The Ball At Sceaux

La Comédie Humaine #2

by Honoré de Balzac

Emilie de Fontaine is a spoiled and pround brat. She rejects all suitors her father proposes. She will only marry a peer of France - or not at all! At a ball, she meets the handsome Maximilian. They fall in love. But one day, Emily discovers that Maximilian has a secret...

Genres: Classics, Fiction, French Literature, France, Short Stories, Literature, Romance

56 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1829

About the author

French writer Honoré de Balzac (born Honoré Balzac), a founder of the realist school of fiction, portrayed the panorama of society in a body of works, known collectively as La comédie humaine .

Honoré de Balzac authored 19th-century novels and plays. After the fall of Napoléon in 1815, his magnum opus, a sequence of almost a hundred novels and plays, entitled, presents life in the years.

Due to keen observation of fine detail and unfiltered representation, European literature regards Balzac. He features renowned multifaceted, even complex, morally ambiguous, full lesser characters. Character well imbues inanimate objects; the city of Paris, a backdrop, takes on many qualities. He influenced many famous authors, including the novelists Marcel Proust, Émile Zola, Charles John Huffam Dickens, Gustave Flaubert, Henry James, and Jack Kerouac as well as important philosophers, such as Friedrich Engels. Many works of Balzac, made into films, continue to inspire.

An enthusiastic reader and independent thinker as a child, Balzac adapted with trouble to the teaching style of his grammar. His willful nature caused trouble throughout his life and frustrated his ambitions to succeed in the world of business. Balzac finished, and people then apprenticed him as a legal clerk, but after wearying of banal routine, he turned his back on law. He attempted a publisher, printer, businessman, critic, and politician before and during his career. He failed in these efforts From his own experience, he reflects life difficulties and includes scenes.

Possibly due to his intense schedule and from health problems, Balzac suffered throughout his life. Financial and personal drama often strained his relationship with his family, and he lost more than one friend over critical reviews. In 1850, he married Ewelina Hańska, his longtime paramour; five months later, he passed away.

Reviews

[Το Άθχημο γατί του θενιόρ Γκουαναμίρου · Rating 5 out of 5]

Πολύ ενδιαφέρουσα αυτή η ιστορία!

Ένα μικρό παραμύθι, όπου δεν έζησαν όλοι καλά, κατά τη συνήθη έκβαση a la Balzac. Που δεν χαρίζεται σε κανέναν και που δεν συγχωρεί τα καπρίτσια και τις μεγαλομανίες. Ναι. Θα μπορούσε πραγματικά να είναι ένας μύθος του La Fontaine, μια πολιτική αλληγορία, μια σπουδή επάνω σε όσα συνιστούν μια κρίση μεγαλείου. Και δεν είναι η ανοησία και ο εγωισμός της ηρωίδας, της Émilie de Fontaine που με εντυπωσίασε, αλλά η απεικόνιση μιας κοινωνικής τάξης που φαίνεται ξεκάθαρα πως δεν κατάφερε να την ταρακουνήσει ολόκληρη Γαλλική Επανάσταση!

Ο κόμης Fontaine χάνει στα χρόνια της Τρομοκρατίας το μεγαλύτερο μέρος της περιουσίας του. Παραλίγο να χάσει και τη ζωή του κατά την εξέγερση της Vendée στα 1793, μια περιοχής στη δυτική Γαλλία, όπου χωρικοί και ευγενείς ξεσηκώθηκαν ενάντια στο καθεστώς του Παρισιού, αξιώνοντας την αποκατάσταση του θεσμού της βασιλείας. Τελικά η εμφύλια αυτή σύγκρουση θα πνιγεί στο αίμα (κάποιοι ιστορικοί την χαρακτηρίζουν ως γενοκτονία).

Επειτα ακολουθεί η εποχή του Ναπολέοντα (1804 -1814), όπου ο κόμης Fontaine παραμένει στο περιθώριο, ελπίζοντας σε καλύτερες ημέρες, οι οποίες έρχονται με με την Παλινόρθωση των Βουρβόνων (1814 - 1830). Βέβαια κι εκεί τα πράγματα δεν είναι εύκολα. Χρειάζεται να χρησιμοποιήσει όλη του τη διπλωματία, για να αποκτήσει αξιώματα και να εξαργυρώσει την αφοσίωσή του προς τον βασιλιά του. Μαθαίνει στην πράξη πως όποιος θέλει να κερδίσει κάτι, δεν πρέπει να το διεκδικεί ευθέως, αλλά μεταχειριζόμενος πλάγια μέσα επωφελούμενος των καταστάσεων.

Ο νεοαποκτηθείς οπορτουνισμός του θα βρει μια σπουδαία ευκαιρία να εκδηλωθεί και να αποφέρει καρπούς, όταν κατά τον Πόλεμο του Έβδομου Συνασπισμού (ή 100 ημέρες όπως είναι επίσης γνωστός), δηλαδή κατά την σύντομη επιστροφή του Ναπολέοντα μετά από την δεκάμηνη εξορία του στην Έλβα (Μάρτης - Ιούλης 1815) θα ακολουθήσει στην εξορία τον Λουδοβίκο 18ο, στο Βέλγιο. 'Οσο πιο κοντά στην αυλή του βασιλιά, τόσο πιο κοντά στην εξουσία. Και μετά το Βατερλώ και την επιστροφή του Λουδοβίκου στο Παρίσι, αρχίζει το χρήμα να ρέει. Ο βασιλιάς έχει πάρει πλέον το μάθημά του και παρέχει αφειδώς προνόμια στα πιστά του υποκείμενα. Έτσι ο κόμης πέρα από τον εαυτό του καταφέρνει να αποκαταστήσει όλα τα παιδιά του. Κι απομένει ανύπαντρη, η μικρότερή του κόρη, η κακομαθημένη και φαντασμένη Émilie.

Αυτό που έχει ενδιαφέρον σε αυτό το σύντομο έργο, δεν είναι οι περιπέτειες των παντρολογημάτων της νέας, μιας φάρσας υπό τον ήχο των μουσικών αναφορών που κάνει ο Balzac στον Κουρέα της Σεβίλλης του Rossini και στo Il matrimonio segreto του Domenico Cimarosa, στην σκηνή που ο συγγραφέας περιγράφει την αντιπαράθεση του πατέρα με την κόρη σε κάποιο σημείο της νουβέλας. Αυτό που έχει τη θεμελιώδη σημασία είναι ο τρόπος που πεθαίνει τελικά η παλιά αριστοκρατία: Αραιώνει μέχρι που χάνεται μέσα στην ανερχόμενη, τη νέα εκδοχή της, την μπουρζουαζία, την αυτοκρατορία του χρήματος. Εκεί όπου ο καθένας μπορεί με τους κατάλληλους πολιτικούς χειρισμούς, εφόσον διαθέτει το απαιτούμενο κεφάλαιο, να αγοράσει όσους τίτλους ευγενείας τραβάει η ψυχή του.

Γιατί σε τελική ανάλυση πώς να ξεχωρίσει ένας ευγενής από έναν μεγαλοαστό; "Στην εποχή μας όλοι είναι γαλαζοαίματοι" θα μπορούσε κάποιος να απαντήσει παραφράζοντας έναν λόγο του ηλικιωμένου κόμη de Kergarouët.

[Davide · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sceaux è nell'Île-de-France, quindi non lontano da Parigi, famosa "per il suo castello e il grandioso parco disegnato da André Le Nôtre", come direbbe una guida:



Ma questo che vediamo là in fondo nella foto è quello fatto costruire dal napoleonico Duca di Treviso, negli anni immediatamente successivi a quando Balzac scriveva (1829). E d'altra parte, come dice il titolo, Balzac è interessato al Ballo, non al Castello.

Il famoso Ballo campestre di Sceaux, che con la sua capiente rotonda per ballare rischiava allora -
ironizza Balzac - di diventare un’istituzione, era una grande attrazione per i parigini nella stagione estiva. E rappresenta davvero l’evento centrale di questo romanzo breve. Anche se, alla fin fine, ben poche pagine gli sono effettivamente dedicate: segna sì il momento iniziale del nucleo narrativo principale, ma tutto si svolge in realtà altrove.

Perché Le bal de Sceaux è un romanzo-ritratto, è la raffigurazione puntuale di una viziatissima bella nobile giovane altezzosa: Émilie de Fontaine.

Si tratta molto chiaramente di una “narrazione esemplare”, un racconto che serve come esempio di un discorso più ampio: uno studio di carattere e di ambiente che dà carne concreta e seducente a una questione generale, ossia il rapporto tra nobiltà (antica e nuova) e borghesia nella Francia della Restaurazione, quindi tra diverse composizioni del capitale sociale nel campo del potere: antichità e prestigio contro ricchezza e potere.
Rapporto che si manifesta in particolare attraverso la politica matrimoniale delle famiglie.

Rispetto a La maison du chat-qui-pelote, scritto nello stesso periodo e che tocca a un livello sociale inferiore questioni matrimoniali simili, qui è più evidente la necessità dello studio sociale e storico per comprendere bene caratteri e azioni dei personaggi.

E quindi, per arrivare a capire la protagonista, prima ci vuole il ritratto del padre. E, intorno, della famiglia; e del suo percorso nella storia recente.

Anche qui l’origine è ancora nella guerra di Vandea (all'inizio della sua carriera non pseudonima, Balzac era proprio ossessionato da «cette orageuse époque de l’histoire contemporaine»! vedi gli Chouans).

Il padre della protagonista, infatti, è il conte de Fontaine, di antica famiglia del Poitou, che ha servito con intelligenza e coraggio la causa dei Borboni durante la guerra; ha sposato una donna della più antica nobiltà bretone, i de Kergarouët, ma senza ricchezze. Dopo la Restaurazione, a Parigi, è nominato maréchal-de-camp, ottiene la croce della legione d’onore e altre onorificenza ma nulla che ripaghi il grande impegno finanziario nella lotta, mentre gli “intrusi dell’Impero” arrivano a cariche elevate.

Dopo il definitivo ritorno sul trono di Luigi XVIII, però, anche il nostro conte sale nella stima e nell’appoggio del re. Da ultra monarchico diventa uno dei sostenitori ed esecutori (e approfittatori) della politica di conciliazione, mediazione e unità nazionale del re; e riesce a sistemare con ricchi matrimoni d’argent e lucrosi incarichi tutti i tre figli e due delle tre figlie. Rimane soltanto la protagonista, Émilie.

Tutta questa parte introduttiva è necessaria per presentare poi, come se fosse lo srotolarsi delle conseguenze di un teorema, la sorte della figlia più bella, più dotata, più viziata, più desiderosa di sposarsi almeno con un "pari di Francia" (tra i suoi possibili pretendenti è nominato anche un certo «monsieur de Rastignac» che è, dice la maliziosa Émilie per scartarlo, «devenu presque banquier»).

E perché l’azione vera e propria del romanzo si avvii bisogna appunto lasciare Parigi e spostarsi nelle verdi campagne di Sceaux. Ma poi bisognerà tornare in città.

Al ballo dove Émilie vuole andare, in incognito, per "faire peuple", divertirsi con critiche maliziose e riempire il suo album satirico, si imbatte invece nella perfetta incarnazione delle sue aspettative dell’uomo da sposare: «Sa taille svelte et dégagée rapellait les belles proportions de l’Apollon. De beaux cheveux noirs se bouclaient naturellement sur son front élevé.»

Tutto il seguito lo leggerà, chi vuole, raccontato direttamente da Balzac.

Dico solo che inizia un incontro che, con tutte le differenze del caso, mi faceva tornare in mente la parte di Sense and Sensibility che dipinge l’innamoramento di Marianne per Willoughby.
E che in non tantissime pagine passano diversi anni; perché non c'è narrazione regolare e distesa ma concentrazione su tre grandi scene, compresa una risolutiva durante un altro ballo (ma non a Sceaux).

Ci sono anche: un vecchio zio lupo di mare, ex ammiraglio e ex viveur settecentesco; duetti di Pergolesi e di Rossini; una partenza «pour les chaudes et poétiques contrées de la belle Italie»; gente che diventa visconte e pari.
E un finale con plateale mise en abîme: quando una battuta detta inconsapevolmente, giocando a carte, chiude la partita e il racconto.

E noi ne siamo contenti; e pronti a vedere cosa succederà la prossima volta.

[Sergio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Il Ballo di Sceaux (1830) è uno dei primi racconti di Honoré de Balzac [ 1799-1850] che sarà poi inserito nel ciclo della “Commedia Umana” ed è caratterizzato da una invidiabile spigliatezza narrativa e da dialoghi briosi che me lo hanno fatto apprezzare e godere fin dalle primissime pagine;
l’intento dello scrittore francese sembra appuntarsi sui cambiamenti sociali che la rivoluzione francese e l’impero napoleonico hanno lasciato dietro di sé: la progressiva scalata sociale e arricchimento della borghesia che diventa l’asse pulsante e l’ago della bilancia della nazione grazie anche all’incremento dell’ industrializzazione, della navigazione commerciale in tutto il globo e dei traffici internazionali e il conseguente ridimensionamento della nobiltà immobilizzata nella sua vanità di casta e legata ad consuetudini di vita e valutazioni sociali ormai decadute come la sua precedente ricchezza.
E per rendere al massimo fruibile il suo pensiero imbastisce il racconto della giovanissima e avvenente Emilie de Fontaine, ultima e capricciosa figlia del conte de Fontaine, fedelissimo realista, che trova modo di rifiutare tutti i giovani che si fanno avanti dichiarando di essere disposta a sposare, visti i suoi nobili natali, soltanto un Pari di Francia o un suo figlio….

[Janelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a short book this is slow to get to the point but once the haughty youngest and only unmarried daughter, Emilie de Fontaine is introduced, I really enjoyed it. I was so glad the snob gets what she deserves marriage to her 70yo great uncle, ewwww!!!

[Adam McPhee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let me see if I have the plot straight:

Some French guy recovers an ancient, lost fortune in the most turbulent part of the 1800s by placing the right bet and staying loyal to the King over the years. The King is slow to recognize him, but eventually he gets a cabinet-level position and can hope to be made a peer of the realm. He arranges good marriages for his three sons and two of his three daughters.

The youngest daughter rejects all her suitors, at risk of becoming a spinster at twenty-three. She wants someone who is handsome, rich, and from an ancient, noble family. She finally meets someone over the summer at the titular Ball at Sceaux in the countryside. It's evident to her whole family that she loves him, and her uncle, who's a retired admiral by the way, arranges a meeting by challenging the guy to a duel and then backing down and getting friendly. The family likes the new guy and the guy and girl love each other. He's handsome and it's clear from his fashionable clothes and his ability to vacation that he has money. But does he have a title? He makes her promise to wait for him. She agrees.

Back in Paris, she goes shopping with her sisters-in-law and finds he's a cloth merchant selling calico and muslin, and so she ends their engagement on the spot. Months later, at a ball thrown by the Neapolitan embassy, she meets him again, and this time his brother explains: he (the suitor) and their sister gave up their share of the family fortune so that the father (and thus the non-suitor brother who is relating the story) can acquire the much-needed peerage with the required dignity or whatever. The brother is working for a merchant because his speculations in Brazil haven't panned out. Still, the young lady feels heartrending pains for the young man, especially when she catches him speaking to other women. And yet she can't help but make another cutting remark, completely ending any chance of reconciliation.

Giving up on love, the young woman marries her seventy-two-year-old ex-admiral uncle. People are perplexed and we find out age gap discourse goes back aways, people argue about which one must be taking advantage of the other, but no one can find any fault in their conduct. Then, two years later, she runs into her suitor again: he is being pursued by many eligible young women now that his speculations have paid off handsomely and his father and brother have died thus allowing him to inherit the family title and become a peer of the realm. Her uncle is still in good health, so there's no escaping the marriage. She curses the follies of her youth. Fin.

The story is well told, and there's some clever lines. I like how the father and daughter used parliamentary metaphors for matchmaking, while the retired uncle used naval terms. The plotting and some of the cleverness are almost Wodehousian, but more focused on realism than comedy. There's a great line where the uncle is said to have negotiated a truce with his gout.

[Théo d'Or]

Je ne m'attendais pas à trouver ici une version inversée de Cendrillon, dans le sens où ici c'est le personnage féminin qui est à la recherche de l'homme parfait. Comme d'habitude, des rêves...
Comme pour bien des comédies conventionnelles, toute l'intrigue du Bal de Sceaux repose sur la difficulté à conclure le mariage d'une jeune fille. Traditionellement, l'obstacle à l'amour vient du fait que c'est le père qui choisit le fiancé sans tenir compte de l'avis de sa fille. Ici, Émilie est libre de faire son propre choix, et la difficulté vient de la définition qu'elle donne elle-même du mari ideal. Si je n'avais pas été fan de Balzac, je me serais terriblement ennuyé.
Mais, dans ce livre, l'exposition est essentiellement consacrée au contexte historique. M. de Fontaine est un représentant de la noblesse d' Ancien Régime. Émilie, sa fille, se sent appartenir à l'élite de la noblesse, en particulier par ses origines maternelles. Lorsqu'elle rencontre l'être inespéré qui rassemble - apparemment - toutes les perfections, il lui est impossible d'acquérir la certitude, dans la société aux repères incertains de la Restauration, qu'il est noble, question qui constitue le nœd central de l'intrigue.
Le Bal de Sceaux , qui a vraiment existé tel que le décrit Balzac, est le cadre idéal pour un roman qui pose la question du rapport entre apparence, comportement et identité sociale.
À travers ce court roman, Balzac veut montrer ( comme je le vois ) - le poids du passé sur le present. Il expose donc longuement ce que sont le rapports des principaux personnages avec l'Histoire, qu'ils l'aient vécue, comme M. de Fontaine, ou qu'ils l'idéalisent comme Émilie.
Si aujourd'hui le lecteur a du mal à se retrouver dans les faits et les noms cités sans explications par l'auteur, il n'en était pas de même pour les contemporains de Balzac qui adoraient ces romans à clés et cherchaient à mettre un visage derrière chacun des personnages.

" Certaine fille un peu trop fière
Prétendait trouver un mari
Jeune, bien fait, beau, d'agreable manière,
Point froid et point jaloux: notez ces deux points ci.
Cette fille voulait aussi
Qu'il eût du bien, de la naissance,
De l'esprit, enfin tout. Mais qui peut tout avoir ?
Le destin se montra soigneux de la pourvoir :
Il vint des partis d'importance.
La belle les trouva trop chétifs de moitié. "

[Paradoxe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Μου άρεσε όταν ήμουν μικρός να τρώω πολλούς λωτούς. Μεγαλώνοντας έμοιαζε κι η ζωή τόσο πολύ όσο πέρναγα απ’ την εφηβεία στην ενηλικίωση με αυτό το φρούτο, γλυκιά γεύση που αφήνει κάτι που στεγνώνει, μουδιάζει. Σαν τη ματαιοδοξία.

Μπαλζάκ με όλα του τα γνωρίσματα σ’ ένα σύντομο κεφάτο περιστατικό απ’ τη ζωή μιας κοπέλας που παραπέρνει στοργή απ’ το σπίτι, μια ‘’βενιαμίν’’ στην οποία οι τύψεις απ’ τους χειρισμούς των πρώτων βημάτων του μπαμπά και της μαμάς ως γονείς κι η τελευταία ευκαιρία να ζήσουν τη γλώσσα του μωρού, του παιδιού, του νιάτου γαλουχούν σε μια ζωή όπου τα πάντα έρχονται στο πιάτο, μέσα σ’ αυτά κι η μεγαλομανία για όλα εκείνα που δεν είναι παρά στολίδια, η αναζήτηση της ευτυχίας στα πράγματα κι όχι μέσα μας.

Μπαλζάκ – λωτός, γλυκός, χαμογελαστός και συνάμα στυφός, πικρός, να σε στεγνώνει.

Θα μπορούσε να είναι ένα κεφάλαιο σε κάποιο απ’ τα μεγάλα του μυθιστορήματα, κατά βάση είναι μια ακόμη ανατόμηση στο σύνολο της Ανθρώπινης Κωμωδίας και ως τέτοιο το κρίνω. Με λίγες λέξεις χαρακτήρες αδρά αποτυπωμένοι.

Κρατώ απ’ όλους αυτό τον κομήτη: από ‘ναν άνθρωπο με ελαττώματα το χειρότερο για τον εαυτό του είναι ένας άνθρωπος, χωρίς. Εκτιμά καθένας αυτή τη φράση όπως νομίζει. Ακόμη και ως αφέλεια, αφού δεν υπάρχουν άνθρωποι χωρίς ελαττώματα. Ακόμη κι εκείνος που δεν γεννήθηκε μ’ αυτά, τα αναπτύσσει, τα αποκτά. Ως συνήθειες, ως αρρώστιες, ως μομφές προς τον εαυτό του, ή τελικά η παθογένεια στη φύση του το ξεπληρώνει κάποτε. Μα ωστόσο μια ζωή χαρισάμενη, εύκολη, βατή όταν θα σε γονατίσει και δε θα ‘χεις παλέψει πριν με τις απογοητεύσεις των ελαττωμάτων που δεν αναγνώρισες εγκαίρως, με τις μάχες μαζί τους, θα σε κάνει τον δυστυχέστερο επί γης. Γιατί ο χειρότερος άνθρωπος για τον εαυτό του είναι αυτός που δεν τον ξέρει κι ας ξέρει όλους τους άλλους, ή ας νομίζει έτσι.

Θα ήμουν ανάμεσα στα 2.5 – 3.5 αστέρια. Όμως θα δώσω τα 4 γιατί δεν υπάρχει καμιά άλλη κριτική ή βαθμολογία γι’ αυτό το βιβλίο και θέλω να το διαβάσουν κι άλλοι. Είναι μια εισαγωγή στο έργο του Μπαλζάκ, στην αντίστροφη εμμονή του με το αριστοκρατικό μόριο για το οποίο οι πιο επιδερμικοί απ’ τους βιογράφους των χαρακτηρίζουν ματαιόδοξο. Ήταν υπέρμετρα ματαιόδοξος, αλλά το συγκεκριμένο Ντε ήταν κάτι άλλο, το όχημα του μέσα στον κόσμο των Ντε και των μελλοντικών ομοτίμων, αποδεκτός ως ένας ακόμη ματαιόδοξος που κοιτά να προσκολληθεί στον κόσμο τους, παράλληλα ένας διαυγής ανατόμος τους, ένας εμβριθής είρωνας έτοιμος ανά πάσα στιγμή να τους λοιδορήσει υποδόρια, να ανατρέψει την εικόνα που έχουν για τον εαυτό τους με ένα μικρόβιο που μένει εκεί και κάποτε ανοίγει η κάψουλα και τους καίει.

Τα 4 αστέρια και για έναν ακόμα λόγο. Γιατί ο Μαξιμιλιάν είναι ένας ακόμη μοντέρνος άνθρωπος, μέσα και έξω απ’ την εποχή του, ένας ακόμη Λισιέν Λεβέν του Παρισιού, όσο κι η Εμιλύ είναι ένας Λισιέν Λεβέν της επαρχίας.

[Amara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was terribly boring until pretty much the end, and then it got so good that I didn't want it to end. No more Balzac book club this year, next Balzac in Feburary.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

This was really a short story rather than a novella but nonetheless Balzac gives a complete picture of the de Fontaine family and of the youngest daughter Emilie in particular. She provides quite a different picture of feminity from Augustine, the heroine of "At the Sign of the Cat and Racket"!

[Fatbardha Smona · Rating 4 out of 5]

I panjohuri, ëndërrimtar, vetmitar, i mbështetur lehtas mbi një nga kolonat që mbanin çatinë, i mbante duart e kryqëzuara, qëndronte i varur, sikur të qe vendosur aty në mënyrë që ndonjë piktor t'i bënte portret. Duke qënë se zotëronte plot elegancë dhe krenari, kjo sjellje qe pjellë e afeksionit. Asnjë gjest nuk e tregonte se e nxori fytyrën në pah dhe rrotulloi kokën djathtas, porsi Aleksandri, porsi Lord Bajroni, e ndonjë tjetër i shquar, me qëllimin e vetëm, për të tërhequr vëmendjen. Vështrimi i saj i palëvizur, ndiqte dridhjet e një valltareje, duke tradhëtuar një palë ndjenja të forta. Me një shtat të hedhur e të lidhur fort ai të kujtonte format e bukura të perëndisë Apolon. Flokët e zinj si korbi, i binin lezeçëm në ballin e gjërë. Menjëherë zonjusha de Fonten vuri re finesën e linjave të veta, bardhësinë e dorezave lëkurë dreri, natyrisht të blera sagllëm, me imtësinë e një këmbe të veshur e mbathur mirë me një çizme kamoshi safi irlandez. Zotëria nuk mbante asgjë nga zhingla-minglat e shpifura me të cilët zbukuroheshin krerët e vjetër të gardës mbretërore apo të marrosurit pas parave. Vetëm një rubin i zi mbi të cilin qe fiksuar lornjeta e saj, shëndriste mbi një jelek stofi të veçantë. Kurrë ne jetën e saj kokëforta Emili, nuk kishte qëmtuar në sytë e një burri hakërrimën e vetullave aq të gjata dhe të harkuara. Melankolia dhe pasioni merrnin jetë tek ky imazh i karakterizuar nga pamje të kulluara e burrërore goja e tij e lindur për buzagazin, me cepat e buta me një elokuencë majë më majë, por ky devocion ndryshe nga hareja dukej sikur zbulonte një lloj hije trishtimi. Kishte shumë largpamësi mbi atë krye, mjaft clësi të karakterit, që të mund t'i thoje vetes: "Ja një bukurosh apo burrë i pashëm!!", që të ngjallte kureshtjen për ta njohur.

[Ben Dutton · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Ball at Sceaux is one of the oldest books in Balzac’s La Comédie Humaine. It was the fifth written book. It’s storyline is derivative, for he seems inspired by Aleksandr Pushkin’s Eugene Onegin and the fables of La Fontaine, especially La Fille (“The Girl”) and Héron (“The Heron”). Nevertheless, he is able to put a typically Balzacian twist upon them.

Émilie de Fontaine is in desperate need to be titled: she will love nobody unless they are known in French society. At the ball at Sceaux she falls in love with a mysterious young man. Despite his refined appearance and aristocratic bearing, the unknown, Maximilien Longueville, never tells his identity and seems interested in nobody but his sister, a sickly young girl. But he is not insensible to the attention Émilie gives him and he accepts the invitation of Émilie’s father, the Comte de Fontaine. Émilie and Maximilien soon fall in love. The Comte de Fontaine, concerned for his daughter, decides to investigate this mysterious young man, and he discovers him on the Rue du Sentier, a simple cloth merchant, which horrifies Émilie. Piqued, she marries a 70 year old uncle for his title of Vice Admiral, the Comte de Kergarouët. Several years after her marriage, Émilie discovers that Maximilien is not a clothier at all, but in fact a Vicomte de Longueville who has become a Peer of France. The young man finally explains why he secretly tended a store: he did it in order to support his family, sacrificing himself for his sick sister and for his brother, who had departed the country.

Balzac portrayal of Émilie de Fontaine is a wonderful one: she is a petty, malicious young woman, and in lesser hands her story would not provoke the way in which it does. You hurt for Maximilien, and the final reveal of his true status is a damning indictment against Émilie de Fontaine. Though only a short work, The Ball at Sceaux rings with the tension of a much larger novel. It is one of the delights of La Comédie Humaine that we shall meet these characters again.

[booklady · Rating 4 out of 5]

Number 2 in Balzac's La Comédie Humaine is about the Comte de Fontaine, head of one of the oldest families in Poitou, and his efforts mostly on behalf of his spoiled daughter, Emilie, who could not be satisfied with any suitor. The rest of her 5 (3 brothers and 2 sisters) siblings had all made favorable and happy matches, but Emilie set her sights far above anything anyone could imagine she would ever find.

And then she goes to the The Ball At Sceaux where she sets her eyes on Maximilien Longueville, who seems to be everything she has ever hoped for, seems to be, but IS he? This, Emilie must know and on this her final decision rests.

Oh Emilie and all the Emilies, so quick and harsh in your judgements, the pain you give yourself and others! Another perfect little parable!

[Sauerkirsche · Rating 3 out of 5]

Um Balzacs Frauenbild zu verstehen, werde ich wohl noch ein paar seiner Bücher lesen müssen. Sätze wie "...als die Frau ja nur durch Hingebung und Selbstverleugnung wahrhaft gefallen kann..." lassen mir die Galle hoch kommen, allerdings war das damals eben das gängige Ideal. In Eugenie Grandet war die weibliche Hauptperson tugendhaft und bekam ein gutes Ende. Hier ist die Protagonistin wie die Prinzessin aus König Drosselbart, nur ohne Wandlung und ohne Happy End. Natürlich gibt es solche Frauen (aber auch Männer) wie Balzac sie hier zeichnet, der Stolz, die Arroganz und das unüberwindbare Standesdenken sind nur zu realistisch. Besonders in Frankreich zu dieser Zeit, in der der alte Adel verzweifelt an seinen ehemaligen Privilegien festhält und nicht einsehen möchte, dass sie nicht mehr allein die herrschende Klasse bilden. Der historische Hintergrund ist also allemal interessant.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful bagatelle of a story by Balzac, who writes of the youngest daughter of a noble family who is much too particular on the subject of marrying below her station. She wants someone who is rich, young, noble, slim, with good hair and teeth, and all the other trimmings. She attends an ongoing Ball -- a Festival actually -- at Sceaux with her family and seems to run into the perfect candidate. But he disappears without identifying himself. She finally hunts his down with her old uncle's help. They fall in love with each other -- until she discovers that he is (oh horrors!) a banker. She gives up and marries her old uncle, who is some 50 years her senior. At the end of the story, the young man has become a wealthy viscount -- and the daughter is still very much married to her uncle.

[Josh Friedlander · Rating 5 out of 5]

The snobby Emilie learns that beauty and good breeding don't exempt her from the rules, and that people should not be judged by their outward appearance. Fascinating for me was the view of Restoration France, and the jostling for patronage around Louis XVIII in between the eras of Napoleonic Empire and the Third Republic. Fashions and politics may change - our own egalitarian times have none of the bias toward ancestry that these characters exhibit - but it is still true that "happiness comes from within".

[Classic reverie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can now safely say that Balzac is one of my top favorite writers. I love him because I leave his stories thinking of the whole human affair which does not have many happy endings, I shall see as I read it he allows any main character to be happy! Don't get me wrong, I am a fan of happy endings but if I had to choose a book that has a message with a sad ending, that is my preference. I am loving this series, onto my thoughts on Honroe Balzac's The Ball at Sceaux.

In Jane Austin's Pride and Prejudice, two souls finally make way to drop their preconceived notions and to find their way to happiness. Balzac's Emilie has too much pride in nobility and title and her haughty behavior, she thinks that life's happiness lies in that corner, Longueville is not as haughty as his lover. She shudders to think of her husband working and it is not just money that she needs in a lover but the list is too exacting and quite impossible to fulfil. She meets an unknown man at the Ball at Sceaux, who is perfect but is he from noble blood?

When I read Balzac, I think the story is heading in one direction but again I am wrong and the story ends with a message not so pleasing but surely powerful!


I wonder if I will come across I will come across any of these characters later on in the series. Balzac was the first to show the age progression of some characters. Having read both Anthony Trollope and Marcel Proust which use this progression in their works.


There is a message as in the first book, which is being incapable of flexibility in your ideas leads to a life only of ideas and lacks understanding and happiness.


Story in short- The family Fontaine has benefited after the second French Revolution, even though they are Royalist. Monsieur de Fontaine has settled all his 5 children with the King's help but Emilie is a young tyrant and very spoiled, what is he to do with this favorite daughter?

I did not read this edition but a collection of his work.








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I really wanted Emilie and Longueville to be happy but foolish Emilie had many chances but thinking her husband , a clerk and no title, unthinkable!! Even when his brother tells of all he gave up so that he could be the first son with title and how Longueville used to work extra hard to see Emily's in the country. She has a second chance,knowing that he is very rich now but that title is so important! She sees him later after her marriage to an old noble and Longueville has the title after his brother died in Russia, from the cold weather which Emilie's father had the King change his ambassadors location and his father is dead! Her husband is old but healthy!! And will live a long time!!!

I really wanted Emilie to change before the second chance but after hearing the brother talk about Max giving up his inheritance for him, if she wasn't moved she is insensitive, her spoiled behavior caused her to see and feel only for her self. I really liked Max and his family, could he ever forgive Emilie after her father had influence to send his brother to Russia to meet his death. She saw he was refined and like her in society acting like a gentleman but she was too centered on a really a ridiculous notion of title. Will we her about them again? Yes, and she is not very nice!
Comte de Fontaine has been a Royalist and had given his money for the cause. He retires to the country with marrying from one of the oldest family in Brittany, but without much money. When he goes to Paris he finds things changed and is felt to be ridiculed for mentioning the money he gave for the Royal cause and after they exchange no longer a starch Royalist. De Fontaine sees the troubles again against the King and mortgages his country home to help. He is then favored by the King. De Fontaine has helped the King and done well, all 3 sons given positions and he had mentioned his daughter and the King helped with a match. The King heard about another daughter and made her a match. Then Fountaine talked about his youngest daughter and that tried his patience. Emilie de Fontaine is the youngest daughter and has brought up spoiled by her siblings and parents. She must marry a peer and is tyrannical and picky. Emilie is told by her father that he has tried to help her find a husband but she was too demanding that she could not agree with any. He told her that she was could find her own and he had tried his best and gives up. She must though know that he only will give her a certain amount of money and no more for her mother is his concern and to leave her comfortable. Emilie decides to go to a ball when staying with he sister but dresses as a commoner to have fun. Emilie is looking for the man at the dance and the girl he called Clara. Her Uncle Comte de Kergarouet sees his niece might be agitated and in love with this stranger. Her uncle finds out the young man's name and tells his niece he is noble and he will invite him over to the drawing room. Longueville tells of his ill sister and is pleasing to the family. Emilie is quiet and quite different than with other men. Emilie had seen her lover at a fabric store behind a counter when out with her sisters and confronted him. She lost her chance through ridiculous pride. She sees him later still wounded but meets the brother who Clara and Longueville had given up their inheritance to advance their brother into a peer. The brother tells her how generous Max is and that he had a lover which he would hurry after work to the country to see and seeing the way they looked at each other; he saw Emilie as her brother's girl. Emilie approached him but her second chance was lost because of her pride in title. He has become rich and is off to Italy. Emilie marries her uncle Kergarouet. It is years later and after she had been cold to Max, his brother had by her father sent the ambassador to Russia, where he dies of a cold and Max has the title after his father and brother's death and is sought out by a mother's daughter and looking young, whereas foolish Emilie has her title an older husband not ready to die and her foolish notions.

[MarilynLovesNature · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the subtle humor and satire.

[Catherine Vamianaki · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short story about Emile De Fontaine who meets Maxmillien at a Ball. Emile is a spoiled girl.
In this story there is a message with a sad ending. I really enjoyed this. Balzac is always amazing.

[Armin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Märchen mit Moral aus dem alten Adel

Zweite kurze Etappe der Comédie Humaine mit Schwerpunkt auf den alten Adel, der sich ganz schön schwer damit tut, dass keineswegs nur stets Getreue eine Rolle spielen, sondern zahlreiche Köpfe aus der Ära Napoleons in der Politik eine Rolle spielen. Haupthandlung ist die Liebesgeschichte eines über alle Maßen gehatschelten Nesthäkchens, für dessen Unterbringung der Vater keinen Gefallen mehr beim König einfordern kann, während kein standesgemäßer Bewerber vor ihren Augen Gnade findet und jeder Kandidat mit ziemlich viel Spott bedacht wird. Als der Traumprinz aus dem Nichts auftaucht, scheitert das Glück an einem Hochmut des vermeintlich geistreichen Geschöpfs, der schon an Dummheit grenzt. Denn das Gänschen kommt nicht darüber hinweg, dass es den Bräutigam beim nicht standesgemäßen Verkauf von Stoffen in einer Luxusboutique erwischt hat und verpatzt die zweite Chance, um lieber ein Bonmot auf Kosten des Geliebten abzusetzen. Der Verschmähte extrem gut aussehende Mann wird später tatsächlich Pair von Frankreich, während die allzu bissige Schöne ihren über 70 Jahre alten Onkel geheiratet hat.
Viel wichtiger als die traurige Lektion in Sachen Hochmut=Dummheit ist das Geschehen im Hintergrund als Einstimmung in die Feinheiten der politischen Verhältnisse während der Restauration, sowie die kurzen Debüt-Auftritte etlicher Haupthelden des Zyklus. Die Geschichte liest sich gut, aber innerhalb der CH gibt es doch etliche Schwergewichte, die eher vier Sterne verdienen.

[Fazackerly Toast · Rating 4 out of 5]

poor Emilie! Granted she's horrible, but you've still got to feel a bit sorry for her - after all, it's not her fault that she's the way she is. I take some comfort from thinking that Longueville is clearly such a superior person the marriage probably wouldn't have worked out well anyway.

[stasia · Rating 4 out of 5]

[avril 2023]
----
Armée de son expérience de vingt ans, elle condamnait le sort parce que, ne sachant pas que le premier principe du bonheur est en nous, elle demandait aux choses de la vie de le lui donner.
----
Note : 4.5
Balzac dépeint de manière très juste et neutre la bourgeoisie d'antan, le consumérisme de l'époque et la société de ce temps.
C'est très chouette à lire. J'ai été surprise par la fin! Elle est finalement très réaliste et attendue, mais dans un roman (ou ici nouvelle) je pensais que la fin serait autre, un peu arrangée pour le spectacle narratif...
Finalement bien qu'Émilie soit assez détestable et que ce qui lui arrive soit mérité, je ne peux que me sentir un peu peinée pour elle... Elle est le résultat d'une société, d'une éducation et d'attentes qui l'incombent de par sa position... Elle aurait méritée une autre vie à une autre époque...

[Erich C · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up.

This fairly slight story features the spoiled, wilfull, and sarcastic Emilie de Fontaine:

Not a man, not even an old man, had it in him to contradict the opinions of a young girl whose lightest look could rekindle love in the coldest heart.

Made much of by all around her and with a privileged upbringing, Emilie will only consider marrying a Peer of France. She has rejected many likely suitors and is now an old maid of 22:

Then, after creating a desert about her, the strange girl accused all nature of her unreal solitude and her wilfull griefs.

At the Sceaux Ball, she meets Maximilien Longueville. Attractive, fascinating, and mysterious: is he the man Emilie has been looking for?

[Alix]

« Je suis ton pair. »

[Liedzeit Liedzeit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hier begegnen wir der schönen Emilie de Fontaine. Sie ist 22, könnte also schon gut und gern seit drei Jahren verheiratet sein, so wie ihre Schwestern, die alle gut untergebracht sind. Sie aber hat gegen alle Freier etwas einzuwenden. Die sind alle nicht schön oder vornehm genug, tatsächlich kommt für sie nur ein Pair in Frage. Nun begegnet ihr auf besagtem Bal der Mann ihrer Träume. Aber ist er überhaupt adelig? Wie denn wohl nicht? Er benimmt sich so. Hat offenbar Zeit, ihr den Hof zu machen. Aber es umgibt ihn ein Geheimnis. Schließlich fragt sie ihn direkt. Er antwortet direkt, aber ohne etwas zu sagen. Schließlich möchte man doch nicht nur geheiratet werden, weil man Pair ist? Aber, oh Jammer, tatsächlich arbeitet er. Und seitdem er um E. wirbt von 5 bis 3, um anschließend in Ruhe mit ihr ausreiten zu können. Wie es der Zufall will, ist er nicht nur bald unermesslich reich, er wird auch Pair von Frankreich. Aber da hat sie schon ihren siebzigjährigen Onkel geheiratet. So richtig bedauern mag man sie nicht.

[Gláucia Renata · Rating 5 out of 5]

Esse é o segundo título do volume 1 da Comédia Humana. trata-se de uma novela que traz como personagem o conde de Fountaine, cujo maior problema na vida é conseguir um marido para a filha mais nova, Emilia. Orgulhosa e exigente ao extremo, não existia candidato capaz de atender suas inúmeras exigências, entre as quais, a principal seria a de que ele fosse um par de França. Até que ela conhece Longueville. E agora? Muitas reviravoltas aguardam o leitor nessa pequena novela.

""Ah! Não falemos de política. Eu sou um palerma absolutista, senhor. Mas não impeço, por isso, os moços de serem revolucionários, contanto que deixem ao rei a liberdade de dissolver seus agrupamentos.""

"Suas objeções eram cada qual mais cômicas: um tinha as pernas demasiado grossas ou os joelhos cambaios; outro era míope; um porque se chamava Durand; aquele porque coxeava; quase todos lhe pareciam demasiado gordos."

[DianaPatrașcu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actiunea are loc in Franta din perioada Restauratiei. Un nobil, apropiat al Regelui, cauta sa incheie cele mai favorabile partide matrimoniale pentru copiii sai. Apeland la sprijinul Suveranului, aceasta ii reuseste de minune pentru toti. Exceptie este mezina, o tanara foarte frumoasa, inteligenta, dar extrem de capricioasa. Toti pretendentii la mana sa, sunt refuzati cu un aer trufas, si cu o exigenta obsedanta, ea sustine acceptarea casatoriei doar cu un tanar de rang (ereditar) inalt, cu cele mai distinse trasaturi fizice.
Tatal tinerei ajunge la disperare la enumerarea conditiilor si cerintelor fiicei sale. Regele refuza subtil sa-l mai ajute.
Pàna cand, la un bal, mademuazella se indragosteste de o persoana, careia nu-i cunoaste nici origineà, nici ocupatiile, nici macar starea civila. Iar in punctul asta incepe istoria propriu-zisa 😊

[Felipe Oquendo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Melhor estruturado do que "Ao Chat-qui-Pelote", vemos nesta novela um desenvolvimento mais calmo do que naquela.

Balzac toma de um conto comum (a menina que por ser esnobe perdeu o verdadeiro amor) e o executa de forma a integrá-lo perfeitamente no edifício da Comédia Humana. Émile, que poderia ser simplesmente a personagem principal de uma fábula com lição de moral, torna-se a encarnação dos antiquados preconceitos nobiliárquicos contra banqueiros e comerciantes, que se tornaram verdadeiramente ridículos no ambiente pós-napoleônico da sociedade francesa.

Assim como "Ao Chat-Qui-Pelote", "O Baile de Sceaux" faz papel de gárgula na frente do edifício da Comédia Humana para espantar as ilusões (e os iludidos) românticos. Bem-vindos à maturidade dos temas novelísticos.

[Tatiana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a short novella, so it is a good place to start if you're just beginning to read Balzac.

As always, Balzac's prose is delightful. He paints a great picture of the background, draws life-like characters the reader feels almost related to, and then sets them in motion towards the crucial moment of the story. Unfortunately, the end of this story feels a little rushed. After the colorful set up of the first pages, it seems that its end does not do it justice.

[Arielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy his writing style. I enjoyed this story better than the first one. It took some time to get in to, though. It ended abruptly, but I’m ok with that. I was invested, but from a comfortable distance.

I could read again.

[Steve Schoenbeck · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very entertaining story about a very snobbish girl. As with much of Balzac, the setting is a key element of the story.