In 1830, the immortal novel by the French writer Honore de Balzac, “Gobsec,” was written. The problems of the work are completely based on one of the human vices - stinginess, which at the end of the life of the protagonist turned into absurdity. Over time, the story was introduced by the author into the multi-volume work “Human Comedy”.
Short biography of the author
A French writer was born in Paris on May 20, 1799. According to biographical data, his father was a peasant, and his mother was from the bourgeois. The aristocratic prefix “de” Honore began to use in the year of the release of his novel “Gobsec,” which you can briefly familiarize yourself with in this article.
Having received a bachelor's degree, Balzac began a three-year service in a notary's office. The young man confidently rejected the father’s offer to open his practice. With his passion and work, he saw only literature. It is worth saying that at that time the works of the young guy were not of the slightest interest to publishers.
Overwhelmed with impatience, Honore moved to the impoverished Paris quarter and set to work. The novel, which he began to write, after many years would make him popular among true connoisseurs of literature, but critics of that time mercilessly did not recognize his creations.
Return to Writing
Since 1829, Balzac continued to create his immortal novels and novels. At night, he wrote, supporting his vitality with a large number of cups of black coffee, and in the evening he rested. Honore scribbled more than one goose feather per day.
This “army” regime was finally rewarded, and books were noted with due attention. The novel "Shagreen Skin" brought the writer the title of one of the best authors of that time. This great success inspired the young writer very much, thanks to which he created an excellent epic called “Human Comedy”. It included the story “Gobsec,” the content of which is very close to the characters and deeds of Balzac's contemporaries.
The significance of Ukraine in the life of a writer
Balzac first visited this country in 1847. Here he was married to Evelina Ganskaya, so he often visited Ukrainian lands. Many essays were written by him about these wonderful places, and one of them is the “Letter about Kiev”. Balzac admired the fertile land on which wheat is sown annually, without completely fertilizing the soil.
Being in the estate of Ghana, Honore was sincerely interested in the life of the peasants. He liked to watch groups of people who were coming home from work, singing funny songs. As a result, the author’s love for Ukraine was reflected not only in letters to Paris, but also in the novel “Peasants”.
Balzac's innovation
The creativity of young Honore fell at the dawn of two main genres: novels about history and personality. Balzac, however, never followed fashion in European literature and created works, striving to show in them the individualized type of each character, such as, for example, the well-known image of Gobsec.
The author’s focus has almost always been the modern bourgeois society with all its shortcomings. The existence of the estates of that time, social institutions and social conditions were most fully disclosed in "Studies on mores" written by Balzac. The Gobsack also entered this cycle as a demonstration of human stinginess and greed.
"Human Comedy"
Despite the constant nit-picking of critics, Balzac did not stop working. After a while, the author decides to combine his works into an epic called "Human Comedy". According to the author’s intention, the book was to contain novels that would describe modern society, every existing character trait, in a word - to create a peculiar picture of his time.
The cycle consists of three parts, the most extensive is "Studies on mores." She unfolded the real picture of France, in which Balzac lived. "Hobsec" is one of the literary masterpieces that are included in the "Study".
Summary
All Balzac's characters are brightly drawn - they are memorable and ambiguous. That is exactly what the main character of the book "Gobsec" is. The story is abbreviated below, but a brief summary conveys only a small part of the meaning that the author wanted to tell the reader.
The story begins in the Viscountess de Granlier salon, where Count Ernest de Resto and Derville were visiting. When the first of them left, the mistress of the house began to explain to her daughter Camille that one shouldn’t directly show a good disposition to the Count, because not a single Parisian family would want to make friends with them. Ernest was not a suitable couple for her daughter, as he was insolvent.
Derville decides to intervene to clarify the true essence of things. He began the story from afar, mentioning that he met Hobsek as a student and called him a cold-blooded golden idol.
Once a moneylender told a story about a debt collection from one countess. Fearing disclosure, she gave him the diamonds for which her lover received money for the bill. Gobsek was right in saying that this dandy would ruin her entire family.
Later, a handsome blonde Count Maxim de Tray turned to Derville with a request to get acquainted with a loan shark. Hobsek, in turn, at first refused to give the graph a loan, since the borrower at that time was entirely in debt. But the very woman with the remaining family jewels comes to the usurer and, without a doubt, agrees to all the conditions. The countess did all this because of blackmail de Tray, which consisted of transferring money to him, otherwise he would allegedly commit suicide.
On the same day, the husband of the aforementioned woman bursts into Gobshek demanding the return of diamonds. But instead, he gives all his property to the moneylender in order to protect him from the unfaithful wife and her lover. Towards the end, Derville reports that this incident happened to Ernest de Resto's father.
After a while, the count became seriously ill. His wife on such an occasion severs all ties with Maxim and takes care of her husband. A day after his death, looking for a will, the woman staged a rout in the office of the deceased. But her most terrible act was the burning of papers, in the absence of which the property of the deceased count passed into the possession of Hobsek. Derville begged the moneylender to return everything to the family of de Resto, but he was adamant.
At the end of the story, having realized that Camille and Ernest love each other, Derville went to Gobshek and found him dying. Toward the end of his life, stinginess completely consumed him. The house was littered with a lot of spoiled products, because he did not sell anything, being afraid to cheapen. The image of Hobsek is the embodiment of a kind of predatory force, with the help of which a person quickly breaks through to gold and power.
The story ends with the lawyer Derville informing de Granlier of the imminent return of the lost property by the Count de Resto. A noble lady decides that Camilla could very well become Ernest's wife.
Characteristics of the protagonist
The image of Hobseck is internally contradictory. The main character is a strong personality, as well as to some extent a philosopher and psychologist. Along with these features are greed, meanness and cruelty. Most likely, it is precisely because of the harsh living conditions that the usurer is used to achieving goals by any means.
Also, the characteristic of Hobsek and his portrait are clearly visible in the author's statements about him. Balzac describes the protagonist as a man-bill. Awareness of the predatory world in which he lives led him to usury. Moreover, such an amount of money and gold is necessary for him not for a luxurious existence, but for a sense of protection. Gobsek's characterization is complemented by his meager speech, a standard dry set of phrases in conversation with customers. His whole appearance shows contempt for rich people.
Other works
In his youth, Honore tried not to pay attention to the unfair words of critics, continuing his work. Early work began:
- the novel "Shuana";
- "Shagreen skin";
- "Gobsek";
- "The house of the cat playing ball."
Balzac sought to demonstrate the individualized type of each of his characters. The center of his work was not fictional heroes, but the life and actions of bourgeois society. The admiring image of Hobsek from the same story showed readers how life can be tragic if a person has to kill all the good in himself and become a soulless rip-off and accumulator.