
A DRAMA ON THE SEASHORE
By Honore De Balzac
A DRAMA ON THE SEASHORE
ADDENDUM - The following personages appear in other stories of the Human Comedy.
A young narrator stands on a windswept rock overlooking the Atlantic, his mind racing with the grand ambitions of youth. He watches the sea’s endless rhythm while waiting for Pauline, whose playful presence turns the quiet cove into a private theater of love and imagination. Their walk along the silent beach becomes a meditation on hope, the fleeting brilliance of early adulthood, and the yearning to shape one’s destiny.
Their reverie is interrupted when a shabby fisherman returns to the shore, his bare feet and tattered clothes a stark contrast to the couple’s lofty dreams. The narrator and Pauline are moved by his poverty, feeling a sudden dissonance that challenges their romantic idealism. Yet the simple encounter hints at deeper questions about generosity, social inequality, and the true cost of pursuing one’s vision.
Language
en
Duration
~42 minutes (40K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by John Bickers, and Dagny, and David Widger
Release date
1998-08-01
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1799–1850
A giant of French fiction, this restless, ambitious storyteller built a whole literary world in La Comédie humaine, capturing the dreams, vanities, and struggles of 19th-century society. His novels still feel lively because they care so much about money, power, love, and the ways people reinvent themselves.
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