Part of La Comédie Humaine
First published 2009
Honoré de Balzac turns his sharp wit on the everyday frustrations that plague married life. Through a series of vignettes and observations, he examines the small but persistent annoyances that accumulate between husbands and wives. Balzac suggests that marital happiness requires either a genius married to a tender, intelligent woman, or two people who happen to be particularly stupid. His biting irony cuts through romantic illusions to reveal the petty grievances, minor betrayals, and mundane disappointments that characterize domestic life. Originally published in serialized form in French periodicals like "Le Diable à Paris," "La Caricature," and "La Presse" in 1847, this work revisits themes Balzac first explored in his earlier "Physiology of Marriage" from 1829. The French master of storytelling casts an amused and ironic eye on these small domestic miseries, creating a sparkling commentary on the gap between marital expectations and reality.
Genres: classic-literature, essays, french-literature, domestic-fiction, humor, 19th-century
Vibes: biting, ironic, observational, thought-provoking, witty
Tropes: social-satire, unreliable-expectations, vignettes
Setting: France
Period: 1847, 19th century