Anyway, it’s a story about a college student who meets Old Man Goriot. Old Man Gao was originally very rich and seemed to be a noodle maker. Then he had two daughters. He spent money (a lot of money as dowry) to marry his daughter to a nobleman, hoping that he could also become a nobleman.
The following is not original
The novel is set in Paris from the end of 1819 to the beginning of 1820. It mainly tells two parallel and intersecting stories: the retired noodle seller Goliot was killed by two The daughter was neglected and died tragically in the attic of Vauquer's apartment; the young Rastignac embarked on a path of depravity under the corrosion of Parisian society. It also intersperses the stories of Madame de Beauseion and Vautrin. Through the two main stages of shabby apartments and luxurious aristocratic salons, which are constantly alternating, the writer paints a series of pictures of Parisian society full of lust and extreme ugliness, exposing the moral decay of the bourgeoisie and the relationship between people and people under the control of money. The ruthlessness among people reveals the inevitable demise of the aristocratic class under the attack of the bourgeoisie, truly reflecting the characteristics of the Bourbon Restoration period.
1. Ideological significance and character analysis
First of all, "Old Man Goriot" focuses on exposing and criticizing the naked money relationship between people in the capitalist world. During the Great Revolution, old man Golio, who relied on the Great Famine to become a nouveau riche, devoted all his love to his two daughters after the death of his wife, allowing them to live a luxurious and wasteful life since childhood and satisfy all their desires. Later, he divided the property into two equal parts and gave each person a dowry of 800,000 francs. Money bought a happy marriage. The eldest daughter Anastasia married Count Lesto and entered the aristocratic society, while the younger daughter Danfina found the banker Nucingen as her husband and became a rich wife. At the beginning of his marriage, Old Man Gao was still a guest at his two daughters' homes. He could eat at his daughter's home once or twice a week, but later it was changed to twice a month. In the end, he was shut out of the house forever. On the one hand, this change in feelings is because during the Restoration period, the title once again became a symbol of status. Goriot's identity as a noodle merchant could not bring glory to his daughter's family, and more importantly, because his money was getting less and less. When he wanted to see his daughter, he would sneak in from the kitchen or stand by the road where their carriage passed. The two daughters occasionally visited the Vauquer apartment where their father lived, with the purpose of continuously extracting the only money their father had to survive. The two sisters tried their best to avoid giving in to each other and almost turned against each other. After their rounds of searching, Goriot sold everything and became worthless. He was poor, sick and on the verge of death in the attic of Vauquer's apartment.
The death of Old Man Goriot is the climax of this family scandal. Before his death, Old Man Goriot wanted to see his daughter. Although he cried and screamed, no one came. Before his death, Old Man Goriot realized the cruel truth of capitalist society: "Money can buy everything, including a daughter." When Rastignac "traveled between the Nucingen couple and the Resto couple" to raise money for the funeral, they refused to receive guests because "their father was dead and they were all very sad." In the funeral procession, these two "empty carriages with noble emblems" appeared. Balzac's exposure and criticism are so penetrating that they penetrate the back of the paper.
Inspired by the magic of money, extreme egoism has submerged all moral principles throughout Paris. Whether it is upper class society or lower-class apartments, there are endless tragedies surrounding money. The Marquis of Ajuda abandoned his mistress of many years for a dowry of 200,000 francs; Count Lesdo took advantage of his wife's weakness and embezzled her property; the banker Nucingen was so despicable that he promised his wife "freedom", but he had to control her her property in exchange. Because she coveted the property of Goriot, Mrs. Vauquer dressed up and pretended to be flattering; for the income of 3,000 francs, Michnot and Poale became official spies, secretly murdering Vautrin; for 200,000 francs, Vautrin , cleverly set up a trap and killed Taifan's only son; Rastignac gave up the idea of ??seeking fame through reading in the big dye vat of Paris, and determined to "fight hard" in this "hell".
Secondly, "Old Man Goriot" gives a detailed and in-depth description of the historical trend of the feudal aristocracy gaining and losing power, rising and declining. During the Restoration, titles once again became a symbol of status. Madame de Beauseant was "a leader in aristocratic society" and her mansion was "the most interesting place" in the aristocratic neighborhood. Being able to show up in this "splendid living room" was tantamount to a "The certificate of a noble family", Rastignac had no problem in the social world with the title of "Mrs. Beauseant's cousin" when he first arrived in Paris. Saint-Germain's salon is the "holy place" coveted by the outburst bourgeoisie. In order to enter "this place that is more strictly guarded than any other society", "a banker's wife is willing to make any sacrifices." The bourgeoisie desperately wanted to squeeze into the ranks of the aristocracy, but the aristocratic society despised the bourgeoisie who were full of copper odor. Many new aristocrats who had been knighted were still excluded from their doors.
But behind the superficial prosperity of aristocratic society, there are crises and hidden disasters. The arrogant aristocratic leader was ultimately defeated by the bourgeois lady whom she despised. Mrs. Bossaon's lover, "one of the most famous and richest nobles in Portugal", actually abandoned her and married the bourgeois girl Luo Xifeite for a dowry of 200,000 francs in interest. This heavy blow forced Mrs. Beauseion to shed tears, burn her love letters, withdraw from social circles, and live in seclusion in the countryside. At the farewell ball, Mrs. Boseant's forced smile could not hide her inner sadness, but Daphne, who had been ridiculed by her before, was extremely proud.
If Mrs. Beauseant is a typical example of the aristocrats who perished under the pressure of the bourgeoisie, then Rastignac is a typical example of the aristocratic children corrupted by the nouveau riche. Rastignac was a son of a run-down nobleman in the provinces. When he first arrived in Paris, he was a poor and embarrassed college student. He only hoped to obtain the fame, wealth and bright future he desired through hard study. However, the comparison between Paris, a world of flowers, and his hometown, where his family was in decline, stimulated his desire to climb up; the sharp contrast between the vulgarity and ugliness of the Vauquer apartment and the gorgeous and elegance of the aristocratic salon further stimulated his ambition. He searched the family tree and found a distant relative, Mrs. Boseant, as the person who introduced him to the upper class. However, the world has changed. A noble family background can only help him enter the upper class, but it cannot help him take root in the upper class. Mrs. Boseant, who was sad about her failure, taught him completely bourgeois teachings: "The less heartless you are, the faster you will rise. If you hit others mercilessly, they will be afraid of you. You can only treat men and women as equals." Ride the stagecoach, ride them until they are exhausted, and throw them off at the station, so that you can reach the peak of desire." She asked Rastignac to pursue the banker wife Daphne whom she always despised. She saw through her personal experience: what really rules this society is money. She gave the fledgling Rastignac the first lesson of enlightenment.
Rastignac’s other enlightenment “teacher” was Vautrin. This fugitive convict has a profound understanding of the nature of society. He used naked language to express the moral principles of the bourgeoisie: "If you want to make a lot of money, you should do it boldly, or you should be done with it. ... This is how life is, it is as smelly as the kitchen. If you want to make money, you should not be afraid of getting dirty. Just wash your hands afterwards." "In this crowd, you don't want to blast in like a cannonball, you have to get in like a plague." He instigated Rastignac to pursue the daughter who was kicked out of the house by the banker Taifan. He then sent someone to kill her brother so that Rastignac could get a dowry of 1 million francs from Miss Taifan, while Fu Tuoleng took a reward of 200,000 francs from it. Although Rastignac rejected the plan, he was deeply shocked that what Vautrin said nakedly had the same meaning as what Madame Beauseon said elegantly. Rastignac's experience and knowledge have constantly confirmed their teachings, especially the endings of one of them being abandoned and the other being plotted, which further confirms the capitalist law that "wealth is virtue".
The death of Goriot taught Rastignac the most critical lesson. He saw with his own eyes how Old Man Goriot was abandoned after being drained of his property by his two daughters. The day when Old Man Goriot died with hatred was the day when they were all dressed up and dancing. In order to raise medical expenses and funeral expenses, Rastignac traveled between the mansions of Goriot's two daughters. Anastazi and his wife were having a serious quarrel over money issues, but Fina simply closed the door to him because of her grief over her father's death. From here, Rastignac saw the coldness, selfishness, and ingratitude of the upper class. The relationship between father and daughter, husband and wife, and money between people were displayed in such a naked way without any concealment. The tragic death of Old Man Goriot confirmed the teachings of Madame Beauseon and Vautrin, and finally completed Rastignac's social education. He could no longer suppress the burning desire in his heart. While burying Goriot, he also "buried the last tear of his youth" and determined to step into the abyss of sin in Paris's upper class to fight.
Rastignac is an important character in "The Human Comedy" and is a very general artistic model. The entire "Human Comedy" describes his transformation experience from good to evil, from justice to shamelessness. "Petro Goriot" reveals the huge corrosive power of money on the human soul through the development of his thoughts, and lashes out the numerous evils of capitalist society.
Vautrin occupies a special place in "The Human Comedy" status. This is a symbolic devil and a living example. He appears in different identities in different works, but plays the same role in tempting young people to fall. In "Old Man Goriot", he is a wanted convict who has escaped from hard labor, but his thoughts and actions are no different from those of bourgeois and bankers. He volunteered to be Rastignac's mentor and gave him an in-depth analysis of the evils in the world, pointing out that this society is "rife with corruption" and the relationship between people is like "many spiders in a bottle". Me, I swallow you. Therefore, he taught Rastignac: "If you want to pursue millions of dollars, you have to use traps." To conquer the world among the crowds of Parisian society, "Don't blast in like a cannonball, you have to get in like the plague. Be honest and honest." Useless." He is a bourgeois careerist and plunderer. What he dreams of is to "live like a little emperor." The way he designed to make a fortune is to buy 200 black slaves with 200,000 francs. "With this black capital, I can earn three to four hundred in ten years." Ten thousand". In order to achieve this goal, he seduced Rastignac to pursue Taiyifan's daughter, and at the same time designed to cause Taiyifan's only son to be killed in a duel in an attempt to capture the property of banker Taiyifan. Vautrin, who was sophisticated and well aware of the dark social background, used the most naked language to reveal all the moral principles of bourgeois egoism in front of Rastignac, which began to surprise and frighten Rastignac, who was not deeply involved in the world. , and then left an indelible impression in his mind. Rastignac was influenced by many aspects and embarked on the path of careerist, while Vautrin's "moral education" was of an outline and outline nature.
But Vautrin is by no means a simple villain.
His image embodies Balzac's long-term observation, experience and thinking about French society. He often ruthlessly analyzed and criticized social evils through the words of Vautrin. To a certain extent, he acted as Balzac's spokesperson for criticizing social evils. The writer endowed him with abundant energy, strong body, sharp eyes and profound analytical power. He believed in the principle of extreme egoism and pursued his own interests at all costs. At the same time, he laughed and scolded this principle, and he was keenly aware of the social evils that resulted from it. He is calm-minded, extremely deep, and can see through other people's thoughts at a glance, which is intimidating. At the same time, he is attentive and thoughtful, frank, kind, and affectionate, making people unpredictable. He combines coldness, cruelty, perseverance, depth, and cunning; he never bows his head and surrenders, but is good at sizing up the situation and adapting to circumstances. This is a powerful figure, a murderous demon, but Balzac raised his personality to a poetic level, turning it into a very colorful and multi-layered artistic image, becoming "a "A Devil's Poem" has strong artistic vitality and is a very successful artistic model created by Balzac.
2. Artistic achievement
"Petro Goriot" embodies the main features of Balzac's realist creative art.
(1) Delicate and characteristic typical environment. Balzac attached great importance to detailed and realistic description of the environment, on the one hand to reproduce life, and more importantly to portray the characters. The work revolves around Rastignac's activities and describes the living environment of people of different classes and classes in Paris; the Vauquer Apartments in the Latin Quarter, a yellow room that looks like a prison, exudes a "closed, musty, sour smell" everywhere. ”, stuffed with dirty, greasy, broken and ugly utensils and furniture, this is a place where the lower classes live. Although there are splendid houses and valuable utensils at the home of Gao Laotou's two daughters in Tangda District, the "classless cloister" and the living room filled with Italian oil paintings are "decorated like a cafe", which shows that as a The tawdry pomp of the nouveau riche bourgeoisie. The ancient Beauseon Palace in the Saint-Germain district shows a completely different style. In the courtyard, there are gorgeous carriages with strong horses, doormen wearing red uniforms with gold trim, large staircases filled with flowers on both sides, and only gray and gray The small and exquisite pink guest room, these exquisite furnishings and ingenious arrangements all set off the elegance and superiority of the "leader" of the upper-class aristocracy. These detailed and characteristic descriptions of the environment are conducive to demonstrating its influence on the formation of human character. When Rastignac returned to the Vauquer apartment where he lived after visiting Madame Resto and Madame Beauseant, the work wrote: "Walking into the smelly dining room, the eighteen diners were like people in front of a manger. The animals were usually eating. He felt that the scene of poverty and the dining room were extremely ugly. The change of environment was too sudden and the contrast was too strong, which particularly stimulated his ambition..." Rastignac, who had already enjoyed the life of the upper class, again He was not willing to accept poverty and inferiority. In the end, he decided to get his hands dirty, blacken his conscience, and rush forward desperately. Rastignac's fall was determined by this specific typical environment.
(2) Typification of character. Balzac not only created typical images such as Goriot, Rastignac, Madame Bausaian, and Vautrin, but also achieved the unity of personality and personality in the creation of other characters. Although the Count and Countess Lesdo and the Baron and Countess Nucingen have noble titles, they are actually bourgeois. They not only have the same characteristics of pursuing personal interests, but they are also typical examples of unique personalities. The banker Nucingen only had money in mind, and his attitude towards his wife's pursuit of an affair was very clear: "I allow you to mess around, but you also have to let me commit crimes and make those poor people bankrupt." Count Lesdo's beautiful words to his wife Although she was allowed to hook up with Mark, there was a certain limit, which was related to his concept of aristocratic family status. After he learned that his wife had secretly sold the ancestral diamond, he tried every means to redeem it and let her wear it to the ball to maintain the dignity of the family.
Anastasy and Danfina are both the daughters of Old Man Goriot, but the two sisters each have their own personalities. The former is tall, strong, with black hair and piercing eyes. He went to the palace to see the emperor and did not take his sister seriously. The latter is petite, blond, and very charming. He knows that his social status is not high, his dowry was usurped by her husband, and she was abandoned by her lover. She has a melancholy and sentimental personality, and often misses the happy life of her childhood. But both of them are extremely vain egoists, and they are willing to drain their father's savings in order to satisfy their desires. Anastasia often used blackmail to ask for money from her father, but Fina used coquettishness and coaxing.
(3) Exquisite structure. The novel uses the stories of Goriot and Rastignac as the two main clues, interspersed with the stories of Vautrin and Madame Boseant. Several clues are intricately intertwined, and the clues seem complicated, but in fact they are clearly prioritized, clear and orderly. The central plot of the work is about Goriot being drained of his money by his daughter and being abandoned, with Rastignac as the central character. Through his activities, he connects the upper class with the lower class, and connects the aristocratic salon with the bourgeois living room. As the mystery of Goriot unfolds and unravels before Rastignac's eyes, the plot reaches its climax step by step. Rastignac was an eyewitness to the arrest of Vautrin, the abandonment of Madame de Beauseant, and the tragic death of Goriot. The ugliness of society confirmed the negative education he received. The day Goriot was buried was also the end of Rastignac's youth.
Several clues are closely intertwined, interlocking, and deepen step by step, playing a role of deepening and complementing each other, thus profoundly expressing the theme of the work.
(4) Extensive use of contrast techniques. Artistic contrast techniques are widely used in "Petro Goriot". The strong contrast between the Apartment Vauquer and the Beauselon House not only prompted Rastignac's personal ambition to expand violently, but also showed that whether it is a prestigious wealthy family or a poor and bleak inn, they are still full of money worship and despicable. Shameless. The noble and solemn Mrs. Beauseon is in sharp contrast to the vulgar and powerful Vautrin. One is gentle and the other is outspoken, but different languages ??reveal the same truth, and their theories of seeing through society are in line with their own lives. The tragic defeat served as a contrast, deepening the meaning of the tragedy. In addition, there is the contrast between the extravagance and desire of Goriot's daughter and the poverty and embarrassment of Goriot, the contrast between the lively scene and the desolate mood of Mrs. Bausaion when she retired, etc. This sharp contrast makes the theme of the work more vivid and prominent. The story takes place in 1819. In the Latin Quarter of Paris, there is an old, peeling-off dining room, the Apartment Vauquer, owned by an old woman named Vauquer. The house was lifeless, exuding a closed, musty, sour smell, and the entire walls had a somewhat prison-like air. There are seven tenants living here: they are Goriot, a bankrupt businessman, Rastignac, a poor college student, Vautrin, nicknamed "The Devil", Michonneau, an old girl, and Victoria Tay, a girl abandoned by her father. Fan, the wife of Gu, whose husband died, and the old man Poale, a retired civil servant.
Old Man Goriot is sixty-nine years old. In his early years, he ran a flour business. The sale was concluded in 1813. When he first moved to the Apartment Vauquer, he lived in the best room on the second floor and paid twelve hundred francs a year for board and lodging. He was "well-stocked, and very particular about his clothes and bedding, both inside and outside." His eighteen No. 2 Dutch muslin shirts made Madame Vauquer admire them endlessly. Even his snuff box was made of gold, and he had to ask a barber to give it to him every morning. Freshen up face powder. People called him Mr. Goriot. Even Madame Fouquer had her thoughts on him. She was over forty-eight years old, but she was described as thirty-nine. She bought more clothes and armor, and dressed up like "a sign of a beef stew restaurant." He wanted to marry Golio, sell the apartment, become a prominent wife in the district, go to the theater, sit in boxes, and do some charity... In short, she had the sweet golden dream of a small citizen.
However, Goriot put all his love on his two married daughters and was not tempted by Mrs. Vauquer. At the end of the second year, Goriot asked to move to the third floor, and the board and lodging fee was reduced to nine hundred francs per year. There was a lot of talk about the downgrade of his housing. Everyone regarded him as "the most mysterious character produced by evil habits, shamelessness and imbecility." Mrs. Fouquet also gave up and no longer called him sir, but Old Man Gao.
In the third year, Goriot asked to move to the fourth floor and the monthly rent was reduced to forty-five francs. He gave up snuff, sent his barber away, and stopped powdering his hair. None of the diamonds, gold cigarette cases, gold chains and other ornaments were missing. And regardless of winter or summer, he only wears a maroon duffle coat and gray woolen trousers. He is getting thinner and thinner, his calves are deflated; his face, which used to be fat due to contentment, has been wrinkled countless times; there are grooves on his forehead, his gum bones are protruding, he looks old and shaky, and his face is ashen. At first, his daughter came frequently, but later she rarely came. When people asked him why his daughter didn't come to see him, he felt like he was being pricked by needles. People made fun of him and even used him as a "punching bag."
Rastignac, another tenant of the Vauquer Apartment, is a college student from the provincial countryside who came to Paris to study law. He has white skin, black hair, and blue eyes. His demeanor, manners, and gestures all showed that he was a member of the family. He usually only wears an old coat and a thick vest; a crappy old black tie that is buttoned carelessly, like an ordinary college student; his trousers are similar to his coat, and the soles of his boots have been replaced. He is an ambitious young man. The poverty of his family and the stimulation of luxurious life in Paris strengthened his "desire for power and desire to get ahead." At first, he studied aimlessly. Later, he realized that women have a great influence on social life, and suddenly wanted to join the upper class society and "conquer a few women who can be his backers." Through the introduction of his aunt, he met the Viscountess de Beauseant, a close relative, and met the Countess Lesdo at her cousin's house. Returning to Vauquer's apartment, he told the matter to Old Man Goriot. Unexpectedly, this beautiful countess was the eldest daughter of Old Man Goriot.
The next day, he visited Countess Resto's house. He deliberately mentioned that the Vicomte de Beauseant was a relative of his, and for this he was warmly welcomed. However, when he said that he lived with Old Man Goriot, it caused the countess and his wife to be unhappy. They sent him out coldly.
With doubts, Rastignac went to the house of his cousin, the Vicomte de Beauseant, for advice. It happened that the Viscountess was abandoned by her lover, the Marquis of Ajuda, a Portuguese nobleman, and she was in a bad mood. He suddenly asked Rastignac: "Can you kill someone for me?" Rastignac said; "You can kill two people." After hearing the ambitious answer of the college student, the Viscountess couldn't help but be very concerned about him. stand up.
Rastignac asked his cousin to explain to him: Why did he offend Count Lesto and his wife when he said the name of Goriot? The Viscountess told him the story of Old Man Goriot and his daughter.
Old Man Goriot has two daughters, both of whom he likes very much. But now the daughter hardly recognizes her father. Old Man Goriot was widowed in his early years, and he took care of his daughter as she grew up. When his daughters reached marriageable age, he divided all his property equally among them as dowries so that they could get into a good marriage. The eldest daughter was vain and married the noble Lesdo; the second daughter loved money and married the banker Nucingen. Old Man Gao thought that if his daughter got married, she would have two families. Can be respected and supported by daughters and sons-in-law. Unexpectedly, within two years, his son-in-law regarded him as "a dirty and undesirable thing" and drove him out of the house. The two daughters only went to their father when they wanted money or things, but now Goriot had no money... After hearing his cousin's introduction, Rastignac shed tears of sympathy for Goriot.
Viscountess Beauseant told Rastignac that "society is mean and cruel." Ask him to "deal with this society tit for tat." She said: "The less heartless you are, the faster you will rise. If you attack others mercilessly, they will be afraid of you." At the same time, she also told Rastignac that if he wants to get ahead in Parisian society, he must get a woman's love. Favor, if "there is no woman who cares, he is worthless here, and the woman must be young, rich, and beautiful." She suggested that Rastignac could seduce Daphne, the second daughter of Goriot. She said: "That beautiful lady can be your cover. Once she sees you differently, all the women will swarm after you." Finally, she also told Rastignac to be good at deceiving. "If you have any true feelings, you have to hide them like treasures." Therefore, cruelty, women, and deceit are the three magic weapons that the Viscountess told him to advance in Paris society.