The Human Comedy, Vol. I

“The idea of The Human Comedy . . . originated in a comparison between Humanity and Animality.”

A painter’s greatest masterpiece is inspired by a young girl of angelic beauty, but their resulting marriage only serves to reveal the deep divide between their true natures . . . a haughty young demoiselle, the last child to marry from an old noble family, is raised to be all too discerning in her choice of a future husband, with tragic consequences . . . a lifelong correspondence between two young women illustrates their different ideas about love and marriage–one valuing romance and excitement, the other marital duty–but as they begin to live out their philosophies of love and life, one thrives and prospers as a wife and mother while the other is slowly consumed by jealousy . . .

The works in this volume--At the Sign of The Cat & Racket, The Ball at Sceaux, and Letters of Two Brides--are preceded by an introduction in which Balzac sets forth the history of the project and explains his principles of composition.