Eugénie Grandet: Analysis of Setting
"Eugénie Grandet: Analysis of Setting" explores the significance of the physical and social environments in Honoré de Balzac's novel "Eugénie Grandet." Set primarily in the provincial town of Saumur, the narrative centers around the Grandet household, characterized by its oppressive atmosphere and the controlling nature of Monsieur Grandet. The family's home—a large, dilapidated structure—acts as a reflection of their social status and emotional entrapment, particularly for Eugénie and her mother, who live under the constant scrutiny and frugality imposed by Grandet. The stark, poorly lit parlor serves as the site for monotonous family gatherings, while Grandet's forbidding study symbolizes his secretive and manipulative nature in financial dealings.
In contrast, the outside world of Saumur is marked by close-knit social dynamics, where gossip permeates daily life, illustrating the town's insular character. The narrative also introduces other locations, such as India and Paris, to highlight contrasting themes of opportunity and moral decay, further enriching the story's context. Through these vivid settings, Balzac delineates the constraints faced by Eugénie and critiques the societal values that dictate their existence, ultimately portraying a life marked by melancholy and confinement.
Eugénie Grandet: Analysis of Setting
First published: 1833 (English translation, 1859)
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Realism
Time of work: 1819-1833
Asterisk denotes entries on real places.
Places Discussed
Grandet house
Grandet house (gran-day). Home of Monsieur Grandet, his wife, his daughter, Eugénie, and his servant, Nanon. Located in Saumur, it is a typical provincial house of western France. Through highly detailed descriptions of both the exterior and the interior of the house, Honoré de Balzac reveals protagonists’ social status and character. Bleak and cold in appearance, the house defines the monotonous and melancholy existence of its three female residents, an existence that is completely controlled by the tyrannical and miserly Grandet. Life is in fact so stifling that only when Grandet is away on business can the women breathe and be themselves. It is not surprising, therefore, that the parents never leave and will die there and that Eugénie views this dismal house as her entire universe. Only her cousin Charles Grandet can free her, and when he chooses to marry another woman—despite making a promise to Eugénie of eternal love given in the Grandets’ ill-kept and overgrown garden—Eugénie ultimately lives out her years in her father’s home, unconsciously re-creating every detail of his own extreme frugality.
Large and in disrepair, the house has three rooms that have special significance. The poorly lit and heated gray parlor serves as the setting for family gatherings and penny-ante card games, always with the same six guests. Monsieur Grandet’s doubly impenetrable study, whose access is forbidden to all, is compared to an alchemist’s laboratory, since he “creates” real gold there out of shrewd economic sense and perfect market timing. Finally, Eugénie’s bedroom is the scene of her virtual imprisonment, following her single act of rebellious independence directed at her father.
*Saumur
*Saumur (soh-MUR). Small town in the Anjou province on the Loire River in western France, best known for its wines and fruit crops. In this closed—and close—setting, everybody knows everything about everybody else, which is then thoroughly discussed and analyzed as gossip runs from house to house and shop to shop.
*India
*India. South Asian subcontinent, which—like America, the West Indies, and Africa—represents a land of opportunity for adventurers, such as Charles Grandet, who are willing to work hard and who are not afraid to engage in unsavory practices in order to build their fortunes.
Marie-Caroline
Marie-Caroline. Passenger brig sailing between America and Europe. Returning on the ship to France are newly rich Charles and the impoverished but noble and well-connected d’Aubrions, whose daughter he courts and eventually marries.
Hôtel d’Aubrion
Hôtel d’Aubrion (oh-brih-YOHN). Mansion in the rue Hillerin-Bertin (now rue de Bellechasse) in the aristocratic Faubourg Saint-Germain district of Paris. Because young Grandet pays off the mortgages and liens on this property, he is able to marry Mademoiselle d’Aubrion and move into her parents’ home.
*Angers
*Angers (an-JEH). City in western France and capital of Anjou. Monsieur de Bonfons, Eugénie’s husband, and Eugénie often commute between Angers and Saumur after he receives several promotions and appointments in the judicial and legislative branches.
*Paris
*Paris. The capital of France, though hardly mentioned in the novel, acts not only as the moral inferior to Saumur by showing worse forms of corruption evident in the behavior of Guillaume Grandet and his son, but also as its defeated rival in the financial operations of Old Grandet and his daughter.
Bibliography
Bertault, Philippe. Balzac and the Human Comedy. Translated by Richard Monges. New York: New York University Press, 1963. A general survey of Balzac’s novels, offering little in-depth analysis of individual works but usefully locating them in relation to Balzac’s major themes and interests. Includes a brief biographical sketch.
Hemmings, F. W. J. Balzac: An Interpretation of “La Comédie Humaine.” New York: Random House, 1967. Chapter 4, “The Cancer,” presents a comparative analysis of Eugénie Grandet, Cousin Bette, and Père Goriot as a trilogy of works centering around a father whose private obsession jeopardizes his family.
Levin, Harry. The Gates of Horn: A Study of Five French Realists. New York: Oxford University Press, 1963. A study of literary realism in France. In chapter 4, Levin includes several specific references to Eugénie Grandet.
Maurois, André. Prometheus: The Life of Balzac. Translated by Norman Denny. Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England: Penguin Books, 1971. The definitive biography of Balzac, which provides detailed context for and some commentary on all of the major works, including Eugénie Grandet.
Schor, Naomi. Breaking the Chain: Women, Theory, and French Realist Fiction. New York: Columbia University Press, 1985. In chapter 5, “Eugénie Grandet: Mirrors and Melancholia,” Schor presents a closely detailed feminist reading of the novel, relying on the insights provided by psychoanalytic theory.