Lost Illusions by Honoré de Balzac
"Lost Illusions" is a novel by Honoré de Balzac, written between 1837 and 1843 that explores the social dynamics of 19th-century France, particularly in the town of Angoulême. The narrative follows Lucien Chardon, the ambitious son of a chemist, and his friend David Séchard, the son of a printer, as they navigate the complexities of love, ambition, and the harsh realities of life as they aspire to rise in society. Lucien, driven by dreams of literary success, becomes embroiled in a romantic relationship with the older Madame de Bargeton, which leads him to Paris and a series of unfortunate choices.
David, meanwhile, struggles to maintain his print shop and support his sister Eve, who becomes increasingly burdened by Lucien's extravagant lifestyle and debts. The novel delves into themes of friendship, financial hardship, and the disillusionment that comes with the pursuit of fame and fortune. As Lucien’s ambitions lead to his downfall, David and Eve must confront their own challenges and the impact of Lucien's actions on their lives. Balzac’s work is noted for its rich characterization and intricate portrayal of social and economic factors that shape individual destinies, making it a significant contribution to the exploration of human ambition and the consequences of societal aspirations.
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Lost Illusions by Honoré de Balzac
First published:Illusions perdues, 1837-1843 (English translation, 1893)
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Naturalism
Time of plot: Early nineteenth century
Locale: Angoulême, France
Principal characters
David Séchard , a printerEve , his wifeLucien Chardon , his brother-in-lawMadame de Bargeton , a woman loved by Lucien
The Story:
Angoulême is divided into two classes: the aristocrats of fashionable society and the bourgeois. David Séchard and Lucien Chardon are scarcely aware that they belong to the less privileged class. Lucien is the brilliant, handsome, unstable son of a chemist. David is the sober, kind son of a printer.
David’s father sends him to Paris to learn all the latest innovations in the printing trade. The illiterate father, avaricious and mean, hopes that David will learn how to extract more money from the old-fashioned print shop of Séchard and Son. When David returns from Paris, his father quickly sells him the business at a high price and retires to his vineyard.
Partly because of his friendship with poetic Lucien and partly because of his temperament, David does not prosper. He is always discussing a grand project with Lucien or dreaming of Eve, Lucien’s beautiful sister. Lucien writes some verses that attract attention. Even the aristocrats of the town hear of him, and Madame de Bargeton, a thirty-six-year-old woman married to an old husband, invites him to one of her famous evening gatherings. Eve scrimps to buy Lucien the proper clothes for the occasion. The evening is not an entire success. Few except Madame de Bargeton listen to Lucien’s poetry, but he makes a real conquest of his host.
While Lucien does his best to break into society and win the heart of Madame de Bargeton, David and Eve are quietly falling in love. David strains his resources to the utmost to furnish rooms over the print shop for his wife-to-be, a room at the rear for his mother-in-law, and a comfortable room on the street for Lucien. David is determined to promote Lucien’s literary talent by supporting him. Two days before the wedding, Lucien is surprised in Madame de Bargeton’s boudoir. Her husband, old as he is, fights a duel with a man who gossiped about Madame de Bargeton. Not wishing to face the scandal, Madame de Bargeton decides to go to Paris, and Lucien is to follow her. With a heavy heart, for he knows Lucien’s weaknesses, David drives his friend at night along the Paris road. Safely away from Angoulême, Lucien joins his mistress.
David and Eve marry and settle into their new rooms. Eve is a devoted wife, although foolishly fond of her scapegrace brother. Before her child is born, she begins to grow uneasy. Lucien writes very seldom, and David pays little attention to his business. He is too busy working on an experiment to find a new way to make paper without rags. If he can invent a new process, they will all be rich. Meanwhile the family is desperately in need, for Lucien’s demands for money keep them poor. At last Eve herself takes charge of the print shop.
She has her first small success when she thinks of the idea of printing a Shepherd’s Calendar, a cheap almanac to peddle to farmers, but the firm of Cointet Brothers, rivals in the printing trade, give her so much unfair competition that she makes only a small profit from her printing venture. After her baby comes, she gives up her efforts for a while. David is more than ever wrapped up in his attempts to find a new process for making paper.
Meanwhile, Lucien fails completely to make his way in Paris. He quarrels with his rich mistress, and they part. He can find only odd jobs as a journalist. He borrows continually from David to lead the dissolute life of a man-about-town. Finally, when he goes to live openly with Coralie, an actress, he loses all chances for any real success.
Pressed for money, Lucien forges David’s name to notes for three thousand francs. When the firm of Cointet Brothers, acting as bankers, present the notes to David for payment, he is unable to raise the money. The lawsuit that follows disturbs Eve so much that she has to hire a wet nurse for her baby; in the eyes of the people of her small French town, she is disgraced. Cointet Brothers promise a profitable marriage to Petit-Claud, David’s lawyer, if he will prolong the suit, increase the costs to David, and eventually force him into debtor’s prison. During the delays, Eve and David both appeal to his father for help, but the old miser refuses aid to his son. He is mainly interested in collecting rent for the building in which David has his shop. With all help denied, David goes into hiding and works feverishly on his paper process.
In Paris, Coralie dies, leaving Lucien without a place to live. Having no money, he begins the long walk home. One night he catches a ride among the trunks of a carriage and goes to sleep on his precarious perch. When he awakens the carriage is stopped. As he gets off he sees that he is riding with his former mistress, Madame de Bargeton, now Madame la Comtesse Châtelet, wife of the new prefect of the district. She and her husband laugh openly as the disheveled Lucien stalks away.
A few miles from Angoulême, Lucien becomes ill and seeks refuge with a miller. Thinking Lucien is near death, the miller sends for a priest. When Lucien begs for news of his family, the priest tells him of David’s troubles. Lucien hurries to town to see what he can do for the brother-in-law he helped to ruin. In Angoulême, Lucien is sorrowfully received by his sister. To add to the distress of David and his family, Cointet Brothers publishes in the paper a glowing account of Lucien’s successes in Paris. There is a parade in Lucien’s honor, and the Châtelets even invite him to dinner.
Realizing that he still has a hold over Madame de Châtelet, Lucien tries to get David released from his debts through her influence. Meanwhile, after seeing some samples of David’s work, the Cointets offer to pay off his debts, buy his print shop, and develop his invention for him. The offer, however, is intended to bring David out of hiding. Then a letter from Lucien to his friend is intercepted and a forged note substituted, appointing a place of meeting. On the way to the meeting, David is arrested and thrown into prison. Lucien, after a despairing farewell to his sister, leaves Angoulême. He intends to kill himself, but on the road he is picked up by a Spanish priest, an emissary traveling between Madrid and Paris. The envoy sees promise in Lucien and offers him fifteen thousand francs in return for Lucien’s promise to do as the priest wishes. The Spaniard means to acquire power through Lucien’s attraction for women and his poetic fervor. The bargain sealed, Lucien sends the fifteen thousand francs to David.
The money arrives just after David signs away his shop and his papermaking process to the Cointets. David and Eve retire to the country and in due time inherit money and a vineyard from his father. Petit-Claud, the double-crossing lawyer, becomes a famous prosecutor. The Cointets make a great fortune from David’s process, and one of them becomes a deputy and a peer.
Bibliography
Adamson, Donald. Balzac: “Illusions perdues.” London: Grant and Cutler, 1981. A comprehensive, step-by-step guide that greatly facilitates the student’s task of reading the novel. One of the best introductions available in English.
Bloom, Harold, ed. Honoré de Balzac. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2003. Collection of essays on some of Balzac’s individual novels, including “Fool’s Gold: The Beginning of Balzac’s Illusions perdues” by Lawrence R. Schehr. Other essays discuss the creation of a fictional universe, use of narrative doubling, and allegories of energy in The Human Comedy.
Festa-McCormick, Diana. Honoré de Balzac. Boston: Twayne, 1979. Contains a chapter on Lost Illusions and its sequel, pointing out certain faults in each work, such as excessive length and detail, but also explaining why the books are among Balzac’s best novels. Draws interesting parallels to other novels by Balzac.
Garval, Michael D. “Honoré de Balzac: Writing the Monument.” In“A Dream of Stone”: Fame, Vision, and Monumentality in Nineteenth-Century French Literary Culture. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 2004. Garval describes how France in the nineteenth century developed an ideal image of “great” writers, viewing these authors’ work as immortal and portraying their literary successes in monumental terms. He traces the rise and fall of this literary development by focusing on Balzac, George Sand, and Victor Hugo.
Madden, James. Weaving Balzac’s Web: Spinning Tales and Creating the Whole of “La Comédie humaine.” Birmingham, Ala.: Summa, 2003. Explores how Balzac structured his vast series of novels to create continuity both within and between the individual books. Madden describes how internal narration, in which characters tell each other stories about other characters, enables the recurring characters to provide layers of meaning that are evident throughout the series.
Marceau, Félicien. Balzac and His World. Translated by Derek Coltman. New York: Orion Press, 1966. Provides one of the best available overviews of the complex fictional world Balzac created. Marceau looks for the recurring characters and themes in Balzac’s novels. Contains an index of the characters in TheHuman Comedy.
Maurois, André. Prometheus: The Life of Balzac. Translated by Norman Denny. London: Bodley Head, 1965. An accessible introduction to Balzac’s life. Describes the circumstances of the creation of his major works in fascinating detail.
Robb, Graham. Balzac: A Life. New York: W. W. Norton, 1994. A detailed biographical account of Balzac’s life and work. Robb describes Balzac’s philosophical perspectives and speculates on the psychological motivations underlying his writing.
Schilling, Bernard N. The Hero as Failure: Balzac and the Rubempré Cycle. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1968. A scholarly, accessible study that situates the novel within the various contexts of French history, Balzac’s work, works by other authors that deal with similar themes, and the French society of the nineteenth century.