Honore de Balzac
REPERTORY OF THE COMEDIE HUMAINE PART I, A -- K
TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE
"Work crowned by the French Academy" is a significant line borne by
the title-page of the original edition of Messieurs Cerfberr and
Christophe's monumental work. The motto indicates the high esteem in
which the French authorities hold this very necessary adjunct to the
great Balzacian structure. And even without this word of approval, the
intelligent reader needs but a glance within the pages of the
Repertory of the Comedie Humaine to convince him at once of its
utility.
In brief, the purpose of the Repertory is to give in alphabetical
sequence the names of all the characters forming this Balzacian
society, together with the salient points in their lives. It is, of
course, well known that Balzac made his characters appear again and
again, thus creating out of his distinct novels a miniature world. To
cite a case in point, Rastignac, who comes as near being the hero of
the Comedie as any other single character, makes his first
appearance in Father Goriot, as a student of law; then appearing and
disappearing fitfully in a score of principal novels, he is finally
made a minister and peer of France. Without the aid of the Repertory
it would be difficult for any save a reader of the entire Comedie to
trace out his career. But here it is arranged in temporal sequence,
thus giving us a concrete view of the man and his relation to this
society.
In reading any separate story, when reference is made in passing to a
character, the reader will find it helpful and interesting to turn to
the Repertory and find what manner of man it is that is under
advisement. A little systematic reading of this nature will speedily
render the reader a "confirmed Balzacian."
A slight confusion may arise in the use of the Repertory on account
of the subdivision of titles. This is the fault neither of Messieurs
Cerfberr and Christophe nor of the translator, but of Balzac himself,
who was continually changing titles, dividing and subdividing stories,
and revamping and working other changes in his books. Cousin Betty
and Cousin Pons were placed together by him under the general title
of Poor Relations. Being separate stories, we have retained the
separate titles. Similarly, the three divisions of Lost Illusions
were never published together until 1843--in the first complete
edition of the Comedie; before assuming final shape its parts had
received several different titles. In the present text the editor has
deemed it best to retain two of the parts under Lost Illusions,
while the third, which presents a separate Rubempre episode, is given
as A Distinguished Provincial at Paris. The three parts of The
Thirteen--Ferragus, The Duchess of Langeais, and The Girl with
the Golden Eyes--are given under the general title. The fourth part
of Scenes from a Courtesan's Life, Vautrin's Last Avatar, which
until the Edition Definitive had been published separately, is here
merged into its final place. But the three parts of The Celibates-Pierrette, The Vicar of Tours and A Bachelor's Establishment,
being detached, are given separately. Other minor instances occur, but
should be readily cleared up by reference to the Indices, also to the
General Introduction given elsewhere.
In the preparation of this English text, great care has been exercised
to gain accuracy--a quality not found in other versions now extant. In
one or two instances, errors have been discovered in the original
French, notably in dates--probably typographical errors--which have
been corrected by means of foot-notes. A few unimportant elisions have
been made for the sake of brevity and coherence. Many difficulties
confront the translator in the preparation of material of this nature,
involving names, dates and titles. Opportunities are constantly
afforded for error, and the work must necessarily be painstaking in
order to be successful. We desire here to express appreciation for the
valuable assistance of Mr. Norman Hinsdale Pitman.
To Balzac, more than to any other author, a Repertory of characters is
applicable; for he it was who not only created an entire human
society, but placed therein a multitude of personages so real, so
distinct with vitality, that biographies of them seem no more than
simple justice. We can do no more, then, than follow the advice of
Balzac--to quote again from the original title-page--and "give a
parallel to the civil register."
J. WALKER McSPADDEN
INTRODUCTION
Are you a confirmed Balzacian?--to employ a former expression of
Gautier in Jeune France on the morrow following the appearance of
that mystic Rabelaisian epic, The Magic Skin. Have you experienced,
while reading at school or clandestinely some stray volume of the
Comedie Humaine, a sort of exaltation such as no other book had
aroused hitherto, and few have caused since? Have you dreamed at an
age when one plucks in advance all the fruit from the tree of life-yet in blossom--I repeat, have you dreamed of being a Daniel d'Arthez,
and of covering yourself with glory by the force of your achievements,
in order to be requited, some day, for all the sufferings of your
poverty-stricken youth, by the sublime Diane, Duchesse de
Maufrigneuse, Princesse de Cadignan?
Or, perchance, being more ambitious and less literary, you have
desired to see--like a second Rastignac, the doors of high society
opened to your eager gaze by means of the golden key suspended from
Delphine de Nucingen's bracelet?
Romancist, have you sighed for the angelic tenderness of a Henriette
de Mortsauf, and realized in your dreams the innocent emotions excited
by culling nosegays, by listening to tales of grief, by furtive handclasps on the banks of a narrow river, blue and placid, in a valley
where your friendship flourishes like a fair, delicate lily, the
ideal, the chaste flower?
Misanthrope, have you caressed the chimera, to ward off the dark hours
of advancing age, of a friendship equal to that with which the good
Schmucke enveloped even the whims of his poor Pons? Have you
appreciated the sovereign power of secret societies, and deliberated
with yourself as to which of your acquaintances would be most worthy
to enter The Thirteen? In your mind's eye has the map of France ever
appeared to be divided into as many provinces as the Comedie Humaine
has stories? Has Tours stood for Birotteau, La Gamard, for the
formidable Abbe Troubert; Douai, Claes; Limoges, Madame Graslin;
Besancon, Savarus and his misguided love; Angouleme, Rubempre;
Sancerre, Madame de la Baudraye; Alencon, that touching, artless old
maid to whom her uncle, the Abbe de Sponde, remarked with gentle
irony: "You have too much wit. You don't need so much to be happy"?
Oh, sorcery of the most wonderful magician of letters the world has
seen since Shakespeare! If you have come under the spell of his
enchantments, be it only for an hour, here is a book that will delight
you, a book that would have pleased Balzac himself--Balzac, who was
more the victim of his work than his most fanatical readers, and whose
dream was to compete with the civil records. This volume of nearly six
hundred pages is really the civil record of all the characters in the
Comedie Humaine, by which you may locate, detail by detail, the
smallest adventures of the heroes who pass and repass through the
various novels, and by which you can recall at a moment's notice the
emotions once awakened by the perusal of such and such a masterpiece.
More modestly, it is a kind of table of contents, of a unique type; a
table of living contents!
Many Balzacians have dreamed of compiling such a civil record. I
myself have known of five or six who attempted this singular task. To
cite only two names out of the many, the idea of this unusual Vapereau
ran through the head of that keen and delicate critic, M. Henri
Meilhac, and of that detective in continued stories, Emile Gaboriau. I
believe that I also have among the papers of my eighteenth year some
sheets covered with notes taken with the same intention. But the labor
was too exhaustive. It demanded an infinite patience, combined with an
inextinguishable ardor and enthusiasm. The two faithful disciples of
the master who have conjoined their efforts to uprear this monument,
could not perhaps have overcome the difficulties of the undertaking if
they had not supported each other, bringing to the common work, M.
Christophe his painstaking method, M. Cerfberr his accurate memory,
his passionate faith in the genius of the great Honore, a faith that
carried unshakingly whole mountains of documents.
A pleasing chapter of literary gossip might be written about this
collaboration; a melancholy chapter, since it brings with it the
memory of a charming man, who first brought Messieurs Cerfberr and
Christophe together, and who has since died under mournful
circumstances. His ...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Go to the beginning of the document
Go to previous page
Go to next page
Go to the end of document
