The Quest of the Absolute: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Quest of the Absolute" explores the intricate relationships and personal sacrifices of the Claes family, particularly in the context of Balthazar Claes' obsession with alchemy and the elusive philosopher's stone. Balthazar, the patriarch, is a tormented figure whose pursuit of wealth through scientific discovery leads him to squander his family's fortunes, ultimately resulting in his isolation and demise. His wife, Joséphine, embodies a tragic blend of loyalty and despair, grappling with the consequences of her husband's reckless ambitions while trying to maintain the family's stability.
Their eldest daughter, Marguerite, displays remarkable resilience and responsibility, navigating her father's destructive pursuits while striving to restore their family's financial standing. The family also interacts with several key figures, such as the opportunistic notary Pierquin, who provides financial advice, and Emmanuel de Solis, a principled schoolteacher who forms a close bond with Marguerite. The dynamics among these characters illuminate themes of duty, sacrifice, and the profound impacts of obsession on familial relationships. Through rich character development, the narrative reveals the complex interplay between ambition and the ethical dilemmas that arise from it, inviting reflection on the limits of personal aspiration.
The Quest of the Absolute: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Honoré de Balzac
First published: La Recherche de l'absolu, 1834 (Balthazar: Or, Science and Love, 1859; better known as The Quest of the Absolute)
Genre: Novel
Locale: Douai, France
Plot: Psychological realism
Time: 1812–1832
Balthazar Claes (bahl-tah-ZAHR klehs), the head of an old and respected family in Flanders who devotes his life and fortune to an attempt to discover the philosopher's stone, the substance believed to have the power of transmuting base metals into gold. When the story begins, he is roughly fifty years old but appears at least ten years older: His tall figure is stooped, his unkempt hair falls to his shoulders, his cheeks are hollow, and his face is pale and wrinkled. His eyes betray a keen intelligence and long days and nights of work in his home laboratory. He believes that he is working for the glory and enrichment of his family, but most of the time he barely acknowledges their existence. To obtain material and equipment for his experiments, he squanders three huge fortunes. He dies a broken old man, only to cry “Eureka!” with his last breath.
Joséphine de Temninck Claes (zhoh-say-FEEN deh tehmNEENK), the adored and adoring wife of Balthazar, about forty years of age. Despite her rich, aristocratic Spanish family and her exceptional beauty, she had not expected to find a loving husband because she limps and has one shoulder higher than the other. Balthazar sees only her beautiful face and beautiful soul. Although she always has been a submissive wife and has loved her four children less than she has loved her husband, she has qualms of conscience when she realizes that Balthazar will leave the children destitute if he continues to spend his money and her inheritance so recklessly. She extracts from him a promise to give up his research. His subsequent frustration and despair induce her to absolve him from his promise; when, after heroic but vain efforts to distract her melancholy husband, she realizes their futility and gives him back his promise, she becomes gravely ill. On learning that he is raising huge sums on the strength of the children's lands, Joséphine dies slowly of despair.
Marguerite Claes (mahr-geh-REET), the beautiful oldest child of the family, sixteen years old at the time that Balthazar renounces his experiments. She has an extremely strong sense of filial duty, adores her mother, and honors her father, even though she understands that he is ruining the family. After her mother's death, Marguerite borrows money to pay the most pressing debts, but when Balthazar accidentally sees the money and demands it in vain, he attempts suicide. Marguerite gives him the ducats in exchange for his promise to abdicate his paternal authority if his experiments are again fruitless. He keeps his word. With the help of a great-uncle, Marguerite secures a post as a tax collector in Brittany for her father. In his absence, Marguerite succeeds in restoring the family fortunes, but Balthazar has run up enormous debts in Brittany. She sacrifices her savings only to discover that her father has ruined the family again while she was in Spain with her husband.
Pierquin (pyehr-KAN), a notary who is a distant cousin of the family. He advises Madame Claes and later Marguerite about financial matters. Marguerite understands that self-interest is his only motive at all times. When he finally offers his purse to her without interest, she allows him to marry Félicie.
Félicie Claes (fay-lee-SEE), the younger daughter, a loving, obedient young girl who manages the household in the absence of Marguerite and falls in love with Pierquin.
L'Abbé de Solis (lah-bay deh soh-LEES), Joséphine's confessor and the rich uncle of Emmanuel, whom he introduces into the Claes household.
Emmanuel de Solis, a schoolteacher who becomes a headmaster. He is a model of piety, discretion, and self-abnegation. Gradually, he and Marguerite develop an excessively chaste love for each other. Marguerite refuses to think of marriage because she does not want her father to be obliged to give an account of his stewardship of the money belonging to his children. Emmanuel offers sound, disinterested financial advice. After a number of years, he inherits his uncle's fortune and a Spanish title. He offers himself and his fortune to Marguerite and is accepted.
Lemulquinier (leh-mewl-kee-NYAY), Balthazar's uneducated valet, later his laboratory assistant, then his coworker, and finally his manager of funds. He progresses from scoffer to devoted disciple.