
By Honore De Balzac
STUDY OF A WOMAN
ADDENDUM - The following personages appear in other stories of the Human Comedy.
The story follows the poised Marquise de Listomere, a young woman raised in the strict yet fashionable world of post‑Napoleonic France. She balances devout religiosity with the glitter of balls and salons, presenting a flawless façade of virtue that serves both personal conviction and family ambition. Married to the unremarkable but respectable Marquis, she navigates courtly life with a calm authority that both fascinates and unnerves those around her.
When a lively, talented young gentleman named Eugène de Rastignac enters her circle, their conversation becomes a subtle dance of wit and observation. The narrative captures the delicate interplay of attraction, social expectation, and the quiet power the Marquise wields in a world that often dismisses women’s agency. Through their exchange, listeners glimpse the intricate choreography of ambition and propriety that defines Parisian society at the turn of the nineteenth century.
Language
en
Duration
~21 minutes (20K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by John Bickers, and Dagny, and David Widger
Release date
2005-10-07
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.
View all books
by Honoré de Balzac

by Honoré de Balzac

by Honoré de Balzac

by Honoré de Balzac

by Honoré de Balzac

by Honoré de Balzac

by Honoré de Balzac

by Honoré de Balzac