Essays on literary works - 2023
About the work of Honore de Balzac
Honore de Balzac
The work of Honore de Balzac developed under the influence of French (F. Rabelais, P. Corneille, Moliere) and English (L. Stern, V. Scott, G. Byron) literary traditions. In addition, he was influenced by the works of mystical philosophers, in particular, the Swedish theosophist E. Swedenborg.
This circle of reading formed the basis for the synthesis of romantic and realistic tendencies in Balzac's prose. The very concept of a collection of works within the framework of a single set of "The Human Comedy" was inspired by romantic ideas about the artist-creator of his own artistic world and a realistic orientation towards the widest and most complete coverage of reality.
The general idea of the epic, designed to "embrace the entire history of modern morals in all details of life, in all strata of society," the writer explained in detail in the Preface to the "Human Comedy": "Describing human vices and virtues, fixing the most interesting manifestations of passions, depicting characters, choosing the most important events in the life of the Society, creating types by combining the features of individual homogeneous characters, I may be able to write a history that has remained unnoticed by an infinite number of scientists - the history of manners. Having plucked up patience and courage, I will thus try to write a long-conceived book about nineteenth-century France ... I will have to reveal the causes or one common cause of the phenomena described, to realize what hidden law governs huge gatherings of people, passions and events. And having studied ... this law, this driving force of social life, I will have to think about the foundations of the world order, I will try to discover in what ways human societies move away, and in what ways they approach the eternal law of being, to truth, to beauty. Despite the large volume of prerequisites, which in themselves could constitute a separate work, the work I have conceived must lead to clear conclusions - otherwise it cannot be considered complete. Having depicted the Society in this way, I will reveal the reasons for its development. the work I have conceived must lead to clear conclusions, otherwise it cannot be considered complete. Having depicted the Society in this way, I will reveal the reasons for its development. the work I have conceived must lead to clear conclusions, otherwise it cannot be considered complete. Having depicted the Society in this way, I will reveal the reasons for its development.