Lirette evidently did not realize what she was doing in the matter of the convent, and was displeased with many things after entering it. Balzac was vexed at what she wrote to Madame Hanska, but felt that she was not altogether responsible for her actions, believing that it was a very personal sentiment which caused her to enter the convent.[*] He could not understand her indifference to her friends, she did penance by keeping a letter from Anna eighteen days before opening it. He found her stupidity unequaled, but he sent his housekeeper to see her, and visited her himself when he had time.
[*] It has been stated that Mademoiselle Borel was so impressed by the chants, lights and ceremony at the funeral of M. de Hanski in November 1841, that it caused her to give up her protestant faith and enter the convent. Miss Sandars (Balzac) has well remarked: “We may wonder, however, whether tardy remorse for her deceit towards the dead man, who had treated her with kindness, had not its influence in causing this sudden religious enthusiasm, and whether the Sister in the Convent of the Visitation in Paris gave herself extra penance for her sins of connivance.” Mademoiselle died in this convent, rue d’Enfer, in 1857.
In addition to all this, the poor novelist had one more trial to undergo; this was to see her take the vows (December 2, 1845). He was misinformed as to the time of the ceremony, so went too soon and wasted much precious time, but he remained through the long service in order to see her afterwards. But in all this Lirette was to accomplish one thing for him. As she had helped in his correspondence, she was soon to be the means of bringing him and his Chatelaine together again; the devotion of Madame Hanska and Anna to the former governess being such that they came to Paris to see her.
In the home of the de Hanskis in the Russian waste were two other women, Mesdemoiselles Severine and Denise Wylezynska, who were to play a small part in Balzac’s life. Both of these relatives probably came with M. de Hanski and his family to Switzerland in 1833; their names are mentioned frequently in his letters to Madame Hanska, and soon after his visit at Neufchatel the novelist asks that Mademoiselle Severine preserve her gracious indifference. These ladies were cousins of M. de Hanski, and probably were sisters of M. Thaddee Wylezynski, mentioned in connection with Madame Hanska. After her husband’s death, Madame Hanska must have invited these two ladies to live with her, for Balzac inquires about the two young people she had with her.
Mademoiselle Denise has been suspected of having written the first letter for Madame Hanska, and the dedication of La Grenadiere has been replaced by the initials “A. D. W.,” supposed to mean “a Denise Wylezynska”; the actual dedication is an unpublished correction of Balzac himself.
The relative that caused Balzac the most discomfort was the Countess Rosalie Rzewuska, nee Princess Lubomirska, wife of Count Wenceslas Rzewuski, Madame Hanska’s uncle. She seems to have been continually hearing either that he was married, or something that was detrimental, and kept him busy denying these reports:
“I have here your last letter in which you speak to me of Madame Rosalie and of Seraphita. Relative to your aunt, I confess that I am ignorant by what law it is that persons so well bred can believe such calumnies. I, a gambler! Can your aunt neither reason, calculate nor combine anything except whist? I, who work, even here, sixteen hours a day, how should I go to a gambling-house that takes whole nights? It is as absurd as it is crazy. . . . Your letter was sad; I felt it was written under the influence of your aunt. . . . Let your aunt judge in her way of my works, of which she knows neither the whole design nor the bearing; it is her right. I submit to all judgements. . . . Your aunt makes me think of a poor Christian who, entering the Sistine chapel just as Michael-Angelo has drawn a nude figure, asks why the popes allow such horrors in Saint Peter’s. She judges a work from at least the same range in literature without putting herself at a distance and awaiting its end. She judges the artist without knowing him, and by the sayings of ninnies. All that give me little pain for myself, but much for her, if you love her. But that you should let yourself be influenced by such errors, that does grieve me and makes me very uneasy, for I live by my friendships only.”
In spite of this, Balzac wished to obtain the good will of “Madame Rosalie,” and sympathized with her when she lost her son. But she had a great dislike for Paris, and after the death of M. de Hanski, she objected to her niece’s going there. The novelist felt that she was his sworn enemy, and that she went too far in her hatred of everything implied in the word Paris[*]; yet he pardoned her for the sake of her niece.
[*] The reason why Madame Rosalie had such a horror of Paris was that her mother was guillotined there, — the same day as Madame Elizabeth. Madame Rosalie was only a child at that time, and was discovered in the home of a washerwoman.
It was Caliste Rzewuska, the daughter of this aunt, whom Balzac had in mind when he sketched Modeste Mignon. She was married to M. Michele-Angelo Cajetani, Prince de Teano and Duc de Sermoneta, to whom Les Parents pauvres is dedicated.
Balzac seems to have had something of the same antipathy for Madame Hanska’s sister Caroline that he had for her aunt Rosalie, but since he wrote to his Predilecta many unfavorable things of a private nature about his family, she may have done the same concerning hers, so that he may not have had a fair opportunity of judging her. He was friendly towards her at times, and she is the Madame Cherkowitch of his letters.
It was probably Madame Hanska’s sister Pauline, Madame Jean Riznitch, whose servants were to receive a reward from a rich moujik in case they could arrange to have him see Balzac. This moujik was a great admirer of the novelist, had read all his books, burnt a candle to Saint Nicholas for him every week, and was anxious to meet him. Since Madame Riznitch lived not far from Madame Hanska, he hoped to see Balzac when he visited Wierzschownia.
The relative whose association with Balzac seems to have caused Madame Hanska the most discomfort was her cousin, the Countess Marie Potocka. He met her when he visited his Chatelaine in Geneva, where the Countess Potocka entertained him, and after his return to Paris, he called on Madame Appony, wife of the Austrian ambassador, to deliver a letter for her. Before going to Geneva he had heard of her, and had confused her identity with that of the belle Grecque who had died several years before.
During his visit to Geneva the novelist deemed it wise to explain his attentions to Madame P — — -: “It would have seemed ridiculous (to the others) for me to have occupied myself with you only. I was bound to respect you, and in order to talk to you so much, it was necessary for me to talk to Madame P — — -. What I wrote you this morning is of a nature to show you how false are your fears. I never ceased to look at you while talking to Madame P — — -.”
After his return to Paris he wrote a letter to Madame P — — -, and was careful to explain this also:
“Do not be jealous of Madame P — — -’s letter; that woman must be
for us. I have flattered her, and I want her to think that you
are disdained. . . . My enemies are spreading a rumor of my
liaison with a Russian princess; they name Madame P — — - . . .
Oh! my love, I swear to you I wrote to Madame P — — - only to
prevent the road to Russia being closed to me.”
He received a letter from her which he did not answer, for he wished to end this correspondence. It is within the bounds of possibility that Balzac cared more for the Countess Potocka than he admitted to his “Polar Star,” but several years later, when she had become avaricious, he formed an aversion to her and warned Madame Hanska to beware of her cousin.
CONCLUSION
“I live by my friendships only.”
Many people write their romances, others live them; Honore de Balzac did both. This life so full of romantic fiction mingled with stern reality, where the burden of debt is counter-balanced by dramatic passion, where hallucination can scarcely be distinguished from fact, where the weary traveler is ever seeking gold, rest, or love, ever longing to be famous and to be loved, where the hero, secluded a
s in a monastery, suddenly emerges to attend an opera, dressed in the most gaudy attire, where he lacks many of the comforts of life, yet suddenly crosses half the continent, allured by the fascinations of a woman, this life is indeed a roman balzacien par excellence!
He tried to shroud his life, especially his association with women, in mystery. Now since the veil is partially lifted, one can see how great was the role they played. It has been said that twelve thousand letters were written to Balzac by women, some to express their admiration, some to recognize themselves in a delightful personage he had created, others to thank him or condemn him for certain attitudes he had sustained towards woman.
For him to have so thoroughly understood the feminine mind and temperament, to have given to this subtle chameleon its various hues, to have portrayed woman with her many charms and caprices, and to have described woman in her various classes and at all ages, he must have observed her, or rather, he must have known her. He very justly says in his Avant-propos:
“When Buffon described the lion, he dismissed the lioness with a few phrases; but in society the wife is not always the female of the male. There may be two perfectly dissimilar beings in one household. The wife of a shopkeeper is sometimes worthy of a prince and the wife of a prince is often worthless compared with the wife of an artisan. The social state has freaks which are not found in the natural world; it is nature plus society. The description of the social species would thus be at least double that of the animal species, merely in view of the two sexes.”
Thus, he made a special study of woman, penetrated, like a father confessor, into her innermost secrets, and if he has not painted the duchesses with the delicacy due them, it was not because he did not know or had not studied them, but probably because he was picturing them with his Rabelaisian pen.
He knew many women who were active during the reign of Louis XVI, women who were conspicuous under the Empire, and women who were prominent in society during the Restoration, hence, one would naturally expect to find traces of them in his works.
But it is not only this type of woman that Balzac has presented. He painted the bourgeoise in society, as seen in the daughters of Pere Goriot, and many others, the various types of the vieille fille such as Mademoiselle Zephirine Guenic (Beatrix) who never wished to marry, Cousine Bette who failed in her matrimonial attempts, and Madame Bousquier (La vieille Fille) who finally succeeded in hers.
The working class is represented in such characters as Madame Remonencq (Le Cousin Pons) and Madame Cardinal (Les petits Bourgeois), while the servant class is well shown in the person of the grand Nanon (Eugenie Grandet), the faithful Fanny (La Grenadiere), and many others. As has been seen, there is a trace of his old servant, Mere Comin, in the person of Madame Vaillant (Facino Cane), and Mere Cognette and La Rabouilleuse (La Rabouilleuse) are said to be people he met while visiting Madame Carraud. The novelist must have known many such women, for his mother and sisters had servants, and in the homes of Madame de Berny, Madame Carraud and Madame de Margonne, he certainly knew the servants, not to mention those he observed at the cafes and in his wanderings.
Balzac knew several young girls at different periods of his life. His sister Laure was his first and only companion in his earlier years, and he knew his sister Laurence especially well in the years immediately preceding her marriage. Madame Carraud was a schoolmate of Madame Surville and visited in his home as a young girl. He was not only acquainted with the various daughters of Madame de Berny, but at one time there was some prospect of his marrying Julie. Josephine and Constance, daughters of Madame d’Abrantes, were acquaintances of his during their early womanhood. He must have known Mademoiselle de Trumilly as he presented himself as her suitor, and being entertained in her home frequently, doubtless saw her sisters also. Since he accompanied his sister to balls in his youth, it is natural to suppose that he met young girls there, even if there is no record of it.
A few years later he became devoted to the two daughters of his sister Laure, and lived with her for a short time. He knew Madame Hanska’s daughter Anna in her childhood, but was most intimate with her when she was about twenty. While Madame de Girardin was not so young, he met her several years before her marriage, called her Delphine, and regarded her somewhat as his pupil. He liked Marie de Montbeau and her mother, Camille Delannoy, who was a friend of his sister Laure and the daughter of the family friend, Madame Delannoy. Though not intimate with her, he met and observed Eugenie, the daughter of Madame de Bolognini at Milan, and probably was acquainted with Inez and Hyacinthe, the two daughters of Madame Desbordes-Valmore.
In his various works, he has portrayed quite a number of young girls varying greatly in rank and temperament, among the most prominent being Marguerite Claes (La Recherche de l’Absolu), noted for her ability and her strength of character, headstrong and much petted Emilie de Fontaine (Le Bal de Sceaux), Laurence de Cinq-Cygne, the very zealous Royalist (Une tenebreuse Affaire), romantic Modeste Mignon, pitiable Pierrette Lorrain, dutiful and devout Ursule Mirouet, unfortunate Fosseuse (Le Medecin de Campagne), bold and unhappy Rosalie de Watteville (Albert Savarus), and the well-known Eugenie Grandet.
The novelist has revealed to us that he modeled one of these heroines on a combination of the woman who later became his wife, and her cousin, a most charming woman. It is quite possible that some if not all of the other heroines would be found to have equally interesting sources, could they be discovered.
Concerning the much discussed question as to whether Balzac portrayed young girls well, M. Marcel Barriere remarks:
“There are critics stupid enough to say that Balzac knew nothing of the art of painting young girls; they make use of the inelegant, unpolished word rate to qualify his portraits of this genre. To be sure, Balzac’s triumph is, we admit, in his portraits of mothers or passionate women who know life. Certain authors, without counting George Sand, have given us sketches of young girls far superior to Balzac’s, but that is no reason for scoffing in so impertinent a manner at the author of the Comedie humaine, when his unquestionable glory ought to silence similar pamphletistic criticisms. We advise those who reproach Balzac for not having understood the simplicity, modesty and graces so full of charm, or often the artifice of the young girl, to please reread in the Scenes de la Vie privee the portraits of Louise de Chaulieu, Renee de Maucombe, Modeste Mignon, Julie de Chatillonest, Honorine de Beauvan, Mademoiselle Guillaume, Emilie de Fontaine, Mademoiselle Evangelista, Adelaide du Rouvre, Ginervra di Piombo, etc., without mentioning, in other Scenes, Eugenie Grandet, Eve Sechard, Pierrette Lorrain, Ursule Mirouet, Mesdemoiselles Birotteau, Hulot d’Ervy, de Cinq-Cygne, La Fosseuse, Marguerite Claes, Juana de Mancini, Pauline Gaudin, and I hope they will keep silence, otherwise they will cause us to question their good sense of criticism.”
Balzac said it would require a Raphael to create so many virgins; accordingly, from time to time the type of woman of the other extreme is also seen. She is portrayed in the grande dame and in the courtisane, that is, at the top and the bottom of the social ladder. On the one side are the Princesse de Cadignan, the Comtesse de Seriby, etc., while on the other are Esther Gobseck, Valerie Marneffe, and others. Some of the novelist’s most striking antitheses were attained by placing these horrible creatures by the side of his noblest and purest creations.
In his Avant-propos, he criticized Walter Scott for having portrayed his women as Protestants, saying: “In Protestantism there is no possible future for the woman who has sinned; while, in the Catholic Church, the hope of forgiveness makes her sublime. Hence, for the Protestant writer there is but one woman, while the Catholic writer finds a new woman in each new situation.” Naturally, most of the women of the Comedie humaine are Catholic, but among the exceptions is Madame Jeanrenaud (L’Interdiction), who is a Protestant; Josepha Mirah and Esther Gobseck are of Jewish origin. In portraying various women as Catholics, convent life for the young girl is seen in Memoires de deux jeunes mariees, and for the woman weary of society, in La Duchesse de
Langeais. Extreme piety is shown in Madame de Granville (Une double Famille), and Madame Graslin devoted herself to charity to atone for her crime.
Various pictures are given of woman in the home. Ideal happiness is portrayed in the life of Madame Cesar Birotteau. Madame Grandet, Madame Hulot (La Cousine Bette), and Madame Claes (La Recherche de l’Absolu) were martyrs to their husbands, while Madame Serizy made a martyr of hers. Beautiful motherhood is often seen, as in Madame Sauviat (Le Cure de Village), yet some of the mothers in Balzac are most heartless. A few professions among women are represented, actresses, artists, musicians and dancers being prominent in some of the stories.
It is quite possible and even probable that Balzac pictured many more women whom he knew in real life than have been mentioned here, and these may yet be traced. For obvious reasons, he avoided exact portraiture, yet in a few instances he indulged in it, notably in the sketch of George Sand as Mademoiselle des Touches. And lest one might not recognize the appearance of Madame Merlin as Madame Schontz (Beatrix), he boldly made her name public.
Works of Honore De Balzac Page 1550