In the Viscountess de Granlier's living room one winter, guests sat until one in the morning. One of them, a handsome young man, hearing the clock strike, hastened to take his leave. The Viscountess noted that his departure upset her seventeen-year-old daughter Camila. She decided to warn the girl, saying that although the young man deserves all the praise, no self-respecting family would give him their daughter as a wife. He has a mother, a person of low birth, who is capable of swallowing more than one million fortune.
A family friend, solicitor Derville, intervened in the conversation and helped the Viscountess return her illegally taken fortune. He began to tell a romantic story that he witnessed in his youth. Many years ago Derville had to face amazing person- a moneylender who was nicknamed “Papa Gobsek.” He always amazed those around him with his equanimity: “facial features, motionless, impassive, like Talleyrand’s... eyes, small and yellow, like a ferret’s, and almost without eyelashes... the sharp tip of a long nose, pitted with mountain ash... thin lips...” This man always said gently, without raising your voice. No one knew whether he had family or friends, whether he was rich or poor. The old man was very thrifty.
When the narrator got to know him better, he learned that at the age of ten his mother got him a job as a cabin boy on a ship and he sailed to the Dutch possessions of the East Indies, where he wandered for twenty years. He went through many trials and knew many great people. Papa Gobsek found entertainment in the human stories passing before his eyes. He told two of them to his young friend.
The moneylender had to present two bills. The first, for a thousand francs, was signed by a young man, handsome and dandy, and the bill was issued by a beautiful Parisian woman, the wife of a count. The second bill was signed by a certain Fanny Malvo. When Gobsek came to the first of the women, the maid told him that the lady had not yet gotten up and it was better for him to come at noon. The second woman was not at home, but she left the money with the gatekeeper. The obsec decided not to take the money, but to come again to find the hostess.
At noon the moneylender came to the countess again. She met him in her bedroom, and very affectionately. Luxury and disorder reigned all around. Gobsek immediately realized that this woman was cheating on her husband, moreover, she was paying her lover’s bills. During a conversation with the moneylender, the debtor's husband suddenly entered the room. She was very scared. Having told her husband that Gobsek was her supplier, she secretly gave the diamond to the moneylender. Leaving the countess, Gobsek met the same dandy who gave the bill. Papa Gobsek gave him two hundred francs to the countess. The young man was glad that the Countess paid. Gobsek saw the countess’s entire future: the handsome man would go bankrupt himself, ruin her, her husband and their children.
Next, the moneylender went to the second debtor. Everything in the small apartment was sparkling clean. Mademoiselle Fanny turned out to be a young girl who made her living by sewing. Something good and pure emanated from her. Mr. Obsec even became emotional and wanted to offer her a loan of money, but he stopped himself in time. Before the eyes of the moneylender, tragedies unfolded every day when, for example, the father of a family committed suicide due to the inability to feed his children, and comedies when a young rake tried to seduce and persuade daddy Gobsek, etc. People who fell into the trap of money, They performed real performances in front of this man, which pleased his vanity and entertained the old man.
At one of his bachelor's dinner parties, Derville met a young man, Maxime de Tray, who was ruining the already famous countess. He asked to be brought to Gobsek, since he himself had recently quarreled with the old man. He came to the meeting with the moneylender along with the countess, who immediately pawned the family jewels unprofitably for the sake of her lover. Moreover, Gobsek gave half of the amount to the countess using promissory notes from her ruiner. De Tri was furious, but there was nothing he could do. The Countess ran out of the room and her suitor followed her.
Before the visitors had time to leave, the countess’s deceived husband burst into Gobsek’s room. He learned that his wife had pawned the family jewels and wanted to return them. Darville reconciled the opponents. They drew up an act in which the count admitted that he had received eighty-five thousand francs from Gobsek and that the moneylender was obliged to return the diamonds upon payment of the entire amount of the debt. The moneylender advised the count to find a reliable friend and, through a fictitious sale transaction, to transfer all his property to him, otherwise his wife would completely ruin him and his children.
A few days later, the deceived husband reappeared at Darville's. He asked to prepare the necessary acts on the transfer of all property to Gobsek. The attorney had to receive a receipt from the old man stating that this transfer was fictitious and he undertakes to return the fortune to the eldest son of the count on the day of his majority. In the event of Gobsek's death, Darville himself becomes the heir to the property until a certain time. The solicitor insisted that the count take care of the fate of the younger children. After all the formal matters were resolved, the count did not have time to hand over the receipt to Darville. When he fell ill, his wife did not allow anyone to see him. This woman broke up with her lover and devoted all her time to her growing children. She gave them excellent education and instilled in them a strong love for herself.
The lawyer Derville tells the story of the moneylender Gobsek in the salon of the Viscountess de Granlier, one of the most noble and wealthy ladies in the aristocratic Faubourg Saint-Germain. One day in the winter of 1829/30, two guests stayed with her: the young handsome Count Ernest de Resto and Derville, who was easily accepted only because he helped the mistress of the house return property confiscated during the Revolution. When Ernest leaves, the Viscountess reprimands daughter Camilla: one should not so openly show affection to the dear count, for not a single decent family would agree to become related to him because of his mother. Although now she behaves impeccably, she caused a lot of gossip in her youth. In addition, she is of low origin - her father was the grain merchant Goriot. But the worst thing is that she squandered a fortune on her lover, leaving her children penniless. Count Ernest de Resto is poor, and therefore not a match for Camille de Granlier. Derville, who sympathizes with the lovers, intervenes in the conversation, wanting to explain to the Viscountess the true state of affairs. He starts from afar: during his student years he had to live in a cheap boarding house - there he met Gobsek. Even then he was a deep old man of very remarkable appearance - with a “moon face”, yellow, like a ferret, eyes, sharp long nose and thin lips. His victims sometimes lost their temper, cried or threatened, but the moneylender himself always kept his cool - he was a “bill man,” a “golden idol.” Of all his neighbors, he maintained relations only with Derville, to whom he once revealed the mechanism of his power over people - the world is ruled by gold, and the moneylender owns gold. For edification, he talks about how he collected a debt from one noble lady - fearing exposure, this countess without hesitation handed him a diamond, because her lover received the money on her bill. Gobsek guessed the future of the countess from the face of the blond handsome man - this dandy, spendthrift and gambler is capable of ruining the whole family. After graduating from a law course, Derville received the position of senior clerk in a solicitor's office. In the winter of 1818/19, he was forced to sell his patent - and asked one hundred and fifty thousand francs for it. Gobsek lent money to the young neighbor, taking from him “out of friendship” only thirteen percent - usually he took at least fifty. At the cost of hard work, Derville managed to get rid of his debt in five years. One day, the brilliant dandy Count Maxime de Tray begged Derville to introduce him to Gobsek, but the moneylender flatly refused to give a loan to a man who had three hundred thousand debts and not a centime to his name. At that moment, a carriage drove up to the house, Count de Tray rushed to the exit and returned with an unusually beautiful lady - from the description, Derville immediately recognized her as the countess who had issued the bill four years ago. This time she pledged magnificent diamonds. Derville tried to prevent the deal, but as soon as Maxim hinted that he was going to take his own life, the unfortunate woman agreed to the enslaving terms of the loan. After the lovers left, the countess’s husband burst into Gobsek’s house demanding the return of the mortgage - his wife had no right to dispose of the family jewels. Derville succeeded -
The lawyer Derville tells the story of the moneylender Gobsek in the salon of the Viscountess de Granlier, one of the most noble and wealthy ladies in the aristocratic Faubourg Saint-Germain. One day in the winter of 1829/30, two guests stayed with her: the young handsome Count Ernest de Resto and Derville, who was easily accepted only because he helped the owner of the house return property confiscated during the Revolution.
When Ernest leaves, the Viscountess reprimands her daughter Camilla: one should not so openly show affection to the dear count, because not a single decent family would agree to become related to him because of his mother. Although now she behaves impeccably, she caused a lot of gossip in her youth. In addition, she is of low origin - her father was the grain merchant Goriot. But the worst thing is that she squandered a fortune on her lover, leaving her children penniless. Count Ernest de Resto is poor, and therefore not a match for Camille de Granlier.
Derville, who sympathizes with the lovers, intervenes in the conversation, wanting to explain to the Viscountess the true state of affairs. He starts from afar: during his student years he had to live in a cheap boarding house - there he met Gobsek. Even then he was a deep old man of very remarkable appearance - with a “moon-like face”, yellow, like a ferret’s eyes, a sharp long nose and thin lips. His victims sometimes lost their temper, cried or threatened, but the moneylender himself always kept his cool - he was a “bill man,” a “golden idol.” Of all his neighbors, he maintained relations only with Derville, to whom he once revealed the mechanism of his power over people - the world is ruled by gold, and the moneylender owns gold. For edification, he talks about how he collected a debt from one noble lady - fearing exposure, this countess without hesitation handed him a diamond, because her lover received the money on her bill. Gobsek guessed the countess's future from the face of the blond handsome man - this dandy, spendthrift and gambler is capable of ruining the whole family.
After completing a law course, Derville received the position of senior clerk in a solicitor's office. In the winter of 1818/19, he was forced to sell his patent - and asked one hundred and fifty thousand francs for it. Gobsek lent money to the young neighbor, taking from him “out of friendship” only thirteen percent - usually he took at least fifty. At the cost of hard work, Derville managed to get out of debt in five years.
One day, the brilliant dandy Count Maxime de Tray begged Derville to introduce him to Gobsek, but the moneylender flatly refused to give a loan to a man who had three hundred thousand in debt and not a centime to his name. At that moment, a carriage drove up to the house, Count de Tray rushed to the exit and returned with an unusually beautiful lady - from the description, Derville immediately recognized her as the countess who had issued the bill four years ago. This time she pledged magnificent diamonds. Derville tried to prevent the deal, but as soon as Maxim hinted that he was going to commit suicide, the unfortunate woman agreed to the enslaving terms of the loan.
After the lovers left, the Countess's husband burst into Gobsek's house demanding the return of the mortgage - his wife had no right to dispose of the family jewels. Derville succeeded -
To settle the matter peacefully, the grateful moneylender gave the count advice: transferring all his property to a reliable friend through a fictitious sale transaction is the only way to save at least his children from ruin. A few days later the count came to Derville to find out what he thought about Gobsek. The solicitor replied that in the event of an untimely death, he would not be afraid to make Gobsek the guardian of his children, for in this miser and philosopher there live two beings - the vile and the sublime. The Count immediately decided to transfer all rights to the property to Gobsek, wanting to protect him from his wife and her greedy lover.
Taking advantage of the pause in the conversation, the Viscountess sends her daughter to bed - a virtuous girl has no need to know to what extent a woman can fall if she transgresses known boundaries. After Camilla leaves, there is no need to hide names anymore - the story is about Countess de Resto. Derville, having never received a counter-receipt about the fictitiousness of the transaction, learns that Count de Resto is seriously ill. The Countess, sensing a catch, does everything to prevent the lawyer from seeing her husband. The denouement comes in December 1824. By this time, the countess had already become convinced of the meanness of Maxime de Tray and broke up with him. She cares so zealously for her dying husband that many are inclined to forgive her for her past sins - in fact, she, like a predatory beast, lies in wait for her prey. The Count, unable to get a meeting with Derville, wants to hand over the documents to his eldest son - but his wife cuts off this path for him, trying to influence the boy with affection. In the last terrible scene, the Countess begs for forgiveness, but the Count remains adamant. That same night he dies, and the next day Gobsek and Derville appear in the house. A terrible sight appears before their eyes: in search of a will, the countess wreaked havoc in the office, not even ashamed of the dead. Hearing the steps of strangers, she throws papers addressed to Derville into the fire - the count’s property thereby becomes the undivided possession of Gobsek
The moneylender rented out the mansion, and began to spend the summer like a lord - in his new estates. To all Derville’s pleas to take pity on the repentant countess and her children, he answered that misfortune - best teacher. Let Ernest de Resto know the value of people and money - then it will be possible to return his fortune. Having learned about the love of Ernest and Camilla, Derville once again went to Gobsek and found the old man dying. The old miser bequeathed all his wealth to his sister’s great-granddaughter, a public wench nicknamed “Ogonyok.” He instructed his executor Derville to dispose of the accumulated food supplies - and the lawyer actually discovered huge reserves of rotten pate, moldy fish, and rotten coffee. Towards the end of his life, Gobsek's stinginess turned into mania - he did not sell anything, fearing to sell it too cheap. In conclusion, Derville reports that Ernest de Resto will soon regain his lost fortune. The Viscountess replies that the young count must be very rich - only in this case can he marry Mademoiselle de Granlier. However, Camilla is not at all obliged to meet with her mother-in-law, although the Countess is not barred from entering the receptions - after all, she was received at Madame de Beauseant’s house.
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The lawyer Derville tells the story of the moneylender Gobsek in the salon of the Viscountess de Granlier, one of the most noble and wealthy ladies in the aristocratic Faubourg Saint-Germain. One day in the winter of 1829/30, two guests stayed with her: the young handsome Count Ernest de Resto and Derville, who was easily accepted only because he helped the owner of the house return property confiscated during the Revolution.
When Ernest leaves, the Viscountess reprimands her daughter Camilla: one should not so openly show affection to the dear count, because not a single decent family would agree to become related to him because of his mother. Although now she behaves impeccably, she caused a lot of gossip in her youth. In addition, she is of low origin - her father was the grain merchant Goriot. But the worst thing is that she squandered a fortune on her lover, leaving her children penniless. Count Ernest de Resto is poor, and therefore not a match for Camille de Granlier.
Derville, who sympathizes with the lovers, intervenes in the conversation, wanting to explain to the Viscountess the true state of affairs. He starts from afar: during his student years he had to live in a cheap boarding house - there he met Gobsek. Even then he was a deep old man of very remarkable appearance - with a “moon-like face”, yellow, like a ferret’s eyes, a sharp long nose and thin lips. His victims sometimes lost their temper, cried or threatened, but the moneylender himself always kept his cool - he was a “bill man,” a “golden idol.” Of all his neighbors, he maintained relations only with Derville, to whom he once revealed the mechanism of his power over people - the world is ruled by gold, and the moneylender owns gold. For edification, he talks about how he collected a debt from one noble lady - fearing exposure, this countess without hesitation handed him a diamond, because her lover received the money on her bill. Gobsek guessed the countess's future from the face of the blond handsome man - this dandy, spendthrift and gambler is capable of ruining the whole family.
After completing a law course, Derville received the position of senior clerk in a solicitor's office. In the winter of 1818/19, he was forced to sell his patent - and asked one hundred and fifty thousand francs for it. Gobsek lent money to the young neighbor, taking from him “out of friendship” only thirteen percent - usually he took at least fifty. At the cost of hard work, Derville managed to get out of debt in five years.
One day, the brilliant dandy Count Maxime de Tray begged Derville to introduce him to Gobsek, but the moneylender flatly refused to give a loan to a man who had three hundred thousand in debt and not a centime to his name. At that moment, a carriage drove up to the house, Count de Tray rushed to the exit and returned with an unusually beautiful lady - from the description, Derville immediately recognized her as the countess who had issued the bill four years ago. This time she pledged magnificent diamonds. Derville tried to prevent the deal, but as soon as Maxim hinted that he was going to commit suicide, the unfortunate woman agreed to the enslaving terms of the loan.
After the lovers left, the Countess's husband burst into Gobsek's house demanding the return of the mortgage - his wife had no right to dispose of the family jewels. Derville managed to settle the matter peacefully, and the grateful moneylender gave the count advice: transferring all his property to a reliable friend through a fictitious sale transaction is the only way to save at least his children from ruin. A few days later the count came to Derville to find out what he thought about Gobsek. The solicitor replied that in the event of an untimely death, he would not be afraid to make Gobsek the guardian of his children, for in this miser and philosopher there live two beings - the vile and the sublime. The Count immediately decided to transfer all rights to the property to Gobsek, wanting to protect him from his wife and her greedy lover.
Taking advantage of the pause in the conversation, the Viscountess sends her daughter to bed - a virtuous girl has no need to know to what extent a woman can fall if she transgresses known boundaries. After Camilla leaves, there is no need to hide names anymore - the story is about Countess de Resto. Derville, having never received a counter-receipt about the fictitiousness of the transaction, learns that Count de Resto is seriously ill. The Countess, sensing a catch, does everything to prevent the lawyer from seeing her husband. The denouement comes in December 1824. By this time, the countess had already become convinced of the meanness of Maxime de Tray and broke up with him. She cares so zealously for her dying husband that many are inclined to forgive her for her past sins - in fact, she, like a predatory beast, lies in wait for her prey. The Count, unable to get a meeting with Derville, wants to hand over the documents to his eldest son - but his wife cuts off this path for him, trying to influence the boy with affection. In the last terrible scene, the Countess begs for forgiveness, but the Count remains adamant. That same night he dies, and the next day Gobsek and Derville appear in the house. A terrible sight appears before their eyes: in search of a will, the countess wreaked havoc in the office, not even ashamed of the dead. Hearing the steps of strangers, she throws papers addressed to Derville into the fire - the count’s property thereby becomes the undivided possession of Gobsek.
The moneylender rented out the mansion, and began to spend the summer like a lord - in his new estates. To all Derville’s pleas to take pity on the repentant countess and her children, he answered that misfortune is the best teacher. Let Ernest de Resto know the value of people and money - then it will be possible to return his fortune. Having learned about the love of Ernest and Camilla, Derville once again went to Gobsek and found the old man dying. The old miser bequeathed all his wealth to his sister’s great-granddaughter, a public wench nicknamed “Ogonyok.” He instructed his executor Derville to dispose of the accumulated food supplies - and the lawyer actually discovered huge reserves of rotten pate, moldy fish, and rotten coffee. Towards the end of his life, Gobsek's stinginess turned into mania - he did not sell anything, fearing to sell it too cheap. In conclusion, Derville reports that Ernest de Resto will soon regain his lost fortune. The Viscountess replies that the young count must be very rich - only in this case can he marry Mademoiselle de Granlier. However, Camilla is not at all obliged to meet with her mother-in-law, although the Countess is not barred from entering the receptions - after all, she was received at Madame de Beauseant’s house.
In the 30s, Balzac turned entirely to the description of the morals and life of modern bourgeois society. The origins of the “Human Comedy” lie in the short story “Gobsek,” which appeared in 1830. Although outwardly it appears to be a novella entirely of portraiture, a kind of psychological sketch, it nevertheless contains all the key points of Balzac’s worldview.
The short story, along with the novel, was Balzac's favorite genre. Moreover, many of Balzac's short stories are built not around a specific center - although they sometimes tell about very dramatic twists and turns - but around a certain psychological type. Taken together, Balzac's short stories are like a portrait gallery various types human behavior, a series of psychological studies. In the general concept of The Human Comedy, they are, as it were, preliminary developments of characters, which Balzac later releases as heroes on the pages of his major plot novels.
And it is extremely significant that the first to appear in this gallery of types is Gobsek, the moneylender, one of the key, main figures of the entire bourgeois century, as if a symbol of this era. What is this new psychological type? In our critical literature, unfortunately, the image of Gobsek is often interpreted one-sidedly. If you do not read the story itself, but read other critical opinions about it, then we will be presented with the image of a kind of spider sucking the blood from its victims, a man devoid of any mental movements, thinking only about money - in general, this figure, as one can imagine, depicted by Balzac with hatred and disgust.
But if you carefully read the story itself, you will probably be somewhat confused by the categorical nature of these strictly negative judgments. Because in the story you will often see and hear something completely opposite: the narrator, a completely positive and honest person, lawyer Derville, speaks about Gobsek, for example, like this: “I am deeply convinced that, outside of his usurious affairs, he is a man of the most scrupulous honesty in all of Paris. Two creatures live in him: a miser and a philosopher, an insignificant and sublime creature. If I die, leaving young children, he will be their guardian." I repeat, this is said by the narrator, who clearly speaks on behalf of the author.
Let's take a closer look at this strange character. Gobsek is, without a doubt, ruthless towards his clients. He strips them, as they say, of three skins. He “plunges people into tragedy,” as they said of old.
But let's ask a logical question - who is his client, from whom does he take money? The novel features two such clients - Maxime de Tray, a socialite, gambler and pimp who squanders his mistress's money; the mistress herself is Countess de Resto, blindly in love with Maxim and robbing her husband and children for the sake of her lover. When her husband becomes seriously ill, his first concern is to make a will so that the money is left not to the wife, but to the children; and then the countess, truly losing her human appearance, protects the dying count’s office with vigilant surveillance in order to prevent him from handing over the will to the notary. When the count dies, she rushes to the dead man's bed and, throwing the corpse against the wall, rummages through the bed!
Do you feel how this complicates the situation? After all, these are different things - does the moneylender Gobsek rob just helpless people in trouble, or people like these? Here we must, apparently, be more careful in assessing Gobsek, otherwise we will logically have to feel sorry for the poor Maxime de Traya and Countess de Resto! But maybe Gobsek doesn’t care who to rob? Today he squeezed the Countess and Maxim, tomorrow he will squeeze a decent man?
We are assured that he almost drinks human blood, but he throws it in Maxime de Tray’s face: “What flows in your veins is not blood, but dirt.” He tells Derville: “I appear to the rich as retribution, as a reproach of conscience...”
It turns out that what kind of Gobsek is! But maybe this is all demagoguery, but in reality Gobsek takes just as much pleasure in fleecing poor and honest people? Balzac, as if anticipating this question, introduces into his short story the story of the seamstress Fanny - Gobsek feels sympathy and passion for her.
You don’t need to have any special instinct to see that the hero’s speeches here are not hypocritical: they sound completely sincere, they were composed by Balzac in order to highlight the human essence of Gobsek! True, in the same scene, Gobsek, getting emotional, almost offers her a loan of money at the minimum rate, “only 12%,” but then changes his mind. This seems to sound sarcastic, but if you think about the situation, it is again more complicated. Because Balzac has no ridicule here - on the contrary, the whole stronghold of Gobseck’s existence is shaking here! He is a moneylender, a seemingly ruthless character, he himself is ready to offer to lend money, and he forgets himself so much at the sight of Fanny that he is ready to demand the minimum interest in his understanding. Isn’t it obvious that here it is important for Balzac not to mock Gobsek’s sentimentality, but to emphasize precisely his shock - clearly human, humane feelings began to speak in him! His professional instinct remained stronger, but it is curious that his rejection of this idea was not due to greed, but to skepticism, distrust of people: “Well, no, I reasoned with myself, she probably has a young cousin who will force her to sign bills and will cleanse the poor thing!" That is, Fanny alone Gobsek was still ready to show kindness! Here we have before us not so much sarcasm or satire, but Balzac’s deep psychological insight; here the tragic sides of human psychology are revealed - even trying to do good to worthy people, he does not dare to take this step, because his entire psychology is already poisoned by distrust of people!
The entire plot of the story convinces us of the complexity of Gobsek’s character and the remarkable human resources of his soul. After all, at the end of it, it is Gobsek who is trusted by the dying Count de Resto to protect his children from the intrigues of his own mother! The Count, therefore, implies in him not only honesty, but also humanity! Further, when Derville is about to found his own notary office, he decides to ask Gobsek for money because he feels his friendly disposition. Another brilliant psychological detail follows - Gobsek asks Derville for the minimum amount of interest in his practice, he himself understands that it is still high, and therefore almost demands that Derville bargain! He is literally waiting for this request - so that, again, he himself does not violate his principle (not to take less than 13%). But ask Derville, he will reduce the amount even more! Derville, in turn, does not want to humiliate himself. The amount remains 13%. But Gobsek, so to speak, organizes for him additional and profitable clientele free of charge. And as a farewell, he asks Derville for permission to visit him. What you see in that scene is again not so much a spider as a victim of his own profession and his own distrust of people.
So Balzac, with subtle psychological skill, exposes to us the secret nerves of this strange soul, “the fiber of the heart.” modern man“, as Stendhal said. This man, supposedly bringing “evil, ugliness and destruction,” is in fact deeply wounded in his soul. His insightful, sharp mind is cold to the extreme. He sees the evil reigning around, but he still convinces himself that he This is all he sees: “If you live like me, you will learn that of all earthly blessings there is only one reliable enough for a person to pursue it. Is this gold".
Balzac shows us the path of thought that led the hero to such ethics, he shows us in all its complexity the soul that professes such principles - and then these words already sound tragic. Gobsek turns out to be a deeply unhappy man; the surrounding evil, money, gold - all this distorted his fundamentally honest and kind nature, poisoning it with the poison of distrust of people. He feels completely alone in this world. “If human communication between people is considered a kind of religion, then Gobsek could be called an atheist,” says Derville. But at the same time, the thirst for real human communication in Gobsek has not died completely, it is not for nothing that his soul was so drawn to Fanny, it is not for nothing that he becomes so attached to Derville and, to the meager measure of his strength, strives to do good! But the logic of the bourgeois world, according to Balzac, is such that these impulses most often remain just fleeting impulses - or acquire a grotesque, distorted character.
In other words, Balzac depicts here not the tragedy of Maxime de Traya and Countess de Resto, who fell into the clutches of a money-lender spider, but the tragedy of Gobseck himself, whose soul was distorted and twisted by the law of the bourgeois world - man is a wolf to man. After all, how senseless and tragic at the same time the death of Gobsek! He dies completely alone next to his rotting wealth - he dies like a maniac! His usury, his tight-fistedness is not a cold calculation, but a disease, a mania, a passion that consumes the person himself. We must not forget about his vengeful feelings towards the rich! And it is no coincidence, of course, that this whole story is put into the mouth of Derville, who tells it in a high society salon - this story is clearly built on the fact that Derville is trying to dissuade his listeners, in any case, to tell them the truth about Gobsek’s life. After all, his listeners know this story from the same Gobsek victims - from the same Maxim, from the same Countess de Resto. And they, of course, have the same idea about Gobsek as in the critical judgments I quoted above - he is a villain, a criminal, he brings evil, ugliness, destruction, and Derville, a lawyer by profession, builds his entire story on mitigating circumstances. And so, paradoxically, it is Gobsek’s fate that becomes an indictment of bourgeois society - his fate, and not the fate of Maxim and Countess de Resto!
But having realized this, we also realize Balzac’s serious artistic protest in this image. After all, in pronouncing a condemnation of mercantile ethics, Balzac, as the main victim and accuser, chooses, of course, a figure who is not the most suitable for this role. Even if we assume that there were such moneylenders, it can hardly be assumed that such a moneylender’s fate was typical. She is definitely an exception. Meanwhile, Balzac clearly raises this story above the framework of a particular case; he gives it a general, symbolic meaning! And in order for Gobsek’s role as an accuser of society to look legitimate, so that the author’s sympathy for the hero looks justified, the author not only gives a subtle psychological analysis Gobsek’s soul (which we saw above), but also reinforces this with a kind of demonization of the image. And this is a purely romantic procedure. Gobsek is shown as a brilliant, but sinister expert on human souls, as a kind of their researcher.
Balzac essentially elevates the private, everyday practice of the moneylender to majestic proportions. After all, Gobsek becomes not only a victim of the golden calf, but also a symbol of enormous practical and educational energy! And here the purely romantic manner of depicting irresistible demonic villains, for whose villainy the world is to blame, invades the methodology of the remarkable realist. And not themselves.
Very little time will pass, and Balzac will become much more unambiguous and merciless in his portrayal of bourgeois businessmen - this will be the image of old Grandet. But now, in Gobsek, he still clearly hesitates very much. important point- on the question of purposefulness, of the moral cost of bourgeois energy.
By creating the figure of the all-powerful Gobsek, Balzac clearly pushes into the background the immorality of the ultimate goal of usury - pumping money out of people that you, in essence, did not give them. Gobsek’s energy and strength still interest him in themselves, and he is clearly weighing for himself the question of whether this practical energy is for good. That’s why he clearly idealizes and romanticizes this energy. Therefore, it is in matters of the ultimate goal that Balzac looks for Gobsek to mitigate mitigating circumstances that mystify the real state of affairs - either for Gobsek this is a study of the laws of the world, then observation of human souls, then revenge on the rich for their arrogance and heartlessness, then some kind of all-consuming “one single passion” ". Romanticism and realism are truly inextricably intertwined in this image.
As we see, the entire story is woven from the deepest dissonances, reflecting the ideological fluctuations of Balzac himself. Turning to the analysis of modern morals, Balzac still mystifies them in many ways, overloading the fundamentally realistic image with symbolic meanings and generalizations. As a result, the image of Gobsek appears on several levels at once - he is both a symbol of the destructive power of gold, and a symbol of bourgeois practical energy, and a victim of bourgeois morality, and also simply a victim of all-consuming passion, passion as such, regardless of its specific content.
