Diss. : Philosophie : Bonn : 1987. / Bibliogr.: p. 297-323.

In studying the theatre of Balzac it is necessary to look at the financial conditions of the writer of the Comédie Humaine who began by writing a tragedy in the classical genre at the age of nineteen and then abandoned plays in favor of novels because of adverse reactions to his first attempt. For seventeen years, Balzac wrote novels, yet increased his debts; finally he turned to the writing of a play, hoping to earn enough money to ease his financial burden. From 1837 to the end of his life he was gripped by the double obsession of having a literary success in the theatre and of producing a play which would bring him large receipts. Continuing his prodigious work as a novelist, he was never able to rid himself of the feeling that in the theatre there was both a literary and a financial success waiting for him. Consequently he periodically returned to playwriting in an attempt to satisfy his ambitions. The Correspondance of Balzac, including general letters and the letters to Madame Hanska, make many allusions to the hopes the writer had for his success in the theatre. At the same time his complaints about his indebtedness ring out with much force. Often Balzac ties the two together by saying that he could pay his debts if only he could succeed with a play. Thus, it is necessary to lean heavily on the Correspondance of Balzac to find the information essential to an interpretation of Balzac as a dramatist. Aside from the information contained in Balzac's letters and commentaries by contemporaries such as Théophile Gautier, Léon Gozlan, and other critics, it is somewhat difficult to find extensive information about Balzac and his attempts at drama. However, some secondary sources have been used to support findings in the letters or to elaborate on the interpretation of some aspect or another of Balzac as a writer and as a debtor. A third source of information has been the sis plays themselves. A resume and an analysis of each play shows the themes which preoccupied Balzac, usually dealing with some realistic aspect of the mores of bourgeois society or having a financial motif. A study of the plays also shows development in Balzac's theatrical writings and demonstrates that he was coming to a point of accomplishment at the time he wrote his last play, only two years before his death. One concludes that, pushed by the desire to earn large sums of money to pay his debts, Balzac was less careful in writing plays than novels. Thinking only of finishing as quickly as possible in order to put the play on the stage, he fell into a trap of his own making, being somewhat careless about the actual writing of the plays and giving far too much attention to finding a theatre and getting partisans to the premiere. On the other hand, it is obvious that he was on the track of a new kind of theatre—realistic theatre reflecting the mores of the society in which he lived, much as he described society in detail in his Comédie Humaine. / Arts, Faculty of / French, Hispanic, and Italian Studies, Department of / Graduate

Thèse complémentaire--Paris. / Bibliography: p. [241]-250.

Diss. : Lit. : Mainz : 1989. / Bibliogr.: p. 286-311.

Honoré de Balzac filled the imaginary world of his Comédie humaine with a vast array of characters of all ages, types and social classes. Although, in general, the girls among them play a secondary role, they nevertheless form a group which is not only interesting, but which receives a special form of attention from its creator. In Balzac's view, the typical girl (who is also his ideal) is sweet, pure and docile, and most of the girls he depicts fall into this category, although they often combine with these passive traits a surprising degree of will-power. They are nearly all extremely beautiful; their every word and gesture is filled with the natural charm of youth and innocence. They live in a narrowly restricted world, always under the watchful eye of their mothers or guardians, carefully sheltered from the corrupting influences of the real world outside their small circle of family and acquaintances. Their days are spent doing needlework, helping with household chores and going for walks, well chaperoned, of course. These girls and their monotonous lives are, in themselves, of limited interest for Balzac. Their real importance lies in their future, when, as wives and mothers, they will assume a meaningful function in society, and it is therefore their preparation for this future role which is of primary concern to the novelist. In his opinion, the usual training which girls receive in feminine accomplishments and rudimentary knowledge is far from being an adequate and worthwhile education. Their heads are filled with useless information while, at the same time, all the realities of life, the things they most urgently need to know about society, human nature and especially the opposite sex, are carefully hidden from them in the name of decency and propriety. Completely naive and ignorant, they are then exposed without protection to the problems and dangers of life, all too often with the result that they fall an easy prey to the first handsome man they meet or, what is a far worse disaster, they prove to be unhappy and therefore unfaithful wives. Among the girls of the Comédie humaine, it is only those few who, belonging to enlightened families and taught not only high principles but also some of the basic facts of life, are able to achieve successful marriages and happy lives. Because passion, according to Balzac's theories, is the basic force behind all human behaviour, it is only when love enters the lives of these girls that they really begin to develop as individuals. The discovery of love is, for them, a sudden revelation, an awakening to the true meaning of life and of their own destinies. Love gives Eugénie Grandet the courage to stand up to her tyrannical father; it fills Ursule Mirouët with the strength and determination needed to achieve the marriage she desires; it inspires in Rosalie de Watteville a diabolical cunning by which she manipulates all those around her, prevents a marriage and affects the outcome of an election. For Balzac, the more a woman has experienced passion, the more attractive and interesting she becomes, and it is primarily for this reason that the girls in the Comédie humaine , still on the threshold of life, play a less important role than the more mature feminine characters. / Arts, Faculty of / French, Hispanic, and Italian Studies, Department of / Graduate

Au seuil de cette dissertation, que l'on me permette de remercier le docteur D. Niederauer qui, d'abord, accepta de patronner ma these et, ensuite, sut guider mes travaux avec une patience infinie. Mes remerciements vont aussi aux docteurs F. Grover et D. Highnam qui m'aid^rent de leurs precieuses remarques. Je dois enfin exprimer ma gratitude au docteur P. G^rin, professeur a Mount-Saint-Vincent University. Par ses conseils et le re'confort de son amitig, il facilita grandement le premier travail de redaction de cette etude. / Arts, Faculty of / French, Hispanic, and Italian Studies, Department of / Graduate

Texte remanié de : Diss. : Freie Universität : Berlin, 1998. / Résumé en français. Bibliogr. p. 248-266.

Texte remanié de : Thèse 3# cycle : Lettres : Paris VIII : 1982. / Bibliogr. p. 231-237. Index.

Texte remanié de : Thèse de doctorat : Lettres : Paris 4 : 1982. / Bibliogr. p. [471]-475. Notes bibliogr. Index.

Thèse de doctorat : Littérature comparée : Paris 12 : 2005. / Titre provenant de l'écran-titre. Bibliogr. f. 325-356. Index.