This is a long and at times difficult book — quite different from no.187 in its breadth and a huge range of characters.
Very difficult at times to follow who was who, particularly as names change, but whatever its difficulties, far far better than ‘The Idiot’ (no.172).
You get a lot of potted history of early 20th century France thrown in. Balzac really aims for a panoramic view of French society, from highest to lowest, and its socio-economic basis.
Wealth is generally venal whether in the hands of the aristocrats, nouvelle riche aspiring aristos, whores, and thieves (the boundaries between whores and aspirant females, many of whom are mistresses to the rich and powerful, is pretty blurred in what I have read of him. It appears that every wealthy married man has a conventional mistress, tolerated by his wife, and every wealthy married woman has a young male admirer whose existence is known of and tolerated by her husband. Whether they sleep together is unclear).
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