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.
When one despairs of humanity, yet experiences a friendship with another human being, how can one commemorate that friend鈥檚 life after his death? Certainly by 鈥榙oing unto others.鈥� But merely passing on the gift of friendship feels an inadequate tribute to the memory of the originating friend in an unworthy society.
There is something spiritual in the relational connection itself which can鈥檛 be transmitted beyond itself. Something is 鈥榦wed鈥� to the friendship. 鈥淕别苍颈耻蝉,鈥� Balzac says, 鈥渁lways presupposes moral insight.鈥� And since morality is about people not ideas, or beliefs, or principles it may be necessary to give these up in order to be authentically moral, particularly if one is an 鈥渋nvincible atheist.鈥� Perhaps a spiritual offering is the only solution.
As an incidental footnote: I was for some time a member of St. Benet鈥檚 Hall, one of the Catholic colleges at Oxford University. There arose a rumour st some point, attested by several reliable folk, that Richard Dawkins was seen more than once entering the Hall on Sunday mornings for Mass. I discounted the story as an Oxford myth. After reading this Balzac story I鈥檓 not so sure. It might have been true.
"I am like many pious men, men who appear to be profoundly religious but are quite atheistic as we are, you and I." - Honor茅 de Balzac , "The Atheist's Mass"
Vol N掳 41 of my Penguin . This book contains two of Honor茅 de Balzac's short stories.
Included were:
1. "The Atheist's Mass" - 鈽呪槄鈽呪槄鈽� 2. "The Conscript" - 鈽呪槄鈽呪槄
"The Atheist's Mass" or "La Messe de l'ath茅e" killed me; ate me up and devoured me. Perhaps, it was the prose. It could be. It was clean, quotable, philosophic, humanistic. It is the kind of writing I could read for days at a time. But it was more than that. Balzac, in this story, seemed to capture the compexity and the nuance of man. The story is considered to be part of Balzac's Sc猫nes de la vie priv茅e in . "The Conscript" or "Le R茅quisitionnaire" is a story about a French aristocrat, Mme de Dey, during the French Revolution (1793). She is balancing her social needs in Normandy while trying to protect her son's legacy.
Like several of the writers in this series, I knew Balzac by reputation. My wife has read several of his books. But I had never read a story or novel he had written. These two stories insure that I will dive a lot deeper into his books over the next several years.
An average short story by Honor茅 de Balzac written in 1836, that was later included in 鈥淭he Human Comedy (La Com茅die Humaine), this story has little in the way of plot but rather contains a variety of powerful messages, ranging from social aspects, to morals and religion. Balzac allies with his two main characters, Doctors Horace Bianchon and Desplain, and delivers a refined insight into the integration of beliefs and knowledge in the context of humanity. Using the report of young Dr. H. Bianchon, whose medical practice was supervised by the renowned Dr. Desplain, the story introduces a significant social and philosophical matter, that of atheism, as a result of scientific thinking, and its implications in direct human relationships in 19th Century France. Although the text is not what I expected, it fact for me it's pretty poor, it still manages to provide a complex perspective on the matter through the portrayal of two types of relationships, that between Bianchon and Desplain (both atheists) and the one between Desplain and Bourgeat, a religious water-carrier who helped Desplein start his medical career although he himself was poor and could not even afford to fulfil his own modest dreams.
What initially appears to be a hypocrisy alarm that needs to be verified turns out to be a example of humanity, respect, understanding of human nature and gratitude. It is about understanding and accepting individual differences, and at the same time allowing yourself to be who you are and staying true to your own mindset and beliefs. It is about humanity as one of the highest forms of virtue, one that surpasses any limitation of status or creed. It is also about privacy and intimacy. About generosity and propagation of kindness. I get all that, far enough, it carries an important message, but it's no more than that. As a story though it's easily forgettable, read so much better.
I disliked this not for what it told, or spoke of, or what morals it may have wanted to express but for the fact that it was boring and slow and, well, just bad. Translations are not often so terrible as this.
Balzac undoubtedly loved the beautiful life. On the day of the death of one of his very rich uncles, who left him a substantial inheritance, Balzac announced the news as follows : " Today, at 5 o'clock in the morning, my uncle and I passed into a better world ". I can't help but admire his clarvoyance.
Honor茅 de Balzac was a French writer who composed La Com茅die humaine, a collection of interlinked novels and stories that together present life as it was in France during the post-Napoleonic era. This Little Black Classic features two short stories taken from his magnum opus: The Atheist's Mass and The Conscript.
While the first tells the story of a masterful doctor and known atheist, who is seen attending a mass four times a year. As the story unfolds, we learn of compassion, tenderness and respect for the faith of others. The second gives us insight into the life of a mother who is waiting for her son to return from war.
Both are powerful stories with a moral. I fell for de Balzac's writing immediately: his words are slow burning, he takes time to introduce his characters, but because of that he enables them to come alive. There's a lot telling and comparatively little showing in here, but we're provided a stunning portrait of times different to ours today.
In 2015 Penguin introduced the Little Black Classics series to celebrate Penguin's 80th birthday. Including little stories from "around the world and across many centuries" as the publisher describes, I have been intrigued to read those for a long time, before finally having started. I hope to sooner or later read and review all of them!
When I first started reading the Atheist's Mass I got about half-way through and was thinking "Oh great, another book written to tell us how all atheists secretly want / revert to religion" and then I finished it, and was pleasantly surprised to discover that it was in fact about an atheist who, in spite of their own personal beliefs, gave the only thing the could to honor the memory of someone who helped them. It was in fact a story about an atheist being a normal, rational and honorable human being. Yay! To be represented in literature as we actually are is a wonderful thing. the second story in this little book was a little insight into living during the Terror of the french revolution.
I began my evening watching, John Le Carre's, BBC production of , TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY. After that I watched the masterful Itzhak Perlman perform Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D major. And I finished of the night reading Balzac's, THE ATHEIST'S MASS. What an exclamation point to an elevated night. One of the great things about Balzac is that he always leaves you with yourself, or myself in my case.
I love reading Penguin Black Classics 鈥� because I never know what I'm going to find.
This turned out to be two short stories; one about faith and one about family ties during the French Revolution. Both filled with wonderful insight and wit.
While the stories themselves perhaps don't make unforgettable reading experiences, the book has done its job as an appetizer and made me hungry for more. Which is the point with these tiny volumes after all.
Two short stories. The first one was about two atheist doctors.All about hunger poverty love devotion. I liked the point he makes by saying 'A surgeon's fame is like an actor's. It exists only so long as he is alive and his talent can no longer be appreciated once he has gone'. The second story is about the love of Madame de Rey for her only son.
Balzac wastes little time giving us background for this story that is shorter than most. It could easily be read in one sitting. I am a slow reader and started it one evening and quickly finished it the next day.
Although most descriptions I see say this is an introduction to Bianchon, it is really the story of the surgeon Desplein. Desplein, an atheist, is observed entering Saint Sulpice. Bianchon cannot believe his eyes, but after several years of wondering why this should happen, he sits with Desplein and listens to his explanation. Balzac's endings tend to be sad with more than a tinge of irony. This story is just plain sad and it pricked my emotions more than he usually does. It is quite good, but I think it is not typical.
The title story was quite enjoyable. There is something about this story that pulled me in, maybe it is because as I read more of these older classics there is more that I can compare it with perhaps. The second story was reasonable enough but lacked the warmth that seemed to pervade the first.
Overall it might be worth visiting de Balzac for some more stories.
This book has two short stories about faith and sacrificial love. The first is about a surgeon who is an atheist, yet goes to mass four times a year and the reasons why he chooses to live what, some may see, a life of conflicting ideologies. It was touching tale and I really enjoyed it. The second was about a mother during the French Revolution. It was alright but nothing memorable, and for me, let the book down.
Two absolutely fantastic short stories. I enjoyed the first (the title story) ever so slightly more than the second as it really struck a chord with me. Both were simple stories that had an important message - poverty, generosity, tolerance and love were all touched on at some point. More detail in my wrap up on my channel at the end of the month :)
Such a beautiful story. In such a short space, my expectations changed many times. I was expecting a whole different story, but in the end it was a pleasant surprise. Balzac really proved to be a writer of the highest level; I will make sure to read Goriot.
I was expecting more of a religious or religion-critical type of story given the title and while the first story, that has given the name of this book, was just that, the second story was completely different. They were good, but no more than that.
Principalul punct forte al povestirii de fa葲膬 este descrierea rela葲iei de tip maestru-discipol dintre cei doi doctori - "Marele" Desplein 葯i Horace Bianchon - pentru care ateismul este un fel de nou膬 religie. A葯a c膬 este de 卯n葲eles 葯ocul pe care 卯l resimte Bianchon atunci c芒nd descoper膬 c膬 maestrul s膬u particip膬 cu smerenie la o mes膬 pe care el 卯nsu葯i a comandat-o 葯i nu de ieri de azi, ci de dou膬zeci de ani, de patru ori 卯n fiecare an: "脦mi ve牛i spune, scumpe maestre 鈥� 卯ntreb膬 Bianchon pe Desplein c芒nd ie艧ir膬 din biseric膬 鈥� care este pricina acestei cucernicii? P芒n膬 acum v-am surprins, tocmai pe dumneavoastr膬, de trei ori la liturghie! 脦mi ve牛i deslu艧i oare aceast膬 tain膬 艧i ve牛i l膬muri flagranta nepotrivire dintre p膬rerile 艧i purtarea dumneavoastr膬? 脦n Dumnezeu nu crede牛i 艧i la biseric膬 totu艧i merge牛i! Scumpe maestre, sunte牛i 牛inut s膬-mi r膬spunde牛i". Pentru a afla r膬spunsul la aceast膬 enigm膬, cititorul trebuie s膬 citeasc膬 povestirea lui Balzac. 脦n final, mai trebuie doar remarcat faptul c膬 biserica la care merge Desplein de patru ori pe an este Saint-Sulpice, una dintre cele mai interesante din Paris datorit膬 faptului c膬 aici exist膬 gnomonul, un instrument astronomic de m膬surare a pozi葲iei soarelui. De葯i Balzac nu face referire la gnomon 卯n aceast膬 povestire, Saint-Sulpice va deveni faimoas膬 卯n 卯ntreaga lume datorit膬 faptului c膬 aici se desf膬葯oar膬 o bun膬 parte din ac葲iunea bestseller-ului cu titlu stupid 葯i con葲inut pe m膬sur膬 al lui Dan Brown, Codul lui da Vinci, care face din Saint-Sulpice 葯i din gnomon unul dintre sediile Fr膬葲iei care e depozitara tuturor secretelor lumii noastre, dar pe care Dan Brown 卯nsu葯i a reu葯it s膬 le descopere. Lectur膬 pl膬cut膬!
Balzac is often too sentimental for me, but this sentimental story touched my heart. It is the story of the surgeon Desplein who was guide and mentor to the prominent physician Bianchon when he was a student. One day Bianchon is puzzled to see Desplain attending mass, when he knows the surgeon to be an atheist; and when a year later he see Desplain do the same thing, he resolves to find out the reason for this apparent contradiction. He sits down beside Desplain in the pew, and thus it is that Desplain provides an explanation. It seems that when he was young, and extremely poor, a fellow lodger, a water-carrier named Bourgeat, as poor as he, took pity on him and shared everything he had. He paid for transport to new lodgings when they were thrown out for not paying the rent, he went without the best food himself so that Desplain could have coffee when he needed to stay awake to study, and he even paid Desplain's examination fees. When he graduated and became well-known and successful, Desplain never forgot Bourgeat and used his first year's salary to buy the horse and cart that Bourgeat had been saving for when first they met. Desplain tended Bourgeat when he was ill, and when his time came, he died in Desplain's arms. And in his memory, Desplain founded four masses annually, and attends them himself, because Bourgeat was a devout believer, and Desplain respects that faith. Indeed, he wishes, sometimes, that he had it himself.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
The short story of the master surgeon Desplein and how his disciple Bianchon caught the avowed atheist heading to mass four times a year. Desplein relates how although being a naturalist, he still attends mass.
I think the central conflict in this short story is what atheist feel and the naturally human desire to please either yourself or others. When is a lie evil? Is it wrong to tell someone it's going to be okay, when you know they are going to die?
Desplein is driven by compassion, and many of those touched by the divine are as well. The question, then, do you need to be religious to be compassionate? And if you are not religious, should God (if you believe) be compassionate of those who are not?
Very interesting short story, one of which, I can easily relate to and that does not have easy answers for the believers or nonbelievers.
Conto publicado em 1836, traz como personagem o m茅dico Desplein, professor do j谩 conhecido dr. Bianchon. Desplein 茅 uma homenagem ao famoso fisiologista dr. Guillaume Dupuytren, cirurgi茫o da fam铆lia real, morto um ano antes da publica莽茫o do conto. Traz como tema um mist茅rio: o que leva um ateu convicto como Desplein a rezar e orientar uma missa 4 vezes ao ano? 脡 isso que o leitor ir谩 descobrir junto com dr. Bianchon.
Hist贸rico de leitura
80% (56 de 70)
"Cat贸lico ardoroso, nunca me disse uma 煤nica palavra sobre minha religi茫o."
16% (11 de 70)
"Um m茅dico a quem a ci锚ncia deve uma bela fisiol贸gica e que, jovem ainda, se colocou entre as celebridades da Escola de Paris, centro de luzes ao qual todos os m茅dicos da Europa prestam homenagem, o dr. Bianchon praticou durante muito tempo a cirurgia antes de se dedicar 脿 cirurgia."
Two stories about faith, doubt, waiting and trying. The stories are different and also reflect different kind of characters and complication of stories. I liked the first one for the struggling aspects, life, science and faith reflections. The second story was more about believing trying and failing, the moral was strong.
Can a man be religious yet not believe in God? Apparantly so, according to BallSack, er, I mean Balzac as he spins this touching story of a reclusive yet brilliant doctor who balances two wildly different ideologies into one fascinating life.
My first bit of Balzac. I enjoyed his writing style and apparent depth of character, creating a detailed picture of the story's characters, with only a few words. I'm intrigued, and plan to read more.