Béatrix

Honoré de Balzac

Béatrix is a three-part novel in Balzac’s La Comédie humaine. In Brittany, young Calyste du Guénic is drawn to Béatrix de Rochefide, while figures such as Camille Maupin and Gennaro Conti shape his world. The novel contrasts provincial tradition with Parisian society and explores desire, illusion, artistic reputation and the calculations of marriage.