Ursula (Ursule Mirouet)

Honoré de Balzac

Jan. 2006 · Mondial

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"Ursula" (original French title "Ursule Mirouet," 1842) forms one part of "Scenes from Provincial Life," a series of novels-whose other major work is "Eugenie Grandet"-examining manners and morals in the French provinces. --- Among all the novels of Honore de Balzac (1799-1850), none depicts so penetratingly the small-mindedness, avarice, and envy of the provincial lower middle classes. In "Ursula", no limitations based on morality or decency will hold these people back in their effort to acquire wealth and influence. --- Along with Stendhal, Balzac is the most important French novelist of the first half of the nineteenth century, and a founder of the realistic novel in Europe. His principal work is the unfinished cycle "The Human Comedy" (French: "La Comedie Humaine," which includes "Scenes from Provincial Life"), in which he attempted, in more than 80 volumes, to depict the society of his time in its entirety.

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Born on May 20, 1799, Honore de Balzac is considered one of the greatest French writers of all time. Balzac studied in Paris and worked as a law clerk while pursuing an unsuccessful career as an author. He soon accumulated enormous debts that haunted him most of his life. A prolific writer, Balzac would often write for 14 to-16 hours at a time. His writing is marked by realistic portrayals of ordinary, but exaggerated characters and intricate detail. In 1834, Balzac began organizing his works into a collection called The Human Comedy, an attempt to group his novels to present a complete social history of France. Characters in this project reappeared throughout various volumes, which ultimately consisted of approximately 90 works. Some of his works include Cesar Birotteau, Le Cousin Pons, Seraphita, and Le Cousine Bette. Balzac wed his lifelong love, Eveline Hanska in March 1850 although he was gravely ill at the time. Balzac died in August of that year.