In 1834, in the town of Sachet near Tur. O. Balzac finished the dramatic story “Father Gorio”. For the convenience of reading the work "Father Gorio" a summary of the chapters will be given by us. The first thing the writer did was to introduce us to the main characters. The author of this article will do the same.
Book characters
Gorio's father is a bourgeois who had rents, who could live simply, modestly, calmly, without denying himself some simple joys. But he, infinitely loving his two daughters, lost all his money and died, forgotten by them. On his deathbed, he had one dream: to continue to help his daughters, who did not even come to his funeral.
Eugene Rastignac, Baron, is a penniless student of the Academy of Law, who is doing his best to climb higher on the social ladder. And if in the drama “Father Gorio,” a brief summary of which we will consider, he still has not succeeded, and he has not yet lost youthful purity, then in subsequent novels it will be shown how successfully and quickly he makes a career, transforming in his eyes into a cynic and occupying high posts, fabulously enriched.
Vautin, or Jacques Collin, nicknamed "Deceive Death" - by our standards, a thief in law who holds the thieves' box office. It has an inexplicable frightening charm, knows how to find a way out of the most difficult situations. After the arrest he will be asked, we learn from other novels, go to the police.
His prototype was a real historical figure - Eugene Vidoc, a criminal who became the chief of police. In the tragedy Father Gorio, a summary of which we will outline below, he patronizes Eugene de Rastignac, having a personal interest in this.
Viscountess de Bosean is a distant relative of Eugene Rastignac, who helps him enter all the most secular and closed houses of Paris. It is she who invites him to seek success using women.
Dolphin (Fifina, as she is affectionately called) de Nusingen and Countess Anastisi (abbreviated Nazi) de Resto are the two daughters of the unfortunate Gorio, who have stone hearts and dance at the ball, while their father dies. They are the direct killers of their father. Daughters do not get along, envious of each other.
So, the brilliant work created by Honore de Balzac, “Father Gorio”, the brief content of which does not reveal the depth of the drama, is offered to your attention.
Pension Madame Woke
Mother Voke is a greedy and evil old woman who rents rooms, providing her guests with a miserable breakfast, lunch and dinner.
In her dirty and smelly guesthouse live 7 parasites:
1. Second floor: young Mademoiselle Quiz Tayfer, who is taken care of by the impoverished Madame Couture.
2. Third floor: retired official Poiret and the cynical and sinister Mr. Vautren.
3. Fourth floor: the disgusting old girl Mishono, papa Gorio and Eugene de Rastignac.
The higher a person lives, the worse his material condition. Mr. Gorio, having arrived at the boarding house as a flowering youthful man, occupied a good room, had silverware, invited a hairdresser to his house daily and dressed very smartly. But two years later he became a miserable old man, moved to the 4th floor and began to walk in cast-offs.
Such a metamorphosis was simply explained by the tenants: he is an old lascivious person who spends money on two beauties who occasionally visit him. No one believed when the bewildered old man tried to explain that his daughters were visiting him.
Such is the exposition that Balzac gave. “Father Gorio” (a brief summary of the novel is given in this article) will keep the reader in suspense and make him follow the fate of the heroes.
Rastignac in high society
A young handsome student, realizing that, working for wear and tear, he will not break through and can not help his poor family, he asks his aunt for a letter of recommendation for the legislator of high society and his relative, the Viscountess de Bosean. This grand lady, accepting Eugene, invites him to her ball, thereby opening up for the poor student all the houses of the Saint Germain suburb. At the ball, Eugene is interested in the Countess de Resto and receives an invitation from her to visit her. Upon learning of this, Votren publicly says that Dad Gorio recently paid the countess's bill to a moneylender. Since that time, Vautin began to carefully look after Rustignac. So one of the intrigues of the book “Father Gorio” is tied up, a brief summary of which is not able to convey the growing tension.
Misses Rastignac
Without delaying the visit for a long time, Eugene arrives at the Countess de Resto's house. And receives a portion of humiliation. The servants chuckle at the fact that he came on foot. Eugene himself understands that by dressing in an evening suit during the day, he made a mistake. In addition, he prevented the meeting of the Countess and her lover Maxim de Tray. The last “blunder” that Rastignac admits is that he tells at dinner that he lives in the same guesthouse as Papa Gorio. He is severely corrected: not dad, but Mr. Gorio, but this mention of the old man forever closes the doors of this house for Eugene. The events of the novel Father Gorio, the brief content of which we are telling, continue to develop at an accelerated pace.
Training at the Viscountess de Bosean House
Eugene immediately goes to the house of de Bosean. He again arrived inappropriately. The Viscountess is experiencing the collapse of her love. Her lover is going to marry a very wealthy and beautiful girl. All Paris speaks about it, she also learned the last. Nevertheless, Clara de Bosean reports that the Countess de Resto was Gorio as a girl, and she has a sister, Baroness de Nusingen, who is not accepted in the best houses, and will be more than friendly with the young man for inviting the Viscountess Dolphin.
Defender of Father Gorio
Returning to the guesthouse, Rastignac takes father Gorio under his guardianship. In addition, he writes a letter to his mother and sisters and asks them to raise money for him so that he can worthily appear in the light. Votren makes the student an unexpected offer. The young man must look after Mademoiselle Tyfer, who now has no money, but if her father takes her into the house and declares her the heiress, she will be one of the most enviable brides in Paris. The brother of the Quiz is on the way, but he can die in a duel, cynically continues to persuade Votren, and gives Eugene 2 weeks to think about this plan.
For himself, Votren asks for only 200,000 francs to start a business in America. It becomes more and more interesting to follow the fluctuations of Rastignac. The summary of the book "Father Gorio", the presentation of events only does not give a hundredth share of the pleasure that the reader experiences from the full version of the novel. Meanwhile, Rastignac was introduced to Delphine de Nusingen, whom he began to care for. Gorio's father, upon learning of this, rejoices that the daughter, whose marriage is joyless, will be at least a little happy.
The old man is ready to pray for Eugene and buys for him and for his daughter an apartment and a room for himself nearby in order to see the adored child more often.
Who is Votren?
The police have been following him for a long time, but he cannot gather evidence that he is an inveterate criminal. Representatives of the police attract the old maiden Michono and offer her to put Votren to sleep. When he is feelingless, she should slap on his shoulder and see the stigma on his shoulder. If it is, the police are going to deal with it without trial. Votren the tempter, not knowing about it, continues to try to bring together Eugene and the Quiz, which millions are waiting for. He also says that the quiz brother, who stands between her and the money, has already been called to a duel. So that Rastignac does not interfere with this plan, Vautin arranges a small binge, pouring sleeping pills into the wine. While Eugene is sleeping soundly and cannot prevent a duel, Mademoiselle Quiz becomes the heiress of her father, who, having lost his son, takes her to him.
Scandal in the guesthouse
Suddenly, policemen burst into the guesthouse, ready to shoot Votren at the slightest resistance. But he, showing inhuman self-control, surrenders to them. However, Vautin managed to guess and loudly tell everyone who had betrayed him: Judas, for a handful of gold, was the girl Michono. Votren is being taken away. All tenants require the mistress to drive out the traitor, otherwise they will all move out.
Blows in the bitter fate of Father Gorio
Anastazi, to pay off the debts of her lover, lays family diamonds. The Count de Reste learns about this, buys them, but presses his wife against the wall, forcing him to confess what kind of child he is in the family. But there was not enough money for Nazi's diamonds. She runs for money to her father. She needs another 12 thousand. She meets her sister with him and finds out that with his last money, his father bought Fifina an apartment. But she is also without money - her father started a lawsuit with her husband so that she could manage her dowry. Daughters in the presence of a father are scandalized over money, and the poor impoverished old man faints.
They leave, deadly quarreling. But this is not the end of their fall. The work “Father Gorio” (a summary of Balzac’s novel, which we are considering, unfortunately, cannot convey all the details) will show in the finale, which is close, the whole depth of their heartlessness.
Last ball
Both sisters went to the ball to the Viscountess de Bosean. There is all of Paris. Everyone is wondering how the Viscountess will endure the collapse of her love. She, all in white, like a marble statue, behaves majestically and calmly. The sisters are dancing and not at all thinking about the father left. Eugene de Rastignac alone cannot forget the poor man whom he left in the care of his friend-doctor Bianchon. The doctor said that the old man must die. Returning from the ball, Eugene spends all the time at the bedside of the dying man and wonders what money to bury him with. He and Bianchon bury an old man to whom his daughters never came and did not give money for the funeral, in the most miserable way observing the minimal decency that their meager means allow them.
But Rastignac, moving away from the wretched grave and looking from a high hill at Paris, firmly decides to measure his strength.
Many sad stories in the world. And one of them is the story of a French genius. A summary of Balzac's Father Gorio's novel about selfless fatherly love and callous daughter hearts is given above. The work touches upon timeless themes.
"Father Gorio": a summary, reviews
All readers in one way or another are delighted with the writer’s deep penetration into the spiritual world of their characters. All condemn Gorio for blind love, but also his daughters for immorality. He got what he himself raised, but the old man, of course, is a pity. Many people want to read further “Human Comedy” to find out how Rustignac will develop.