Balzac, Literary Sociologist

Allan H. Pasco is Hall Distinguished Professor of Nineteenth-Century Literature at the University of Kansas, USA.

Table of Contents

Foreword

Conventions

1. Introduction

2. Through the Glass Darkly, Ursule Mirouët

3. A "Divine" Comedy, Eugénie Grandet

4. The Gerontocracy and Youth, Pierrette

5. The Tangible and the Intangible, Le Curé de Tours

6. The Dying Patriarchy, La Rabouilleuse

7. Nascent Capitalism, "L'Illustre Gaudissart"

8. A Provincial Muse, La Muse du département

9. Empty Wombs, La Vieille Fille

10. Restoration Boneyard, Le Cabinet des antiques

11. Aeries and Muck, Illusions perdues

12. Conclusion

Works Cited

"Balzac, Literary Sociologist is a significant contribution to Balzac studies, especially for its fine-grained and richly erudite readings of an under-analyzed section of La Comédie humaine. The book artfully combines history, social science, and literary analysis to bring new clarity to Balzac's view of provincial France and is destined to have broad appeal to expert researchers and novice undergraduates alike." (Nineteenth-Century French Studies, ncfs-journal.org, Vol. 47 (1-2), 2018)

"This collection of essays devoted to La Comédie humaine, Balzac's monumental corpus of interconnected novels and stories depicting French society in the first half of the 19th century, appears at an interesting cultural moment. ... Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above." (W. Edwards, Choice, Vol. 55 (7), March, 2018)