall鈥檃ristocrazia. ..Se un volatile che si trova in un cortile 猫 sofferente, gli altri lo perseguitano a colpi di becco, lo spennano e l鈥檃mmazzano. Fedele a questa legge dell鈥檈goismo, la gente non lesina i suoi rigori agli infelici coraggiosi abbastanza da affrontarne le feste e rattristarne i piaceri.