Le Père Goriot by Honoré de BalzacMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Disclosure:
I have been reading this Novel during my Second Year in High School, I bought it as a main component in the National Curriculum, Currently I have a paperback of it in French, in addition to a Kindle Version.
My Plot:
The whole story shed light over Three persons, Pere Goriot an old man who spent most of his money in favor to support his two well married daughter. Eugene De Rastignac, a Humble law student who seeks to live like the hight Parisian society. and Vautrin a suspected criminal, the three Characters lives in a Mansion situated in Paris owned by Madame Vauquer. Pere Goriot was frequented by all the Boarders inside Vauquer's Mansion, Vautrin and Eugene Discovered that Pere Goriot was Bankrupted and at the Moment he is living with his heart toward his Daughters. Vautrin tries to convince Eugene to Follow a young unmarried lady called Victorine, in favor Vautrin suggest to kill her brother to get the fortune together, Vautrin in this respect had been caught by the police for trying to kill Victorine's brother. Pere Goriot suggest to Eugene to have a love affair with his daughter Delphine, and to release her from her arrogant husband. Pere Goriot suffered from a stroke by Hearing that his Daughter is selling her Husband's jewels to pay her debt, he was feeling impotence, He got worse especially when none of his daughters came to visit him, after days he died. During the Funeral none of his daughters came to say good bye to their Father, He was buried only with the presence of Eugene and Christophe the Mansion servant, in addition to two paid mourners. After the Funeral, Eugene set out to dine with Delphine saying after the sight of Paris during the Evening " A Nous Deux Maintenant".
Positive and Negative Aspects:
Speaking of Positive aspects, I would admit that the story was a realistic master piece of Balzac, and that makes it the top of my list, Indeed the elements used inside the story represent a realistic touch against the life in Paris, so all the aspects in the story are true, in addition the events inside the story were going in normal path. but negatively, I feel the hardness in understanding the events smoothly and that was quite in my Plot writing, the story was like a web that is hard to get out from it. Besides it shows the social immorality that Paris has lead during the Restoration of the Bourbon Dynasty. the parent disrespect, and the bad will toward money and high class.
My Personal Reaction:
Speaking of my personal opinion, I really felt sorry about the main Character of the story, I hate the disrespect the daughters had toward their parent, the bad instinct of Eugene toward getting high in the top social class without giving less consideration to the social norms, I admit that even if I am a fan of the Realistic novel, this story really made me feel offended with the Characters behavior inside it. It was the literary revolution against the social arrogance. Generally, I admit that the story was enjoyable but the contents were worst far more.
Recommendations:
The story of Pere Goriot is a part of "La Comedie Human" which take in a critical manner all the aspects of life in Paris during the periods of Kingship, So I would recommend it to all the Literature students who gets the first step toward the Realistic novel, I would recommend it also to the people who give more focus to the moral side of the Characters, and to the French people who are willing to explore the True history of their nation.
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