Posted by Honore de Balzac. The life and creative path of Honore de Balzac, biography
Balzac comes from a peasant family, his father was engaged in buying up noble lands that were confiscated from the owners, then resold them.
Honore would not have been Balzac if his father had not changed his surname and bought the particle “de”, because the old one seemed plebeian to him.
As for the mother, she was the daughter of a merchant from Paris. Balzac's father saw his son only in the field of lawyering.
That is why in 1807-1813 Oneret was a student at the College of Vendôme, and in 1816-1819 the Paris School of Law became the place of his further education, at the same time the young man worked as a scribe for a notary.
But a legal career did not appeal to Balzac, and he chose the literary path. He received almost no attention from his parents. It is not surprising that he ended up at Vendôme College against his will. There, visiting relatives was allowed once a year - during the Christmas holidays.
During the first years spent in college, Honore was often in the punishment cell; after the third grade, he began to get used to college discipline, but he did not stop laughing at the teachers. At the age of 14, he was taken home due to illness; for five years it did not recede and hopes for recovery dried up. And suddenly, in 1816, after moving to Paris, he finally recovered.
Since 1823, Balzac published several works under pseudonyms. In these novels, he adhered to the ideas of “fierce romanticism”; this was justified by Honore’s desire to follow fashion in literature. He didn’t want to remember this experience later.
In 1825-1828, Balzac tried himself as a publisher, but without success. As a writer, Honore de Balzac was influenced by the historical novels of Walter Scott. In 1829, the first one was published under the name “Balzac” - “Chouans”.
This was followed by the following works by Balzac: “Scenes privacy" - 1830. The story "Gobsek" - 1830, the novel "The Elixir of Longevity" - 1830-1831, the philosophical novel "Shagreen Skin" - 1831. Begins work on the novel "A Thirty-Year-Old Woman", the cycle "Naughty Stories" - 1832-1837 Partially autobiographical novel "Louis Lambert" - 1832, "Seraphite" - 1835, novel "Père Goriot" - 1832, novel "Eugenie Grande" - 1833.
As a result of his unsuccessful business activities, considerable debts arose. Fame came to Balzac, but his financial fortune did not increase. Wealth remained only in dreams. Honore did not stop working hard - 15-16 hours a day spent writing works. As a result, it was possible to publish up to six books a day. In his first works, Balzac raised various themes and ideas. But they all concerned various spheres of life in France and its inhabitants.
The main characters were people from various social strata: clergy, merchants, aristocracy; from various social institutions: state, army, family. The actions took place in villages, provinces and in Paris. In 1832, Balzac began correspondence with an aristocrat from Poland, E. Hanska. She lived in Russia, where he arrived in 1843.
Subsequent meetings took place in 1847 and 1848. already in Ukraine. Officially, the marriage with E. Ganskaya was registered shortly before the death of Honore de Balzac, who died in Paris on August 18, 1850. There he was buried in the Père Lachaise cemetery. A biography of Honoré de Balzac was written by his sister Madame Surville in 1858.
A country: France
Was born: May 20, 1799
Died: August 18, 1850
Honore de Balzac(fr. Honoré de Balzac) - French writer, one of the founders of realism in European literature.
Balzac's largest work is the series of novels and stories “Human Comedy”, which paints a picture of the life of French society contemporary to the writer. Balzac's work was very popular in Europe and, during his lifetime, earned him a reputation as one of the greatest prose writers of the 19th century. Balzac's works influenced the work of such major writers as Charles Dickens, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Emile Zola, William Faulkner and others.
Honore de Balzac was born in Tours in the family of a peasant from Languedoc, Bernard François Balssa (06/22/1746-06/19/1829). Balzac's father became rich by buying and selling confiscated noble lands during the revolution, and later became an assistant to the mayor of Tours. Has no relation to French writer Jean-Louis Guez de Balzac (1597-1654). Father Honore changed his last name and became Balzac. Mother Anne-Charlotte-Laure Salambier (1778-1853) was much younger than her husband and even outlived her son. She came from the family of a Parisian cloth merchant.
The father prepared his son to become a lawyer. In 1807-1813, Balzac studied at the College Vendôme, in 1816-1819 - at the Paris School of Law, and at the same time worked as a scribe for a notary; however, he abandoned his legal career and devoted himself to literature. The parents did not do much with their son. He was placed at the Collège Vendôme against his will. Meetings with family were prohibited there all year round, with the exception of the Christmas holidays. During the first years of his studies, he had to be in a punishment cell many times. In the fourth grade, Honore began to come to terms with school life, but he didn’t stop ridiculing the teachers... At the age of 14, he fell ill, and his parents took him home at the request of the college authorities. For five years Balzac was seriously ill, it was believed that there was no hope of recovery, but soon after the family moved to Paris in 1816, he recovered.
The director of the school, Marechal-Duplessis, wrote in his memoirs about Balzac: “Starting from the fourth grade, his desk was always full of writings...”. Honore with early years He was fond of reading, he was especially attracted to the works of Rousseau, Montesquieu, Holbach, Helvetius and other French educators. He also tried to write poetry and plays, but his children's manuscripts have not survived. His essay “Treatise on the Will” was taken away by his teacher and burned before his eyes. Later, the writer would describe his childhood years at an educational institution in the novels “Louis Lambert”, “Lily in the Valley” and others.
After 1823, he published several novels under various pseudonyms in the spirit of “frantic romanticism.” Balzac strove to follow literary fashion, and later he himself called these literary experiments “sheer literary swinishness” and preferred not to remember them. In 1825-1828 he tried to engage in publishing, but failed.
In 1829, the first book signed with the name “Balzac” was published - the historical novel “The Chouans” (Les Chouans). Balzac's formation as a writer was influenced by the historical novels of Walter Scott. Balzac's subsequent works: “Scenes of Private Life” (Scènes de la vie privée, 1830), the novel “The Elixir of Longevity” (L"Élixir de longue vie, 1830-1831, a variation on the themes of the legend of Don Juan); the story “Gobsek” ( Gobseck, 1830) attracted the attention of readers and critics. In 1831, Balzac published his philosophical novel “The Shagreen Skin” (La Peau de chagrin) and began the novel “The Thirty-Year-Old Woman” (French) (La femme de trente ans). The cycle “The Naughty Ones” stories" (Contes drolatiques, 1832-1837) - an ironic stylization of Renaissance short stories. The partly autobiographical novel "Louis Lambert" (Louis Lambert, 1832) and especially the later "Séraphîta" (1835) reflected Balzac's fascination with the mystical concepts of E Swedenborg and Clay de Saint-Martin.
His hope of becoming rich had not yet been realized (he was weighed down by debt - the result of his unsuccessful business ventures) when fame began to come to him. Meanwhile, he continued to work hard, working at his desk for 15-16 hours a day, and publishing 3 to 6 books annually.
The works created during the first five or six years of his writing career depict the most diverse areas of contemporary life in France: the village, the province, Paris; various social groups- merchants, aristocracy, clergy; various social institutions - family, state, army.
In 1845, the writer was awarded the Order of the Legion of Honor.
Honore de Balzac died on August 18, 1850, at the age of 52. The cause of death was gangrene, which developed after he injured his leg on the corner of the bed. However fatal disease was only a complication of several years of painful illness associated with the destruction of blood vessels, presumably arteritis.
Balzac was buried in Paris, at the Père Lachaise cemetery. “All the writers of France came out to bury him.” From the chapel where they said goodbye to him, and to the church where he was buried, among the people bearing the coffin were Alexandre Dumas and Victor Hugo.
Balzac and Evelina Ganskaya
In 1832, Balzac met in absentia Evelina Ganskaya, who entered into correspondence with the writer without revealing her name. Balzac met Evelina in Neuchâtel, where she arrived with her husband, the owner of vast estates in Ukraine, Wenceslaus Hansky. In 1842, Wenceslav Gansky died, but his widow, despite a long-term affair with Balzac, did not marry him, as she wanted to pass on her husband’s inheritance to her only daughter (by marrying a foreigner, Ganskaya would have lost her fortune). In 1847-1850, Balzac stayed at the Ganskaya Verkhovnya estate (in the village of the same name in the Ruzhinsky district, Zhitomir region, Ukraine). Balzac married Evelina Ganskaya on March 2, 1850 in the city of Berdichev, in the Church of St. Barbara; after the wedding, the couple left for Paris. Immediately upon arriving home, the writer fell ill, and Evelina looked after her husband until his last days.
In the unfinished “Letter about Kyiv” and private letters, Balzac left references to his stay in the Ukrainian towns of Brody, Radzivilov, Dubno, Vishnevets and others. He visited Kyiv in 1847, 1848 and 1850.
Key dates of life and work
1799, May 20. In the city of Tours, Bernard Francois and Anne Charlotte Laura Balzac had a son, Honore. Soon his parents send him to be raised by a nurse in the village of Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire, where he remains for four years.
1807, June 22. Balzac was assigned to the College of Vendome monks of the Oratorian order.
1811. Balzac's first literary experiments.
1813, April 22. Parents take Balzac, who has suffered a serious nervous illness, home from college.
The end of the year. Balzac's family moves from Tours to Paris. Honore is sent to the Lepitra boarding house.
July. Second Bourbon Restoration (1815–1830).
Autumn. Balzac goes to the College of Hanse and Bezelin.
1817. Balzac works as a scribe in the office of the lawyer Guyon de Merville, attends lectures on literature at the Sorbonne.
1819, April 10. Balzac graduates from the School of Rights and decides to become a writer. His father, having retired, leaves with his family for Villeparisis. Balzac remains alone in Paris. His parents give him a two-year "trial period" to test his literary talent.
1820, April. Balzac's first work was completed - the tragedy in verse "Cromwell".
Autumn. Balzac's acquaintance with the literary businessman L'Aigreville, the beginning of work on “black” novels.
December. Transfer from Paris to Villeparisis.
1822. Balzac's first novels are published, signed by pseudonyms - Lord R"Un and Horace de Saint-Aubin.
November December. Moving to Paris. Meet Henri Monnier, later a famous cartoonist. Getting started with newspapers.
1824. First draft of The Physiology of Marriage. Working on pulp novels, which are published one after another.
1825. Publishing activities. Release of one-volume editions of Moliere and Lafontaine. Meet the writer Henri Latouche.
1826. Entrepreneurial activity. Purchase of a printing house.
1827. Purchase of a foundry. Commercial failures. Bankruptcy.
May. Return to literary activity.
September October. A trip to Brittany to study the setting of the novel about the Chouans.
1829, March. The publication of the first novel signed with the name of Balzac - “The Last Chouan, or Brittany in 1799” (later called “The Chouans, or Brittany in 1799”).
December. The appearance of the book “The Physiology of Marriage.” The beginning of literary fame. Visits to salons, numerous literary acquaintances, collaboration in newspapers and magazines “Fashion”, “Voleur” and others.
May June. Essays in newspapers and magazines.
August 9. The establishment of the July Monarchy, the accession to the throne of King Louis Philippe, a protege of the financial oligarchy, moneylenders and bankers.
September. The magazine "Voleur" publishes Balzac's "Letters about Paris".
November December. Satirical essays by Balzac in the magazine "Caricature". Balzac's acquaintance with Stendhal. Balzac joins the broad opposition against the July regime.
1831, January - June. Publication of satirical essays in Parisian magazines and newspapers.
August. The publication of the novel “Shagreen Skin”.
September. Publication of the collection “Philosophical Novels and Fairy Tales” (including “Shagreen Skin”, “An Unknown Masterpiece”, “Elixir of Longevity”, etc.).
October. Balzac is visiting Sasha (Touraine) with the Margonnes, working on the first ten “Naughty Stories”.
November 21 - December 3. The weavers' revolt in Lyon (reflected in a number of Balzac's works). The appearance of the first translations of Balzac in Russia.
February. Publication of the short story “Colonel Chabert” in the magazine “Artist”.
May. Second edition of “Scenes of Private Life” in 4 volumes (new stories and short stories included: “The Priest of Tours”, “The Thirty-Year-Old Woman”, etc.).
June 5–6. Republican uprising in Paris against the regime of the July Monarchy. Barricade battles in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine; the heroic resistance of the Republicans on the Rue Saint-Merri.
August - October. Balzac's journey to Aix with the Duchess de Castries.
October. Publication of the collection “New Philosophical Stories” (“Master Cornelius”, “The Red Hotel”, “Louis Lambert”, etc.).
December. Publication in Russia of the novel “Shagreen Skin” and the collection “Scenes of Private Life.”
1833, January - February. An exchange of letters with Ganskaya, the beginning of a correspondence that then continued throughout his life.
April May. Balzac in Angoulême visiting Carro.
June. The idea of combining works into a series “Studies on the Morals of the 19th Century”.
July. The second ten "Naughty stories".
August. The novel “The Country Doctor” is published.
December. The beginning of the release of the series “Studies on the Morals of the 19th Century” - the novel “Eugenia Grande”, the story “The Illustrious Gaudissart” and others.
August 4th. In a letter to Ganskaya, Balzac admits his disappointment with the Legitimist party.
October 26. A sketch of a future series of novels, later called The Human Comedy by Balzac.
December. The novel “Père Goriot” is published in the Revue de Paris; published as a separate edition in March 1835.
November. New volumes of “Studies on the Morals of the 19th Century” (“Marriage Contract”, “Golden-Eyed Girl”, etc.).
1836, January - April. Work in the newspaper "Chronique de Paris", whose shares were purchased by Balzac. Publication of the short stories “Mass of the Atheist”, “The Case of Guardianship”, “Facino Cane”.
End of April. Five days in jail for refusing to serve in the National Guard.
June. The novel “Lily in the Valley” is being published as a separate edition. July. The collapse of the newspaper "Cronique de Paris".
End of July. Death of Madame de Bernis.
August. Trip to Italy.
End of February - beginning of May. Travel to Italy (Milan, Venice, Genoa, Florence).
May. Balzac is hiding from creditors in the house of Marchioness Guidoboni-Visconti.
October. Flight from creditors in Sevres. Purchase of a piece of land for the construction of the Giardi estate.
December. The third dozen “Naughty Stories” and the novel “The History of the Greatness and Fall of Caesar Birotteau” were published.
March. Departure for Corsica, and then to the island of Sardinia to obtain a concession to develop silver mines. The concession was received by another bidder.
June July. Start of construction of a house in Giardi.
October. A collection of short stories and stories in 2 volumes (“The Banker’s House of Nucingen”, “An Outstanding Woman”, “Torpil”, etc.).
1839, June. Publication of the second part of “Lost Illusions” - “Provincial Celebrity in Paris”. The persecution of Balzac by the bourgeois press.
December. Balzac withdraws his candidacy for the Academy after learning that V. Hugo should run at the same time as him.
June July August. Publication of the magazine "Revue Parisien"; Three issues were published containing Balzac’s story “Z. Marcas", his numerous articles and reviews.
1841, March 3. Balzac's brochure "Memorandum to gentlemen of deputies on copyright."
June 1st. An agreement was concluded for the publication of The Human Comedy (16 volumes were published from 1842 to 1846, and an additional 17th volume was published in 1848).
1842, July. The last issue of the first volume of “The Human Comedy” is published with a preface by Balzac, explaining his plan and principles of creativity.
October November. The newspaper “Press” publishes the novel “The Life of a Bachelor.”
July. Travel to St. Petersburg.
November December. Return to Paris. Disease.
1844, September - November. Work on the novel "Peasants". Publication of the first part of the novel “The Splendor and Poverty of Courtesans.”
October November. A trip with Hanska to Lyon and Naples.
April May. Traveling around Italy.
September 28. Buying a house in Paris on Rue Fortuné (after Balzac's death the street was named after him).
December 3. The newspaper Constituciónnel has completed publication of the novel Cousin Bette, the first episode of Poor Relatives.
May 10. The newspaper Constituciónnel has completed publication of the novel Cousin Pons, the second episode of Poor Relatives.
September. Departure for Ukraine, to the Ganskaya Verkhovnya estate, located near Berdichev.
November. Visit to Kyiv.
December. Work on the play "Stepmother".
February 22–25. Revolution in France, proclamation of a bourgeois republic. Formation of a provisional government led by the poet Lamartine.
April 19. Letter from Balzac in the newspaper Constituciónnel, defending the principles of a “strong republican government.” Balzac's agreement to run for deputies of the National Assembly.
May 15. Speech by left-wing Republicans led by Blanqui and Barbes. An attempt at a revolutionary seizure of power in Paris, which ended with the arrest of leaders and mass repressions.
May 25. Premiere of the play "Stepmother" at the Historical Theater.
June 23–26. The uprising of the Parisian proletariat against the February bourgeois republic. Barricades. Street fighting. The bloody suppression of the uprising by General Cavaignac, who received dictatorial powers from the government.
July. State of siege in Paris. Terror and repression against participants in the uprising.
1849, January 11. Balzac's candidacy was rejected in the elections to the Academy; Noailles was preferred to him.
January 18. In the elections to the Academy, Balzac's candidacy was once again voted out, and Saint-Priest was elected instead.
April. Balzac is seriously ill in Verkhovna.
June August. Balzac is seriously ill.
August 21. Balzac's funeral at Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris. Funeral speech of Victor Hugo.
Documentary about Balzac:
Feature film The Mistake of Honore de Balzac (1968)
You can also read about the life and work of Emile Zola:
Bibliography
Human Comedy
Sketches about morals
Scenes of private life
Essays
The Unhappy (1830)
Grocer (1830)
Idle and toiler (1830)
Madame of All Gods (1830)
Bois de Boulogne and Luxembourg Gardens (1830)
About landowner life (1830)
Minister (1830)
Sketch (1830)
On literary salons and words of praise (1830)
Romantic Akathists (1830)
Grisette (1831)
Honore de Balzac became the person who most popularized realism in literature. Many European writers studied with him. Contemporaries admire the writer’s works even today.
Childhood of a stubborn genius
On May 20th, the town of Tours in France added another little resident - Honore de Balzac. The boy was born in 1799. His parents were of peasant origin.
The peasant family of the future lawyer and writer came from the outskirts of Languedoc. During the times of bourgeois revolutionary unrest, Father Honore was able to make a brilliant career for that time. He achieved the position of assistant mayor in his hometown.
The boy's mother came from a trading family and was much younger than her husband. She later also outlived her son.
Before the revolution, the family's surname was Balsa. After the revolutionary upheavals, the head of the family decided to take the surname Balzac..
Honore's father, who had become rich, wanted a better fate for his son, so he enrolled him in the School of Law in Paris itself. Studying to become a lawyer did not particularly attract the dreamy Honore; he did not get along with the teachers. As a teenager, the young man fell ill and completed his studies by correspondence at home.
All free time Balzac Jr. devoted himself to the study of world literature. His favorite authors were Rousseau, Holbach and Montesquieu.
Early successes and failures
Determined in his desire to become a writer, Honore tried his hand at publishing and wrote romantic novels. Neither activity was successful. The losing streak lasted from 1823 to 1828.
Success came to Balzac thanks to his amazing ability to work. He could work up to 16 hours a day. Over the course of a year, the young writer released 5-6 works to the public.
The writer used real themes in his novels. The reasons for new works were simple everyday scenes, events in the country, life in provincial cities, the nobility and the poor. Honore de Balzac wrote “on the topic of the day” and was more successful in this genre than his contemporaries.
Honoré combined all of his works into the “Human Comedy” cycle. There were three blocks about morals, the philosophy of life and the analysis of everything that happens.
The beginning of 1845 became a time of recognition for Honoré. He received the Legion of Honor for his work.
Balzac: events on the personal front
Like most writers, Honore was a subtle and sensitive person, but his personal life was not filled with love successes. When, through correspondence, he met the Polish woman and aristocrat Evelina Ganskaya, he was never able to build a strong alliance with the countess.
Even after the death of her husband, the Countess refused to marry Balzac, as she did not want to lose the inheritance and favor of her only daughter..
At the end of their lives in 1850, after long travels together in Ukraine, Honore de Balzac and Evelina nevertheless got married, but death separated them, not allowing them to fully enjoy the happiness they had suffered.
The death of a great realist
As an old man, Honore de Balzac suffered from severe arthritis. He eventually became so ill that he developed gangrene. In 1850, the writer passed away. He was given a magnificent funeral in Paris. The coffin with the body of the great European prose writer was carried by Dumas and Hugo. The funeral was attended by the best literary minds of the time, aristocrats, as well as numerous relatives.
Today, the works of Honore de Balzac are considered role models. Many people look up to them modern writers, creating in the style of realism. His works are studied in schools and universities, considering them an imperishable classic, useful for young and mature minds.
It is difficult to find a person as versatile as this writer was. He combined talent, uncontrollable temperament and love of life. In his life, great ideas and achievements were combined with petty ambition. His excellent knowledge of highly specialized areas allowed him to speak boldly and reasonably about many problems in psychology, medicine and anthropology.
The life of any person is the sum of many patterns. The life of Honore de Balzac will be no exception.
Brief biography of Honore de Balzac
The writer's father was Bernard Francois Balssa, born into a poor peasant family. He was born on June 22, 1746 in the village of Nogueire in the Tarn department. There were 11 children in his family, of whom he was the eldest. Bernard Balsse's family predicted a spiritual career for him. However, the young man, possessing an extraordinary intelligence, love of life and activity, did not want to part with the temptations of life, and wearing a cassock was not at all part of his plans. The life credo of this person is health. Bernard Balssa had no doubt that he would live to be a hundred years old; he enjoyed the country air and amused himself with love affairs until his old age. This man was characterized by eccentricity. He became rich thanks to the French Revolution by selling and buying up the confiscated lands of nobles. He later became assistant to the mayor of the French city of Tours. Bernard Balssa changed his surname, thinking it was plebeian. In the 1830s, his son Honore would also change his surname by adding the noble particle “de” to it; he would justify this action with the version of his noble origin from the Balzac d’Entregues family.
At the age of fifty, Balzac's father married a girl from the Salambier family, receiving with her a decent dowry. She was 32 years younger than her fiancé and had a penchant for romance and hysteria. Even after marriage, the writer's father led a very free image life. Honore's mother was a sensitive and intelligent woman. Despite her penchant for mysticism and resentment towards the whole world, she, like her husband, did not disdain having affairs on the side. She loved her illegitimate children more than her firstborn Honore. She constantly demanded obedience, complained about non-existent illnesses and grumbled. This poisoned Honore's childhood and affected his behavior, affections and creativity. But a big blow for him was also the execution of his uncle, his father’s brother, for killing a pregnant peasant woman. It was after this shock that the writer changed his last name in the hope of escaping such a relationship. But his belonging to the family of nobles has not yet been proven.
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The writer's childhood. Education
The writer's childhood years were spent outside his parents' home. Until the age of three he was looked after by a nurse, and after that he lived in a boarding school. Afterwards he ended up at the Vendôme College of the Oratorian Fathers (he stayed there from 1807 to 1813). The time he spent within the walls of the college is colored with bitterness in the writer’s memory. The writer's severe mental trauma arose in Honore due to the total absence of any freedom, drill and corporal punishment.
The only consolation for Honore at this time is books. The librarian at the École Polytechnique Supérieure, who taught him mathematics, allowed him to use them unlimitedly. For Balzac, reading replaced real life. Due to his immersion in dreams, he often did not hear what was happening in class, for which he was punished.
Honore was once subjected to such punishment as “wooden trousers.” They put him in stocks, which caused him to have a nervous breakdown. After this, the parents returned their son home. He began to wander around like a somnambulist, slowly answering some questions, and it was difficult for him to return to real life.
It is still not clear whether Balzac was treated at this time, but Jean-Baptiste Naccard observed his entire family, including Honore. Later he became not just a family friend, but especially a friend of the writer.
From 1816 to 1819 Honore studied at the Paris School of Law. His father predicted a future for him as a lawyer, but the young man studied without enthusiasm. After graduating educational institution Without obvious success, Balzac began working as a clerk in the office of a Parisian solicitor, but this did not interest him.
Balzac's later life
Honore decided to become a writer. He asked his parents for financial help for his dream. The family council decided to help their son for 2 years. Honore's mother initially opposed this, but soon she was the first to realize the hopelessness of trying to contradict her son. As a result, Honore began his work. He wrote the drama Cromwell. The work read at the family council was declared worthless. Honoré was denied further financial support.
After this failure, Balzac began a difficult period. He did “day labor” and wrote novels for others. It is still unknown how many such works he created and under whose name he created.
Balzac's writing career began in 1820. Then he publishes action-packed novels under a pseudonym and writes “codes” of secular behavior. One of his pseudonyms is Horace de Saint-Aubin.
The writer's anonymity ended in 1829. It was then that he published the novel “The Chouans, or Brittany in 1799.” Works began to be published under his own name.
Balzac had his own rather strict and very peculiar daily routine. The writer went to bed no later than 6-7 pm and got up to work at 1 am. The work lasted until 8 am. After this, Honore went back to bed for an hour and a half, followed by breakfast and coffee. Afterwards, he remained at his desk until four o'clock in the afternoon. Then the writer took a bath and sat down to work again.
The difference between the writer and his father was that he did not think to live long. Honore treated his own health with great frivolity. He had problems with his teeth, but he did not go to the doctors.
The year 1832 became critical for Balzac. He was already famous. Novels were created that brought him popularity. Publishers are generous and pay advances for works not yet completed. All the more unexpected was the illness that arose in the writer, the origins of which may come from childhood. Honore developed verbal impairments and began to experience auditory and even visual hallucinations. The writer is diagnosed with a symptom of paraphasia (incorrect pronunciation of sounds or replacement of words with words that are similar in sound and meaning).
Paris began to be filled with rumors about the strange behavior of the writer, about the incoherence of his speech and incomprehensible thoughtfulness. In an attempt to stop this, Balzac goes to Sasha, where he lives with old acquaintances.
Despite his illness, Balzac retained his intellect, thought and consciousness. His illness did not affect the personality itself.
Soon the writer began to feel better, his confidence returned. Balzac returned to Paris. The writer again began to drink huge amounts of coffee, using it as a dope. For four years Balzac was in good physical and mental health.
During a walk on June 26, 1836, the writer felt dizzy, unsteady and unsteady in his gait, and blood rushed to his head. Balzac fell unconscious. The fainting did not last long; the very next day the writer felt only some weakness. After this incident, Balzac often complained of pain in his head.
This fainting was confirmation of hypertension. Throughout the next year, Balza worked with his feet dipped in a bowl of mustard water. Dr. Nakkar gave the writer recommendations that he did not follow.
Having finished his next work, the writer returned to society. He tried to regain lost acquaintances and connections. Biographers say that he made a strange impression, being dressed out of fashion and with unwashed hair. But as soon as he joined the conversation, those around him turned all their gazes to him, ceasing to notice the oddities appearance. No one was indifferent to his knowledge, intelligence and talent.
The following years the writer complained of shortness of breath and anxiety. Balzac could hear wheezing in his lungs. In the 40s, the writer suffered from jaundice. After this, he began to experience eyelid twitching and stomach cramps. In 1846 there was a relapse of this disease. Balzac suffered from memory impairment and complications in communication. Forgetting nouns and names of objects has become frequent. Since the late 40s, Balzac suffered from diseases of the internal organs. The writer suffered from Moldavian fever. He was ill for about 2 months, and after recovering, he returned to Paris.
In 1849, cardiac weakness began to increase, and shortness of breath appeared. He began to suffer from bronchitis. Due to hypertension, retinal detachment began. There was a short-term improvement, which again gave way to a worsening of the condition. Cardiac hypertrophy and edema began to develop, and fluid appeared in the abdominal cavity. Soon gangrene and periodic delirium joined everything. He was visited by friends, including Victor Hugo, who left very tragic notes.
The writer died in agony in the arms of his mother. Balzac's death occurred on the night of August 18-19, 1850.
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Writer's personal life
Balzac was very timid and clumsy by nature. And he felt timid even when a pretty young lady approached him. Next door to him lived the de Bernis family, who occupied a higher position. The writer had a passion for Laura de Berni. She was 42 years old and had 9 children, while Balzac had just turned 20. the lady did not immediately surrender to Honore, but was one of his first women. She revealed to him the secrets of a woman’s heart and all the delights of love.
His other Laura was the Duchess d'Abrantes. She appeared in the writer’s life a year after Madame de Bernis. This was an aristocrat unattainable for Balzac, but she too fell before him after 8 months.
Few ladies were able to resist Honore. But such a highly moral woman was found. Her name was Zulma Karro. This was the Versailles friend of his sister Laura de Surville. Honoré felt passion for her, but she felt only maternal tenderness for him. The woman firmly said that they could only be friends.
In 1831, he received an anonymous letter, which turned out to be from the Marquise de Castries, 35 years old. the writer was fascinated by her title. She refused to become the writer's mistress, but was a charming flirt.
On February 28, 1832, he will receive a letter mysteriously signed “Outlander.” It turned out to be sent by Evelina Ganskaya, née Rzhevusskaya. She was young, beautiful, rich and married to an old man. Honore confessed his love to her in the third letter. Their first meeting was in October 1833. After that they separated for 7 years. After meeting Evelina's husband, Balzac began to think about marrying her.
But their marriage took place only in 1850, when the writer was already terminally ill. There were no invitees. Afterwards, the newlyweds arrived in Paris, and on August 19, Honore passed away. The death of the writer was accompanied by the obscenity of his wife. There is a version that in his last hours she was in the arms of Jean Gigou, the artist. But not all biographers believe this. Later Evelina became the wife of this artist.
The work of Honore de Balzac and the most famous works (list)
The first independent novel was "Chouans", published in 1829. He also became famous for his subsequent release, “The Physiology of Marriage.” Next were created:
· 1830 – “Gobsek”;
· 1833 – “Eugenia Grande”;
· 1834 – “Godis-sar”;
· 1835 – “Forgiven Melmoth”;
· 1836 – “Mass of the Atheist”;
· 1837 – “Museum of Antiquities”;
· 1839 – “Pierre Grassou” and many others.
This also includes “Naughty Stories”. “Shagreen Skin” brought real fame to the writer.
Throughout his life, Balzac wrote his main work, a “picture of morals,” called “The Human Comedy.” Its composition:
· “Etudes on Morals” (dedicated to social phenomena);
· “Philosophical Etudes” (play of feelings, their movement and life);
· “Analytical studies” (about morals).
Writer's innovation
Balzac moved away from the novel of personality historical novel. His desire is to designate the “individualized type.” The central figure of his works is bourgeois society, not the individual. He describes the life of classes, social phenomena, society. The line of works is in the victory of the bourgeoisie over the aristocracy and the weakening of morality.
Quotes by Honoré de Balzac
· “Shagreen Skin”: “He realized what a secret and unforgivable crime he had committed against them: he was escaping the power of mediocrity.”
· “Eugenia Grande”: “True love is gifted with foresight and knows that love causes love.”
· “Chouans”: “To forgive offenses, you need to remember them.”
· “Lily of the Valley”: “People are more likely to forgive a blow received in secret than an insult inflicted publicly.”
Balzac's life was not ordinary, and neither was his mind. The works of this writer have conquered the whole world. And his biography is as interesting as his novels.
The father of the future writer was a peasant from Languedoc, who managed to make a career during the French bourgeois revolution and get rich. The mother was much younger than the father (even outlived his son) and also came from a wealthy family of a Parisian cloth merchant.
The surname Balzac was taken by the father of the future writer after the revolution; the real family name was the surname Balsa.
Education
The writer's father, who became an assistant to the mayor of the city of Tours, dreamed of making his son a lawyer. He sent him first to the College of Vendôme, and then to the Paris School of Law.
Honore didn't like it right away at Vendôme College. He studied poorly and could not establish contact with teachers. Contact with family during study was prohibited, and living conditions were excessively harsh. At the age of 14, Honore became seriously ill and was sent home. He never returned to college, graduating in absentia.
Even before his illness, Honore became interested in literature. He voraciously read the works of Rousseau, Montesquieu, and Holbach. Even after entering the Paris School of Law, Honore did not give up his dream of becoming a writer.
Early creativity
Since 1823, Balzac began to write. His first novels were written in the spirit of romanticism. The author himself considered them unsuccessful and tried not to remember them.
From 1825 to 1828, Balzac tried to get into publishing, but failed.
Success
According to a short biography of Honore de Balzac, the writer was a real workaholic. He worked 15 hours a day and published 5-6 novels per year. Gradually fame began to come to him.
Balzac wrote about what surrounded him: about the life of Paris and the French provinces, about the life of the poor and aristocrats. His novels were rather philosophical short stories, revealing the full depth of the social contradictions and severity of social problems that then existed in France. Gradually, Balzac combined all the novels he wrote into one large cycle, which he called the “Human Comedy.” The cycle is divided into three parts: “Etudes on Morals” (this part, for example, included the novel “The Splendor and Poverty of Courtesans”), “Philosophical Etudes” (this included the novel “Shagreen Skin”), “Analytical Etudes” (this part the author included partly autobiographical works, such as “Louis Lambert”).
In 1845, Balzac was awarded the Legion of Honor.
Personal life
The writer’s personal life did not take shape until he entered into correspondence (at first anonymous) with the Polish aristocrat Countess Ewelina Hanska. She was married to a very rich landowner who had large lands in Ukraine.
A feeling flared up between Balzac and Countess Ganskaya, but even after the death of her husband, she did not dare to become the writer’s legal wife, because she was afraid of losing her husband’s inheritance, which she wanted to pass on to her only daughter.
Death of a Writer
Only in 1850, Balzac, who, by the way, stayed with his beloved for a long time, visiting Kyiv, Vinnitsa, Chernigov and other cities of Ukraine with her, and Evelina were able to officially get married. But their happiness was short-lived, since immediately upon returning to his homeland the writer fell ill and died of gangrene, which developed against the background of pathological vascular arthritis.
The writer was buried with all possible honors. It is known that during the funeral his coffin was carried in turn by all the prominent literary figures of France of that time, including Alexandre Dumas and Victor Hugo.
Other biography options
- Balzac became very popular in Russia during his lifetime, although the authorities were wary of the writer’s work. Despite this, he was allowed to enter Russia. The writer visited St. Petersburg and Moscow several times: in 1837, 1843, 1848 -1850. He was received very warmly. At one of these meetings between the writer and readers, young F. Dostoevsky was present, who, after a conversation with the writer, decided to translate the novel “Eugenia Grande” into Russian. This was the first literary translation and the first publication made by the future classic of Russian literature.
- Balzac loved coffee. He drank about 50 cups of coffee a day.