Old Man Tall
by (french) Balzac, Editor-in-chief Of The Study Group
About This Novel
"Petro Goriot" is one of Balzac's finest works. The novel is set in Paris from the end of 1819 to the beginning of 1820. It mainly tells two parallel and intersecting stories: the retired flour merchant Goriot was neglected by his two daughters and died tragically in the attic of the Vauquer apartment; the young Rastignac continued to change under the corrosion of Parisian society, but still maintained justice and morality. The writer painted pictures of the materialistic society in Paris, exposed the moral decay and ruthlessness of people under the control of money, and revealed the end of the aristocratic class during the restoration of the Bourbon dynasty.
What Readers Think
Rating
Community(0)
Official(33)Scraped 20d ago
After reading the whole book in a daze, I felt that people in Paris society at that time valued rights and interests very seriously. It was really tragic that a father ended up like this for the sake of his daughter's happiness. If there was a world where people could live a plain and simple life without distinction between high and low, without having to think about rights and status, that would be a happy ending.
The two stories have the same theme, clearly and profoundly revealing the incomparable contradictions between people, class and human nature in the harmony of French society at that time. A stream of cynicism and irony are the exquisite carvings of this work, which inspire us in the contemporary era.
Two wonderful stories, two tragic characters. It writes about the darkness that social life brings to us and the burying of human nature, which is thought-provoking and makes people feel compassion without warning. However, I still feel that the story of Vautrin's character is not very complete. It is designed to compare with people living in high-level society, but it does not focus on the description, but allows the readers to understand the various comparisons. It is amazing. Although it leaves room for the readers' imagination, I would rather know the final outcome of this character.
I have read this book and I think it is really realistic.
About Goriot's father figure
About Goriot's father figure From first appearing as a ridiculed flour merchant to finally dying as a neglected father, fathers with perverted eros like Goriot were presented in a completely new light in Balzac's works. It can be said that King Lear changed the background, except that the three girls were replaced by Rastignac. When the same story elements are placed in a capitalist society where the old and the new conflict, it becomes extra distorted. If in Shakespeare's story, the reason why King Lear was expelled by his daughter is still the very traditional royal power, then in Balzac's case, this thing becomes the money that rules everything. The distortion of human beings by royal power is very abstract, and there is a story. However, the distortion of money on people is pervasive. In the struggle for royal power, there is always an obvious good or bad. Right and wrong can be seen clearly at a glance. For example, the king who was killed must be good, and the queen who was drugged and poisoned must be bad. Everything is clear and pure. However, in front of money, people cannot be said to be good or bad at all, but only how deep or shallow they have deteriorated. Take Old Man Goriot, who many people treat with sympathy. There is a fundamental contradiction in his behavior. On the one hand, he resents his daughters for being distant from him and only getting close to him when they have money. On the other hand, he firmly grasps this and uses it as a rein to tie his daughters to the huge, terrifying father. Money changes not only the flour merchant's daughter, but also the flour merchant. He is a human being, even a father with incomparable emotional needs. At the same time, he is a gambler who uses money to try to arouse the gratitude of his daughters. Without money, he can't move forward and loses the means to attract his daughters. It can be said that Old Man Goriot has been addicted to the magic of money from beginning to end. In his case, money is a tool for buying and selling feelings. Only with money can he be sure that he has the right to happiness. I have never been very fond of those crazy novel characters, such as the duchesses in Dostoyevsky's novels who sometimes love and sometimes don't love them. I really can't stand this kind of neurotic emotion, which always reveals a kind of humility and cowardice. Of course, maybe the reason why I can't stand it is because I have this characteristic myself. However, there are not many descriptions of such inner conflicts in this novel. It is not until the end that Old Man Goriot curses his daughters and calls for them to come and visit him. This conflict and contradictory soul are fully revealed. I can't help but wonder, what is the source of his feelings? Is it simply money that makes him confused and superstitious about the purchasing power of money? As mentioned at the beginning of the article, this kind of father figure and this kind of attachment to one's own offspring is a classic literary theme, and this kind of conflict must exist on a large scale. Balzac begins by telling Goriot that his two daughters have been raised by him after his wife died. This setting almost clearly points out to the readers the source of this perverted emotion in Goriot. To a certain extent, it is the transfer of his love for his deceased wife to his two daughters. He hopes that they will be beautiful. Buying nice clothes, hiring expensive tutors, and making a splash at parties. Every time he hears others praising his daughters, he becomes disillusioned, and their beautiful image becomes more important in his mind. The taller the daughters are, the more affection they can carry from their father. Old Man Goriot needs love and the care of his daughters, but in my opinion this need is just to better show his love, his love as a father to protect, and his love as a husband who is proud of his wife after dressing up perfectly. These two kinds of love are intertwined with each other and firmly hold Old Man Goriot. If he leaves these two emotions, he will have no sustenance in this world. I am very interested in some of the curse words of Old Man Goriot. It stands to reason that he loves his daughter so much, but why sometimes he can't help but curse her? In fact, this phenomenon is common in life. If a person values something very seriously, then he definitely wants that thing to be held tighter in his hand. Once he finds that the thing is trying to stay away from him, he will definitely try to save it. When the recovery is ineffective and he loses his means, he will definitely have emotions, and one way to vent his emotions is to rely on scolding. When Old Man Goriot was finally penniless and knew that he had lost the last bit of value to attract his daughters, he was really angry. Of course, the emotional dependence in his anger never stopped. What he really hated was his bankruptcy. After all, he had always believed in the magic of money. The end. This character trait of Old Man Goriot is very common in various film and television works and literary works, that is, the story of a disabled man looking for love to compensate. The difference is that in Balzac's time, on the one hand, there were the old aristocracy and on the other hand, the emerging bourgeoisie. They represented the conflict between two value systems. The rich banker was not satisfied with having money, he also wanted to join the upper class. The upper class is full of disdain for such nouveau riche. It is in this contradiction that people are entangled and hesitant. Rich people want fame, while famous people are short of money and owe a lot of debt. Everyone in the work is deeply valued by the outside world. The clamp of values, no matter how hard you try, you can't break free of that lock, just like what the Great Gatsby said at the end, "Each of us strives to row upstream and keeps retreating." But no matter what, a truly strong person should try to say goodbye to such an attached love. This love always has the flavor of "resentment" that Nietzsche said. He uses a delicate emotion to deal with others and himself to complete a kind of revenge on others. This is not the image of a strong man.
It is a really good novel. I personally think it is worth reading. Whether it is the creation of characters or the setting of the plot, it is very good. The novel criticizes the ugly concept of money supremacy, and also deeply reveals the political outlook of France at that time. Everyone pursues reputation, power and money, and all external things are the bad nature of people.
Because it was written by Balzac, I came to read it.
Regarding this book, I saw various aspects of French society under the feudal system at that time. Both stories are very attractive. Old Man Goriot lived for her daughters all his life, and he was willing to give up everything for them. When he was dying, he was still thinking about whether his daughters had fun at the dance, but in the end he did not get the care of his daughters, and even when he went to the ground, no one held a funeral for him. Finally, he understood the true face of his daughters, they are all people who only see money. The second story also revolves around money and fame. The protagonist of the story comes from a rich Earl's Palace. The third lady has been looking for her love, but she is obsessed with fame and fortune and is the so-called aristocratic child in the article, and loses her beloved. These two stories may seem unrelated, but they are closely related, revealing the French people's desire for money at that time, which even surpassed flesh and blood family ties.
Not bad, too good, too little
Unspeakable touch
Rating
Community(0)
Official(33)Scraped 20d ago
After reading the whole book in a daze, I felt that people in Paris society at that time valued rights and interests very seriously. It was really tragic that a father ended up like this for the sake of his daughter's happiness. If there was a world where people could live a plain and simple life without distinction between high and low, without having to think about rights and status, that would be a happy ending.
The two stories have the same theme, clearly and profoundly revealing the incomparable contradictions between people, class and human nature in the harmony of French society at that time. A stream of cynicism and irony are the exquisite carvings of this work, which inspire us in the contemporary era.
Two wonderful stories, two tragic characters. It writes about the darkness that social life brings to us and the burying of human nature, which is thought-provoking and makes people feel compassion without warning. However, I still feel that the story of Vautrin's character is not very complete. It is designed to compare with people living in high-level society, but it does not focus on the description, but allows the readers to understand the various comparisons. It is amazing. Although it leaves room for the readers' imagination, I would rather know the final outcome of this character.
I have read this book and I think it is really realistic.
About Goriot's father figure
About Goriot's father figure From first appearing as a ridiculed flour merchant to finally dying as a neglected father, fathers with perverted eros like Goriot were presented in a completely new light in Balzac's works. It can be said that King Lear changed the background, except that the three girls were replaced by Rastignac. When the same story elements are placed in a capitalist society where the old and the new conflict, it becomes extra distorted. If in Shakespeare's story, the reason why King Lear was expelled by his daughter is still the very traditional royal power, then in Balzac's case, this thing becomes the money that rules everything. The distortion of human beings by royal power is very abstract, and there is a story. However, the distortion of money on people is pervasive. In the struggle for royal power, there is always an obvious good or bad. Right and wrong can be seen clearly at a glance. For example, the king who was killed must be good, and the queen who was drugged and poisoned must be bad. Everything is clear and pure. However, in front of money, people cannot be said to be good or bad at all, but only how deep or shallow they have deteriorated. Take Old Man Goriot, who many people treat with sympathy. There is a fundamental contradiction in his behavior. On the one hand, he resents his daughters for being distant from him and only getting close to him when they have money. On the other hand, he firmly grasps this and uses it as a rein to tie his daughters to the huge, terrifying father. Money changes not only the flour merchant's daughter, but also the flour merchant. He is a human being, even a father with incomparable emotional needs. At the same time, he is a gambler who uses money to try to arouse the gratitude of his daughters. Without money, he can't move forward and loses the means to attract his daughters. It can be said that Old Man Goriot has been addicted to the magic of money from beginning to end. In his case, money is a tool for buying and selling feelings. Only with money can he be sure that he has the right to happiness. I have never been very fond of those crazy novel characters, such as the duchesses in Dostoyevsky's novels who sometimes love and sometimes don't love them. I really can't stand this kind of neurotic emotion, which always reveals a kind of humility and cowardice. Of course, maybe the reason why I can't stand it is because I have this characteristic myself. However, there are not many descriptions of such inner conflicts in this novel. It is not until the end that Old Man Goriot curses his daughters and calls for them to come and visit him. This conflict and contradictory soul are fully revealed. I can't help but wonder, what is the source of his feelings? Is it simply money that makes him confused and superstitious about the purchasing power of money? As mentioned at the beginning of the article, this kind of father figure and this kind of attachment to one's own offspring is a classic literary theme, and this kind of conflict must exist on a large scale. Balzac begins by telling Goriot that his two daughters have been raised by him after his wife died. This setting almost clearly points out to the readers the source of this perverted emotion in Goriot. To a certain extent, it is the transfer of his love for his deceased wife to his two daughters. He hopes that they will be beautiful. Buying nice clothes, hiring expensive tutors, and making a splash at parties. Every time he hears others praising his daughters, he becomes disillusioned, and their beautiful image becomes more important in his mind. The taller the daughters are, the more affection they can carry from their father. Old Man Goriot needs love and the care of his daughters, but in my opinion this need is just to better show his love, his love as a father to protect, and his love as a husband who is proud of his wife after dressing up perfectly. These two kinds of love are intertwined with each other and firmly hold Old Man Goriot. If he leaves these two emotions, he will have no sustenance in this world. I am very interested in some of the curse words of Old Man Goriot. It stands to reason that he loves his daughter so much, but why sometimes he can't help but curse her? In fact, this phenomenon is common in life. If a person values something very seriously, then he definitely wants that thing to be held tighter in his hand. Once he finds that the thing is trying to stay away from him, he will definitely try to save it. When the recovery is ineffective and he loses his means, he will definitely have emotions, and one way to vent his emotions is to rely on scolding. When Old Man Goriot was finally penniless and knew that he had lost the last bit of value to attract his daughters, he was really angry. Of course, the emotional dependence in his anger never stopped. What he really hated was his bankruptcy. After all, he had always believed in the magic of money. The end. This character trait of Old Man Goriot is very common in various film and television works and literary works, that is, the story of a disabled man looking for love to compensate. The difference is that in Balzac's time, on the one hand, there were the old aristocracy and on the other hand, the emerging bourgeoisie. They represented the conflict between two value systems. The rich banker was not satisfied with having money, he also wanted to join the upper class. The upper class is full of disdain for such nouveau riche. It is in this contradiction that people are entangled and hesitant. Rich people want fame, while famous people are short of money and owe a lot of debt. Everyone in the work is deeply valued by the outside world. The clamp of values, no matter how hard you try, you can't break free of that lock, just like what the Great Gatsby said at the end, "Each of us strives to row upstream and keeps retreating." But no matter what, a truly strong person should try to say goodbye to such an attached love. This love always has the flavor of "resentment" that Nietzsche said. He uses a delicate emotion to deal with others and himself to complete a kind of revenge on others. This is not the image of a strong man.
It is a really good novel. I personally think it is worth reading. Whether it is the creation of characters or the setting of the plot, it is very good. The novel criticizes the ugly concept of money supremacy, and also deeply reveals the political outlook of France at that time. Everyone pursues reputation, power and money, and all external things are the bad nature of people.
Because it was written by Balzac, I came to read it.
Regarding this book, I saw various aspects of French society under the feudal system at that time. Both stories are very attractive. Old Man Goriot lived for her daughters all his life, and he was willing to give up everything for them. When he was dying, he was still thinking about whether his daughters had fun at the dance, but in the end he did not get the care of his daughters, and even when he went to the ground, no one held a funeral for him. Finally, he understood the true face of his daughters, they are all people who only see money. The second story also revolves around money and fame. The protagonist of the story comes from a rich Earl's Palace. The third lady has been looking for her love, but she is obsessed with fame and fortune and is the so-called aristocratic child in the article, and loses her beloved. These two stories may seem unrelated, but they are closely related, revealing the French people's desire for money at that time, which even surpassed flesh and blood family ties.
Not bad, too good, too little
Unspeakable touch
