Old Goriot – Honoré de Balzac

Old Goriot – Honoré de Balzac – 1835

Reviewed by: Chris Green 

Balzac’s Old Goriot contains some of the more interesting literary characters I’ve ever encountered. Rastignac, the naive provincial who yearns to enter high Parisian society while learning its realities and costs; Vautrin, the convict, who has a greater practical understanding of the world than anyone else – a character both lovable and detestable; and Old Goriot himself, the archtypal father figure, who enslaves his happiness to his uncaring daughters but is too blinded by affection to see how they really treat him.

 Goriot is both annoying and endearing, and in that way, I think he is most realistic of them all. He reminded me of the way parents can often see no wrong in their children – even when they are horribly obnoxious. This attitude can be taken so far as to see their children as perfect, even to the point of always putting a rosy spin on their faults.

But Goriot is an extreme case, and in that sense must be constrained as a literary character. Where any real person would eventually become exasperated by their daughter’s exploitations, Goriot never swerves from his illusions. His unswerving devotion, even at his death, was disappointing to me. I think what makes me, as a reader, engaged by characters is watching them change and develope over the course of a story. Goriot never changed, never altered his thinking, always remained static, and in a way that made his seem a cardboard archetype.

Rastignac’s character was, in contrast, very engaging. We saw him go through stages of self-delusion, discovery, ambition, self-doubt and loathing, realization, and finally acceptance of his lot. I particularly liked his attempts to remain naive; to ignore the banality around him and force himself to still see the world as he wanted to see it. I think we all do that when faced with trouble.

In some ways Rastignac reminded me of Clyde Griffiths from Drieser’s An American Tragedy. Like Griffiths he is consumed by the desire to enter the upper echelons of society while learning by and by the price he must pay for such ambition. Unlike Griffiths, however, Rastignac eventually reaches a compromise with himself wherein he reconciles the rewards with what he is willing to risk.

Old Goriot is beyond a doubt an excellent story. Even in translation the prose is fluid and entertaining.