L'Enfant Maudit: Honoré de Balzac

La Comédie Humaine #75

by Honoré de Balzac

On a winter's night, about two in the morning, the Comtesse Jeanne d'Herouville felt such violent pains that in spite of her inexperience, she was conscious of an approaching confinement; and the instinct which makes us hope for ease in a change of postur

Genres: Classics, French Literature, France, Historical Fiction, Fiction

83 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1831

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 4 out of 5]

Η ιστορία ξεκινάει στα 1591, σε μια εποχή όπου η Γαλλία συνταράσσεται από τις θρησκευτικές διαμάχες ανάμεσα στους Καθολικούς και τους Προτεστάντες, σε έναν μεσαιωνικό πύργο χτισμένο επάνω στη θάλασσα. Εκεί, η κόμισσα Jeanne d’Hérouville θα γεννήσει πρόωρα το πρώτο της παιδί, ένα αδύναμο, καχεκτικό αγοράκι, τον Etienne.

Η Jeanne είναι μια νεαρή, ευαίσθητη και καλλιεργημένη γυναίκα, που υποχρεώθηκε να συναινέσει σε γάμο με τον κόμη d’Hérouville προκειμένου να σώσει τη ζωή του μοναδικού έρωτα της ζωής της. Στην ουσία δηλαδή υπέκυψε σε έναν εκβιασμό και καταδίκασε τον εαυτό της σε μια μαρτυρική συμβίωση με έναν άνθρωπο κατά πολλά χρόνια μεγαλύτερό της, δεσποτικό, αδίστακτο, συμφεροντολόγο, βίαιο, χωρίς ίχνος ευγένειας και καλοσύνης. Δηλαδή το ακριβώς αντίθετό της.

Η ίδια είναι τόσο αθώα, που ενώ γνωρίζει πως το παιδί είναι του συζύγου της, ωστόσο αισθάνεται ενοχές για εκείνη την πρώτη νεανική της αγάπη, τις οποίες δεν μπορεί να κρύψει. Το ένστικτο ωστόσο της μάνας, της δίνει τη δύναμη να υψώσει το ανάστημα της προκειμένου να προστατέψει τον μικρό της από τα δολοφονικά σχέδια του κόμη.

Για εκείνον ο μικρός Etienne είναι ένα παιδί νόθο. Θα το είχε ξεφορτωθεί χωρίς ενοχές αν δεν φοβόταν πως θα χάσει την τεράστια προίκα της γυναίκας του, που σύμφωνα με το κληρονομικό δίκαιο της εποχής, ανήκει στον πρωτότοκο γιο. Σύντομα θα κάνει έναν δεύτερο γιο, τον Maximilien, ένα γερό και υγιές αγόρι, που θα το πλάσει καθ' ομοίωσιν του.

Ο μικρός Etienne, ωστόσο εξορίζεται από την πατρική οικία και αφήνεται να μεγαλώσει μακριά από τον κόσμο, σε ένα μικρό παράσπιτο, με μόνη συντροφιά του τη θάλασσα, την ποίηση και την αγάπη της μητέρας του:

"Ενστικτωδώς, αναζητώντας κάποιον έξω από τον εαυτό του για να εξομολογείται τις σκέψεις του και να συνδέσει τη ζωή του μαζί του, κατέληξε να αγαπήσει τον Ωκεανό. Η θάλασσα έγινε για εκείνον ένα πλάσμα ζωντανό και σκεπτόμενο. Όντας αδιάκοπα πλάι σε αυτήν την απέραντη δημιουργία με τα κρυμμένα της μυστικά που τόσο διαφέρουν από εκείνα της στεριάς, μπόρεσε να βρει την εξήγηση πολλών μυστηρίων. Εξοικειωμένος από την κούνια του με την απεραντοσύνη εκείνων των υδάτινων λιβαδιών, διδάχτηκε από τον ουρανό και τη θάλασσα τα πιο εξαίσια ποιήματά τους.

Διέκρινε την ποικιλία μέσα σε εκείνο το αχανές τοπίο που ορισμένοι το βρίσκουν τόσο μονότονο. Όπως όλοι εκείνοι οι άνθρωποι που η ψυχή κυριαρχεί στα σώματά τους, είχε μια οξεία όραση που μπορούσε να καλύψει τεράστιες αποστάσεις και να διακρίνει χωρίς κόπο ή δυσκολία ακόμα και τα πιο φευγαλέα παιχνιδίσματα του φωτός, τους πιο αδιόρατους κυματισμούς του νερού. Ακόμα και στην πιο μεγάλη νηνεμία κατάφερνε να δει τις άπειρες αποχρώσεις της θάλασσας, που, σαν το πρόσωπο μιας γυναίκας, είχαν την δικής τους φυσιογνωμία, χαμόγελα, ιδέες, καπρίτσια".

Μέχρι που θα έρθει η ώρα που ένα τραγούδι θα τον φέρει κοντά σε ένα κορίτσι. Την πρώτη του αγάπη. Πριν ακόμα την αντικρίσει, έχει ακούσει τη φωνή της, καθώς την πλησιάζει συντελείται εντός του ένα γεγονός συνταρακτικό: " L’Océan a donc passé dans mon âme! (Ο Ωκεανός μπήκε μέσα στη ψυχή μου), θα αναφωνήσει το ερωτευμένο αγόρι.

Όλο το έργο στηρίζεται σε μια σειρά από αντιθέσεις. Όλα μπορούν να συνοψιστούν σε δύο κόσμους όπου μπορούν να συνυπάρχουν μόνο από απόσταση. Όταν συγκλίνουν, η αναπόφευκτη σύγκρουση οδηγεί μοιραία τον πιο αδύναμο σε αφανισμό. Από τη μια έχουμε έναν κόσμο ντελικάτο, πνευματικό, όπου η φύση και ο στοχασμός συγχωνεύονται σε μια ύπαρξη που υπερβαίνει τα εγκόσμια και αναζητά την κρυμμένη αρμονία, εκείνη την εξαίσια ένωση όπως περιγράφεται στην πλατωνική φιλοσοφία, στην οποία καταφεύγει ο Balzac προκειμένου να περιγράψει τον έρωτα του Etienne με την Gabrielle:

"Συνήθως η αγάπη απαιτεί έναν σκλάβο και έναν Θεό, αλλά αυτοί οι δύο πραγμάτωναν το όνειρο του Πλάτωνα, ήταν ένα ον, θεωμένο".

"Ordinairement l’amour veut un esclave et un dieu, mais ils réalisèrent le délicieux rêve de Platon, il n’y avait qu’un seul être divinisé".

Και παρακάτω:
"Είχαν εκπληρώσει αυτό το όμορφο όνειρο της μυστικιστικής μεγαλοφυΐας του Πλάτωνα και όλων εκείνων που αναζητούσαν ένα νόημα για την ανθρωπότητα: Σχημάτιζαν μια ψυχή, αποτελούσαν αληθινά εκείνο το μυστηριώδες μαργαριτάρι, το προορισμένο να στολίσει το μέτωπο ενός άγνωστου αστεριού, την ελπίδα όλων".

"Ils avaient accompli ce beau rêve du génie mystique de Platon et de tous ceux qui cherchent un sens à l’humanité : ils ne faisaient qu’une seule âme, ils étaient bien cette perle mystérieuse destinée à orner le front de quelque astre inconnu, notre espoir à tous! "

Από την άλλη έχουμε τον σκληρό κόσμο της πραγματικότητας, που πατάει επάνω σε συμφέροντα, υπολογισμούς, αγώνες για επικράτηση του ισχυρότερου, όπου σαρώνει τις ιδέες και τα συναισθήματα στο βωμό της ανάγκης. Εκεί όπου ο έρωτας λειτουργεί ως ένστικτο επιβίωσης, μια ανάγκη βιολογική, απόλυτα διαχωρισμένη από την ανάγκη για ψυχική και συναισθηματική ένωση.

Εδώ, η τρυφερότητα είναι περιττή πολυτέλεια, η ανθρωπιά και η ευαισθησία λογίζονται ως αδυναμίες, η πραγματική δικαιοσύνη συνθλίβεται κάτω από τον νόμο του Θεού, του Βασιλιά, του Πατέρα, του καθένα που κατάφερε με τη βία να επιβάλλει τη θέλησή ως αυθεντία, ως μια εξουσία που μπορεί να νομοθετεί και να ορίζει τους δικούς της κανόνες επάνω στους ανθρώπους.

Η μάχη του έρωτα επάνω στο συμφέρον συνοψίζεται σε μια φράση που μοιάζει παράταιρη στο στόμα ενός νέου του 16ου αιώνα, αλλά είναι στην ουσία η αλήθεια ενός νέου του 19ου αιώνα:

"Je ne sais ce que l’amour a de commun avec une race"

"Δεν καταλαβαίνω τι σχέση έχει ο έρωτας με τη ράτσα".

Όπου race είναι η φυλή, η γενιά, οι τίτλοι ευγενείας κι αν επεκτείνουμε αυτή τη λέξη στο στόμα ενός ανθρώπου του 21ου αιώνα θα μπορούσε να είναι το φύλο, ο σεξουαλικός προσανατολισμός, το χρώμα, η εθνικότητα κτλ.

Γιατί η αγάπη έχει τη δύναμη να σαρώνει τα πάντα. Να υπερβαίνει τα πάντα. Να κατακτά τα πάντα.

Une parenthèse macabre:

Ο Balzac είναι αυτός που είναι. Δεν είναι δύσκολο να φανταστεί κάποιος πως τελειώνει αυτή η ιστορία, όπως και οι περισσότερες ιστορίες του. Όταν αποφάσισα πως θέλω να διαβάσω ολάκερη την Ανθρώπινη Κωμωδία ήξερα πως θα υποχρεωνόμουν να ακολουθήσω τουλάχιστον 90 κηδείες. Όπως φαίνεται θα είναι οι διπλάσιες ή ακόμα και οι τριπλάσιες. Αυτό το ξεπάστρεμα των ηρώων του φαίνεται πως λειτουργεί στον ρεαλισμό του ως ρομαντικό κατάλοιπο, προκειμένου να εξασφαλιστεί η ιδανική κατακλείδα μιας ιστορίας. Όπως πολύ σοφά είχε πει κάποτε κι ο Machado de Assis:

"... σαν το άλογο για το οποίο μιλάνε οι παλιές μπαλάντες που ο ρομαντισμός ανακάλυψε στο μεσαιωνικό κάστρο και τό 'βγαλε να κάνει βόλτες στους δρόμους του αιώνα μας. Το κακό ήταν πως το καταπόνησαν σε τέτοιο βαθμό αυτό το δύστυχο άλογο που χρειάστηκε να το βγάλουν στην άκρη, όπου το ανακάλυψε ο ρεαλισμός, καταφαγωμένο από τη ψώρα και τα σκουλήκια, και, από συμπόνια, το μετέφερε στα βιβλία του".

Αυτά τα θανατικά προσδίδουν σε ένα ρεαλιστικό έργο, ένα τραγικό αποκορύφωμα. Εκεί που στην πραγματική ζωή αφθονούν οι καθημερινοί θάνατοι από γεράματα, ασθένεια (ή ακόμα και πλήξη, pourquoi pas?) και τα περισσότερα ωραία ή άσχημα γίνονται κατά τη διάρκεια της ζωής μας - άσχετα με το πότε, το πώς και το πού θα πεθάνουμε τελικά, στη λογοτεχνία φαίνεται πως ο θάνατος πρέπει να έχει αυτό το κατιτί παραπάνω από το "αχ, ωχ, ουφ, χρρρ, πφςςς" των κανονικών θανάτων.

Κι αφού γίνεται λόγος περί ρεαλισμού, δεν μπορώ παρά να μνημονεύσω τον αγαπημένο μου Zola κι όλους εκείνους τους λιγότερο ή περισσότερο εντυπωσιακούς θανάτους (θάνατο από αλκοόλ, αυτοκτονία, θάνατο στο πεδίο της μάχης, βασανιστικό θάνατο από επιδημία, ακόμα και θάνατο από λουλούδια!!!) που στα κατοπινότερα έργα του, αλλά ήδη (σε κάποιες λίγες περιπτώσεις) από την εποχή των Rougon-Macquart, αρχίζουν σταδιακά να περιορίζονται στην αρχή ή στη μέση των βιβλίων του, αφήνοντας το πεδίο ελεύθερο στους ζωντανούς (και δη στους κεντρικούς ήρωες) για να κάνουν αυτό που ξέρουν καλύτερα: Να ζήσουν.

Εδώ άλλωστε βρίσκεται και η ουσία του ρεαλισμού σύμφωνα με τον Balzac (ο οποίος εισηγείται το νέο επάνω στα θεμέλια του παλιού), δηλαδή στο να βγάλει στο φως όλα εκείνα τα γεγονότα που απαρτίζουν τον ανθρώπινο βίο και τα οποία συνήθως παραμένουν στη σκιά, καθώς ελάχιστοι έχουν το σθένος να κάνουν λόγο γι' αυτά, "την αληθινή απεικόνιση των ηθών που οι σημερινές οικογένειες κρύβουν στο σκοτάδι, τα οποία συχνά ο παρατηρητής δυσκολεύεται να διακρίνει" (le tableau vrai de mœurs que les familles ensevelissent aujourd'hui dans l'ombre et que l'observateur a quelquefois de la peine à deviner, βλέπε: εισαγωγή των Scènes de la vie privée), διότι "η κοινωνική ζωή μοιάζει με την ανθρώπινη ζωή" (la vie sociale ressemble à la vie humaine βλεπε: Avant-propos à la Comédie Humaine).

Όλα στη ζωή έχουν αρχή μέση και τέλος. Η αρχή είναι έξω από τον έλεγχό μας, το τέλος είναι κοινό για όλους και αναπόφευκτο, η μέση είναι το ζητούμενο και το αντικείμενο μιας καλής ρεαλιστικής ιστορίας, αλλά το προσδοκώμενο είναι να καταφέρουμε όλοι οι άνθρωποι, κατανοώντας όλα όσα απαρτίζουν την πραγματικότητα που μας περιβάλλει, να ζήσουμε εμείς και καλά και καλύτερα.

Το αν θα τα καταφέρουμε είναι αμφίβολο (αλλά ποτέ προκαθορισμένο όπως είθισται - εν μέρει - στον ρομαντισμό) αλλά ο στόχος είναι να παλέψουμε ακόμα κι αν αποτύχουμε και πάνω από όλα να κατανοήσουμε τις αιτίες που οδηγούν τις ανθρώπινες ζωές σε ένα κακό ή τραγικό ή θλιβερό τέλος, ώστε να μπορέσουμε να το αποφύγουμε.

[Carlo Mascellani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Il destino del povero Etienne, ripudiato dal padre alla nascita, posto all'ombra del più gradito fratello e letteralmente strumentalizzato, in extremis, per meri propositi di perpetuazione dinastica, sembra non solo esemplificare l'imprevedibilità della sorte, che tanto sa oscurare, quanto porre in luce a proprio piacimento, ma anche divenir un simbolico grido di ribellione a volontà dispotiche. Il romanzo non è male e contiene, anche per necessità di narrazione, forse il meglio della vena poetica balzachiana da me incontrata sinora: ma il finale è un po' scontato e la conclusione della vicenda assai frettolosa.

[Phil · Rating 2 out of 5]

(Human Comedy #31 of 98)
Not one of Balzac’s best. It combines a few of his problems: a propensity to rambling over-description, especially for rhapsodic states, such as when the eponymous hated son is looking at the sea for about 3 pages; his ideal of woman being a saint, untainted by any emotions whatsoever and certainly not by passion, I think Gabrielle might be his apotheosis of this type so far in the works in the Human Comedy I’ve read, as her father has deliberately raised her with no education or knowledge whatsoever because she is so fragile reading a book would kill her; and his love of death as being the most pure and wonderful thing to do.

I had to laugh when Etienne and Gabrielle couldn’t escape because getting on a horse would kill them both.

I added a star because the last paragraph added a touch of macabre humour. But, geez, Balzac, pull your finger out.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Balzac is said to be the Father of French Realism but this story is among the most melodramatic I have read. Set in the very early 16th century when Henry IV was on the throne and civil war was brewing between the Huguenots in the South and the Catholics in the North, it tells the story of a father's obsession with ensuring the continuation of his bloodline.
It begins on a dark and stormy night which, as we all know, always bodes ill. Jeanne, teenage wife of the mean, ugly and violent Comte d’Herouville is about to give birth, a mere seven months after her reluctant marriage. She had fallen in love with her handsome cousin Chaverny, and had her father's blessing for their courting but alas for young love! Her father died, Chaverny didn't succeed him into the magistracy, and civil war broke out. As an heiress, Jeanne proved an attractive proposition for the horrible Comte d’Herouville and with threats of violence against Chaverny and emotional blackmail from her dying mother, she was bullied into marrying him. And then Cheverny died too (adding insult to injury by leaving even more money to the Comte who of course has the right to all of Jeanne's money now).
Now, Balzac makes it clear that Jeanne and Chaverny had done nothing together 'but the naive instalments of a passion that did not pass the bounds of modesty' (Kindle Location 165) and that the child is the product of her awful wedding night with d’Herouville, but the Comte has made his threats. He has warned Jeanne, at a public banquet, that if she has a child before a respectable nine months, he will kill them both. When she goes into labour, d’Herouville sends not for a midwife but for a 'bonesetter' Beauvouloir, more of a shyster than a doctor but very discreet. He delivers of her a puny son, christened Etienne.
But much as he would like to, the Comte does not kill Etienne. Beauvouloir tells him not to kill the child because he's going to die anyway, and that Jeanne will die if the child dies too soon so D’Herouville, who wants an heir, controls himself. Jeanne negotiates that Etienne will be brought up away from the chateau and she goes on to have a second child, Maximilien, who is rude, crude, and unattractive just like his father. Etienne goes on to grow up to be a sweet, dreamy and gentle person who is afraid of almost everything (which is hardly surprising, given his upbringing). After Jeanne dies he goes to live in a cave, for not very convincing reasons.
But Maximilien gets killed on the battlefield and d’Herouville is desolate. He seeks out Etienne, who agrees to overcome his revulsion on condition that his father grants his every wish. All d’Herouville wants is some grandchildren to pass on the family name so he agrees, but reneges when Beauvouloir sets up Gabrielle, his daughter, as fragile and dreamy as Etienne, to be Etienne's bride. (Not posh enough, you see).
Well, as you were probably expecting, there's another dark and stormy night as the story reaches its conclusion. D’Herouville rises his hand to kill Gabrielle, Etienne dies of shock when his father rebuts the promises he made and Gabrielle falls down dead too. And as the curtain falls, d’Herouville promises to marry Mademoiselle de Grandlieu and perpetuate his lineage through her. Which made me wonder why he didn't marry again quick smart after Jeanne died and then none of his nonsensical plot would have been needed...

[Mandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

really, really dramatic...reminds me of romeo and juliet

[Catherine Vamianaki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although a sad story I liked it.

[Berkant Bağcı · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bugün karşınıza çok büyük bir ismin, pek bilinmeyen eseriyle çıkıyorum. "Lanetli Çocuk" eseri Honoré de Balzac tarafından yazılmış olan, içerisinde aşk, ihanet, sevgi, intikam barındıran çok yönlü bir eserdir. Yasak aşk yaşayan bir kontes ve bir derebeyi ile başlayan olay örgüsü, kont ve kontes ilişkisi ile devam ediyor. Kont'un acımasızlığı ve gaddarlığı ; kontes'in sevgisi, iyi niyeti bizlere iki zıt karakteri sunuyor. Yasak aşkın meyvesi olarak dünyaya gelen çocuğu her şeye rağmen sahiplenip, bağrına basan kontes bir yaşam mücadelesi verirken, kont da bu yasak aşkın meyvesini lanetleyerek kontes'e ve çocuğa büyük bir sorumluluk yüklüyor. Bir yandan da kendi öz evladını bir asker gibi yetiştirip, iki çocuğun da zıt karakterlerde olması için çabalıyor. Tıpkı kont ve kontes gibi. Eser konusu üst metinde bu şekilde ilerlerken, alt metinde yatan çok değerli anlamları da keşfediyoruz. İnsanların psikolojik ruh çözümlemelerini, ruhsal tahlillerini, açgözlülüğünü, hiç kimsenin olduğu gibi görünmediğini keşfederken, olaylar arasında bocalayıp düşüyoruz. İnsana dair çoğu şeyden utanç duyuyoruz adeta.
"Lanetli Çocuk" eserinin edebi bir klasik olmasının yanında, felsefe alanı adına da çok önemli bir yapıt olduğunu ifade edebilirim. Okuduğum farklı eserler arasında şimdiden yerini aldı.

[Beyza · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Yaşamda biraz yol aldığımızda, mekanların ruh halleri üstünde gizli bir etki yarattığını öğreniriz.... insan ister mutlu olsun, isterse dertli, birlikte yaşadığı en küçük nesnelere bile bir yüz kazandırır; onları dinler, akıl alır, çünkü doğası gereği boşinançlıdır." Sf 13-14

"...çünkü genelde zorbanın gücü ezilenin kaygısı kadardır." sf 26

"Pek çok aşk uyuşmazlıklardan doğar: Bir kavga eder, bir barışır çiftler, Ruh'la Madde'nin bayağı çatışmasıdır bu. Ama gerçek aşk daha ilk kanat çırpışında bu kavgaları savuşturdu mu uzaklara, her şeyin özünün aynı olduğu noktada, iki varlık birbirinden ayırt edilemez olur; aşk en yüce ifadesiyle dehaya benzer şekilde, dayanabilir en parlak ışığa, ışığı besler, onun içinde büyür ve varolabilmek için gölgeye ihtiyaç duymaz." sf 92

"Genelde aşk bir köleyle bir tanrı ister, ama onlar Platon'un nefis düşünü gerçeğe dönüştürüyorlar, ikisi tek bir varlık olup onu tanrısallaştırıyorlardı." sf 93

[myriam kisfaludi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Très joli Roméo et Juliette au temps de Balzac

[Classic reverie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Balzac's "The Hated Son" is under his "philosophical studies" of his "Human Comedy" and is the first story I read so far that the setting is not during Balzac’s time but around 200 before but the location is still France. So the usual characters of the "Comedy" are not present but possible ancestors play a role. The d'Heroville and Grandlieu are the names in this story and also not. I loved the way Balzac brings us back in time and sets up how life was not only for the married couple but the "bonesetter" and how this doctor differed to the profession during Balzac's lifetime. The ignorance of many things played a role in the relationship of the Comte and his young wife. The cruelty of the husband made the young wife have little outlets and without relatives, truly alone.


I did not read this edition but from a Delphi collection of his works which included the below.

"L’ENFANT MAUDIT IS an 1831 novel, set in 1591, during the Religious Wars of Catherine de’ Medici. The novel begins during a thunderstorm in the Norman castle of the Comte d’Herouville. His wife, Jeanne, is about to give birth to a child, a mere seven months into her marriage with the Count, a fervent Royalist. At a gathering around the time of his marriage, he had told the assembled guests that if his wife delivered herself of a child in under the usual nine months, he would have no regrets about killing both mother and child."

Story in short - Comte d'Herouville is specious that his wife giving birth 7 months after their marriage had a lover before she married.

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I was hoping that d'Herouville had truly wanted his son to be happy and marry who he loved but when he brought the young lady from the Grandlieu family who was far taller than Etienne who was only 5 feet tall, her laughing at the sensitive man was indeed cruel. Etienne wanted to marry Gabrielle, who happened to be d'Herouville's granddaughter. He had an affair with a courtesan and that child married the "bonesetter" who had young Gabrielle. So when the Comte was upset and had his knife declaring death to the lovers, caused his son and grandchild to die together. I had thought the old man might have been kind after his other son's death and want to continue the family line. He would be happy that Etienne die after his grandson is born. He the 76 year old man looks to marry the young Grandlieu and father another son. Cold hearted man as well as the Grandlieu just seeing the lovers die seemed not to show concern.

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ON A WINTER’S night, about two in the morning, the Comtesse Jeanne d’Herouville felt such violent pains that in spite of her inexperience, she was conscious of an approaching confinement; and the instinct which makes us hope for ease in a change of posture induced her to sit up in her bed, either to study the nature of these new sufferings, or to reflect on her situation. She was a prey to cruel fears, — caused less by the dread of a first lying-in, which terrifies most women, than by certain dangers which awaited her child.
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The prisoner reached the prison door in the dead of night and trying to noiselessly turn the key in a pitiless lock, was never more timidly bold. When the countess had succeeded in rising to her seat without
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awakening her keeper, she made a gesture of childlike joy which revealed the touching naivete of her nature. But the half-formed smile on her burning lips was quickly suppressed; a thought came to darken that pure brow, and her long blue eyes resumed their sad expression. She gave a sigh and again laid her hands, not without precaution, on the fatal conjugal pillow. Then — as if for the first time since her marriage she found herself free in thought and action — she looked at the things around her, stretching
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out her neck with little darting motions like those of a bird in its cage. Seeing her thus, it was easy to divine that she had once been all gaiety and light-heartedness, but that fate had suddenly mown down her hopes, and changed her ingenuous gaiety to sadness.

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Though her sufferings were now becoming keener and less endurable, the countess dared not awaken her husband; but she turned and examined his features, as if despair were urging her to find a consolation there against so many sinister forebodings. If matters were sad around the poor young woman, that face, notwithstanding the tranquillity of sleep, seemed sadder still. The light from the lamp, flickering in the
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draught, scarcely reached beyond the foot of the bed and illumined the count’s head capriciously; so that the fitful movements of its flash upon those features in repose produced the effect of a struggle with angry thought. The countess was scarcely reassured by perceiving the cause of that phenomenon. Each time that a gust of wind projected the light upon the count’s large face, casting shadows among its bony outlines, she fancied that her husband was about to fix upon
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her his two insupportably stern eyes. Implacable as the war then going on between the Church and Calvinism, the count’s forehead was threatening even while he slept. Many furrows, produced by the emotions of a warrior life, gave it a vague resemblance to the vermiculated stone which we see in the buildings of that period;
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Before the catastrophe, however, he was so repulsively ugly that no lady had
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ever been willing to receive him as a suitor. The only passion of his youth was for a celebrated woman called La Belle Romaine. The distrust resulting from this new misfortune made him suspicious to the point of not believing himself capable of inspiring a true passion; and his character became so savage that when he did have some successes in gallantry he owed them to the terror inspired by his cruelty.

[Marti Martinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am certainly NOT against sentimentality and melodrama, but if ALL modern fiction was like this it would be too much. The ending was a bit over the top, but I thought the characters were richly developed and believable. Some people ARE human scum.

[Jimmy In]

Another tragic love story by the master of French Realism.

[Lucy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't think of anything to recommend this, really, sentimental and melodramatic without the redeeming descriptive features I usually find in Balzac.

[Lloyd Hughes · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are two kinds of people in this world—this and that. In ‘The Hated Son’ there are givers and there are takers. The primary taker in this tale is Comte de Herouville. He is a very ugly, fifty-something man with an evil and ferocious temper who is long on title and short on money. His wife Jeanne is a giver; she is young, beautiful, delicate, and very rich. She gives birth to Etienne in the seventh month of their marriage, and the Comte banished him from the ducal home to a small cottage on the shore. Etienne grows up in guarded and protected environment. In short he like his mother: sensitive and delicate. In time another boy is born. He is his father’s son: an evil bully. So naturally the Count grows blindly attached to the boy and makes him his heir.

As time sails by the Countess’s relatives die off at an unusually fast clip, leaving their fortune to her and making her wealthier and wealthier till eventually she has no family left to rescue her from the Count’s evil ways. She dies young and the heir is executed by the king and the Count, who is now in his mid seventies…3 stars.

[Orçun Güzer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Balzac, 16. Yüzyıl sonunda, derebeylik ve din savaşları zamanında geçen bu kısa romanında, romantik ve hatta hissi (sentimentalist) üsluba daha yakın bir duruş sergilemiş. Elbette tarihsel ayrıntılarda ve derin psikolojik tahlillerde gerçekçiliğinden ödün vermiyor ve bu da romanı okunabilir kılıyor. İlk yarıda, bir annenin mutsuzluğunu ve ince ruhlu bir çocuğun yabanıl yalnızlığını anlatırken kullandığı çarpıcı şiirsel dil, psikolojik gerçekliği mükemmele yakın bir şekilde yakalıyor. İkinci yarıda anlatımın biraz daha klişeleştiğini söyleyebilirim; yani, ilk aşkın “Platonik” birliğini anlatırken iyice ağdalı bir hal alıyor, hantallaşıyor ve sürükleyiciliğini kaybediyor. Kitabın iç kapağında “gizemci bir dille yazılmış dehşet öyküsü” tanımı verilmiş: Gizemci bir dille yazıldığına katılıyorum, ama bir dehşet öyküsü değil; olsa olsa, “kasvetli bir elem hikâyesi” olabilir. (Bence sorun yok, kasvetle aram iyidir.) Bunun yanı sıra, soy sop tutkusuna getirdiği eleştiriyi ve maskülen güç saplantısının karşısına tinsel zenginliği çıkarmasını önemli bulduğumu söyleyebilirim.

[Hollandadaokurgezer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Balzac klasiği olan betimlemeler ve duygusal analizler Lanetli Çocuk'da da karşımıza çıkıyor. Betimlemeler ve analizler kararında olduğundan okurken sıkılmıyorsunuz. Ayrıca kitabın çok uzun olmaması da okumayı kolaylaştırıyor olabilir. Kısa bir kitap olmasına rağmen karakter analizleri o kadar ayrıntılı yapılmış ki sonuna geldiğiniz de tüm karakterleri tanıyor gibi oluyorsunuz. Duyguların hepsi abartılı ve hepsi üst seviyede. Bu kitapta dengede olan hiç bir duygu yok. Bu da kitabı diğer kitaplardan farklı kılıyor bence.
Kitabın sonunu merakla bekleyerek okudum ama bir Balzac klasiği olarak dilediğim gibi bitmedi ve tabiki Lanetli Çocuk isminin hakkı verildi. Lanetli Çocuk ile yediğim son duygusal darbeden sonra Balzac okumanın bana acı verdiğine karar verdim ve bu nedenle bir süre okumayacağım. Bu kadar içselleştirdiğiniz karakterlerin bir satırda yok oluvermesi kalp kırıcı. Ama Balzac terk edilemeyecek kadarda iyi bir yazar bunu kabul etmek gerek. İyi okumalar.

[Sema · Rating 3 out of 5]

(...)çünkü genelde zorbanın gücü ezilenin kaygısı kadardır.

Ebeveyn sevgisinden mahrum büyüyen evlatların kırılganlığını, kompleksten kaynaklanan güvensizliğin insanlara verdiği zararı gözler önüne seren bir Balzac yapıtı. Öylesine detaylı tasvirleri var ki okurken sahneler gözlerinizin önünde canlanıyor. Kitabı okuduktan sonra zihnimde sadece olayların geçtiği mekanları değil karakterlerin duruşlarına, bakışlarına dair tablo görüntüleri kaldı. Hikaye bana pek hitap etmedi ama Balzac'ın üslubu kitabı okumamı kolaylaştırdı. Dönemine göre de basit ve yavan olabilecek bir konuyu incelikle ve akıcı bir şekilde aktarmış.

Yaşamda biraz yol aldığımızda, mekanların ruh halleri üstünde gizli bir etki yarattığını öğreniriz. Çevremizi saran nesnelerde artık bilmem hangi umut güvencesini bulduğumuz o kötü anları hangimiz yaşamamışızdır?

[Yasemin Salihoglu Karagul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hüzünlü, ürkütücü ve yorucu bir okumaydı.

[Almira · Rating 5 out of 5]

O kadar yazmışsın keşke şu sonu da güzel cümlelerle bitirseydin.O hissi yaşamak isterdim.

[Ekin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Balzac bize sevginin en duru halini,salt aşkı aynı zamanda nefretin en karasını,dizginlenemeyen ihtiras duygularını ustaca metnin içine yedirerek sunmuş.Klasik okumayı seven kişilere naçizane tavsiyemdir.

[Φερειπείν · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cursed child. Honore De Balzac.
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Into Balzac's universe takes place a unique equation where the reader always wins: You offer him your time and he compensates you with literature.
His writing becomes a mystical pleasure, impossible to leave you unmoved. I strongly recommend all his books.
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Το καταραμένο παιδί. Ονορέ Ντε Μπαλζάκ.
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"Είχε συλλάβει βουβά αντιμιλήματα απ' αυτή την άπειρη δημιουργία."

Όταν υπάρχει μια τέτοια φράση σε ένα βιβλίο αντιλαμβάνεσαι πως η δική σου επαφή με τις λέξεις δεν έχει υπάρξει παρά στα σπάργανα και πως ακόμα κι αν της αφιερωθείς με όλο σου το είναι, άντε το πολύ να σπρώξεις την ικανότητά σου με τη γλώσσα μέχρι τη βαθμίδα του νηπιαγωγείου.
Με τον Μπαλζάκ συμβαίνει αυτή η μοναδική εξίσωση από την οποία ο αναγνώστης βγαίνει πάντα κερδισμένος : Εσύ του προσφέρεις το χρόνο σου κι αυτός σε αποζημιώνει με λογοτεχνία.
Η γραφή του γίνεται μια μυσταγωγική απόλαυση, αδύνατο να σε αφήσει ασυγκίνητο• σε υποχρεώνει σε μια εθελούσια εγκατάλειψη σε μια υπέρβαση που θα μπορούσε να μοιάζει με την ιερή βεβήλωση που σημειώνεται όταν το βλέμμα απλώνει πέρα από τα όρια του συνηθισμένου. Τούτες όμως οι "βέβηλες" υπερβάσεις του αυτονόητου είναι που διαρρηγνύουν τον υμένα της πραγματικότητας και καταλήγουν σε μια γνωστοποίηση κάποιων πτυχών του άγνωστου κόσμου μας (ας μη γελιόμαστε τίποτα δε γνωρίζουμε ουσιαστικά) με τη βοήθεια της τέχνης. Ο Μπαλζάκ λοιπόν είναι ο καλλιτέχνης εκείνος που κρατάει το λυχνάρι και το σηκώνει στο ύψος των ματιών της ανθρωπότητας ρίχνοντας μερικές αχτίδες φωτός σε σημεία της, και εκεί κάπου, εσύ ο αναγνώστης ψιλιάζεσαι πού και πού μια κρυμμένη αλήθεια της ζωής.
Σ' αυτό το κείμενο που μου θύμησε έντονα Σατωμπριάν και που υμνεί τον έρωτα, τη μοίρα και το τραγικό, ο τεράστιος αυτός δημιουργός βρίσκει πάντα χώρο για κοινωνικό και πολιτικό σχολιασμό και θίγει με τον μοναδικό του τρόπο όλες τις παραφωνίες του ανθρώπινου γένους από κτίσεως κόσμου!
"Ο ερωτας ζητάει πάντα να φαίνεται γέρος! Αυτή είναι η φιλαρέσκεια των παιδιών."

[Hilal Kızılörs · Rating 4 out of 5]

“harekete geçmek isteyen bir güç hissediyorum yüreğimde, savaştığım bir şey var. gökyüzü gri olduğunda, yarı yarıya hoşnut oluyorum bundan, tamam üzgünüm ama aynı zamanda sakinim diyorum. hava güzel olduğunda, çiçekler mis gibi koktuğunda, hanımellerinin ve yaseminlerin altında, sırama oturduğumda, o şey durgunluğuma vurup vurup dağılan bir dalga gibi yükseliyor içimden. aklıma benliğimi sarsan düşünceler geliyor, sonra da akşamları pencerelerimizden havalanan kuşlar gibi uçup gidiveriyorlar, tutamıyorum onları.”

[Gláucia Renata · Rating 2 out of 5]

Publicada primeira parte em 1831 e a segunda em 1836, faz parte dos Estudos Filosóficos. Nome pomposo; na minha opinião é um belo dramalhão que se passa no século XVI e traz como personagens um conde terrível, uma jovem donzela que se casa contra sua vontade pois ama outro e a partir daí passa a viver os terrores dentro de um casamento sem amor com um tirano malvado e ambicioso. Do fruto dessa união temos dois filhos, o mais velho é o tal maldito e o grande preferido da mãe sofredora que tudo fará a fim de protegê-lo das garras do pai que o odeia e o pretere ao filho mais novo.



Histórico de leitura
03/04/2019


"Numa noite de inverno, e cerca de duas horas da madrugada, a condessa Joana d’Herouville sentiu dores tão intensas que, apesar de sua inexperiência, fizeram-na pressentir um parto iminente."