Eugénie Grandet is a masterpiece by Balzac. It tells the story of the Grandet family in the French town of Saumur during the first half of the nineteenth century. Old Grandet loves money above all else, and his frenzied, obsessive greed has stripped him of his morality. His daughter Eugénie, by contrast, sees money as one way to help others and express affection. In an age when money reigns supreme, the characters each have their own attitudes toward wealth. By portraying these differences, Balzac presents readers with a vivid panorama of life in capitalist society.
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Through the protagonist Grandet's miserliness and extreme pursuit of money, the novel exposes the greed and hypocrisy of the nouveau riche bourgeoisie. At the same time, the tragic fate of the character Eugénie indicts the poisonous influence of materialism on society. Through its analysis of human nature and revelation of social reality, the novel showcases Balzac's extraordinary talent as a master of critical realism.
Eugénie, a rare and wonderful woman