I read Balzac's novel "Gobsek". In this story, the author tells about the life story of Gobsek. This man was engaged in usury in Paris. He did not see anything shameful in his profession, he devoted himself entirely to this. During his life, Gobsek met many people. He saw worthy people on the verge of poverty, the rich, who deserved contempt. Gobsek sincerely admires honest people. He tries to make money on everything and everyone. He even agrees to lend money to his friend Derville at interest.
Throughout life, there is less and less in the character of Gobsek positive qualities. The people around him cause him less and less sympathy. He does not want to give the inheritance to the young Comte de Restaud. But the thirst for money in this work suffered not only Gobsek, but also the Countess de Restaud. In the heat of anger at her dead husband, out of fear for the future of her children, she burns her husband's papers. Because of this, the entire inheritance passes into the power of Gobsek. The narrator tries to milk Gobseck for the return of de Resto's inheritance, but Gobsek refuses to do so.
At the end of his life, Gobsek turns out to be a lonely rich man. He is insanely rich, but lives a beggarly lifestyle. After his death, the narrator discovered untold riches. It was gold gems, pates, sausages, coffee beans, sugar, spices and much more. The worst thing was that most of product was damaged. Gobsek, because of his irrepressible greed, could not agree on a price with merchants in order to sell them these goods. As a result, they deteriorated and disappeared without bringing any benefit.
This was precisely the pernicious power of money over Gobsek and over the Comtesse de Restaud.
Gold! Streams of gold. To carry out our
whims, need time, need material
opportunity or effort. Well!
In gold everything is contained in the germ, and it gives everything
in fact.
O. Balzac
From 1830 to 1848, Balzac created three versions of the novel, gradually tightening the image of the protagonist, the usurer Gobsek, whose last name is not accidentally translated as "crookshanks." Moneylender - characteristic figure for the heyday of a capitalist society, when a merchant needs to intercept a large sum in order not to miss a profitable deal when a burnt-out aristocrat is ready to pawn family jewels, if only to live in familiar luxury, for which he no longer has enough funds.
Gobsek - a prime example how the lust for profit can distort human life. In his youth, he sailed as a cabin boy on a ship, visited India and America, was exposed to dangers, looked for treasures, fought, made several times and lost his fortune, and eventually ended up in Paris, where he lived modestly in a squalid room, similar to a monastery cell. But from this cell, he, like tentacles, reached out to the most fashionable mansions in Paris. His whole life was subordinated to the only goal - the accumulation of money. Gold was for Gobsek a symbol of power over others. He not only robbed and ruined, no, he peered intently into the lives of those around him, soberly assessing not only wallets, but also souls. Weary cynicism was combined in Gobsek's nature with impeccable honesty (having received from the Countess de Resto a diamond, the value of which exceeded the payment on the bill, he returns two hundred francs at the first opportunity). The usurer is a subtle psychologist who correctly and accurately judges people. Here are his remarks about the Comte de Restaud, the deceived and almost ruined husband of the lovely countess: “The count is dying. His soul is tender. Such people do not know how to cope with grief, and it kills them. Gobsek is able to touch the crucifix over the girlish bed of Fanny Malvo, he does not remain indifferent to the bright charms of the countess, and at the same time the old man is ruthless and scrupulous in money matters. Even to the lawyer Derville, who enjoyed his favor, Gobsek lends only at interest, explaining this in a very peculiar way: “My son, I have saved you from gratitude, I have given you the right to think that you do not owe me anything. And that’s why we are the best friends in the world.” In the end, his stinginess becomes manic: after the death of the old man, Derville finds in the neighboring rooms rotting mountains of food, covered with mold, stale goods that Gobsek was unable to part with. The power of money leads to the fact that this intelligent, strong-willed and in his own way fair man dies a miserable death without even enjoying the fruits of his efforts.
No less than Gobsek suffer from the power of money those characters who at first seem to be the victims of the usurer. In fact, the Countess de Resto, ready for anything for the sake of her lover, and the brilliant socialite the marquis de Tray, who takes advantage of her weakness and makes him pay his debts, people are more dishonorable than father Gobsec. The countess not only ruins her children, she is ready for any blasphemy in order to destroy the will, which, as it seems to her, dooms her to poverty. material from the site
But they are not the only ones. The action of the novel begins in the mansion of the Viscountess de Granlier, whose daughter is in love with the eldest son of the Countess de Resto. The scandalous reputation of the Countess makes marriage between them impossible. But the lawyer Derville tells the story of the life and death of Gobsek, who managed to save and increase the fortune of the late count. Now Erast de Resto is a rich heir. And this dramatically changes the attitude of the viscountess towards him. She is not interested in the mind and soul young man when he is rich. And now you can reconcile with his mother: money and an old coat of arms will replace virtue. This is well understood by Derville, who, although an integral part of the bustling business world, has retained his responsiveness and desire to help people.
This is the essence of Balzac's human science: he does not exalt anyone and does not brand anyone completely. Severely he judges only the foundations of bourgeois society, where the power of money entails crime and vices.
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The work of Honore de Balzac became the pinnacle of development Western European realism XIX century. Creative manner the writer absorbed all the best from such masters artistic word like Rabelais, Shakespeare, Scott and many others. At the same time, Balzac brought a lot of new things to literature. One of the most significant monuments of this outstanding writer became the story "Gobsek".
The story in a concentrated form reflects Balzac's understanding of the laws of the bourgeois world, which came to him during his work in a notary's office. The writer saw from the inside and therefore could so vividly portray the whole "oiled mechanism of any wealth." And in his story, he reveals the whole essence of bourgeois society, where robbery, betrayal, dirty machinations are in the law. With all the power of drama, the author demonstrates countless tragedies generated by the dominance of sales relations in society, typical conflicts on the basis of "omnipotence, omniscience, all the goodness of money." Struggle for
the state no longer becomes an addition or a detail, but the basis of the plot, the central idea of the entire narrative.
Main character story - a millionaire usurer - one of the rulers of the new France. His image is very complex and contradictory. “Two creatures live in it: a miser and a philosopher, a vile creature and an exalted one,” the lawyer Derville says about him. The past of the hero is rather uncertain: perhaps he was a corsair and plowed all the seas and oceans, traded in people and state secrets. Full of mysteries too real life. The origins of his immense wealth are unknown. But one thing is beyond doubt - this is an exceptional, strong personality, endowed with a deep philosophical mindset. Gobsek is able to notice small parts and with unique insight to judge the world, life and man. These qualities of the hero are in some sense even sympathetic to the author. However, unfortunately, Gobsek directs his mind and insight into the wrong direction. Exploring the laws of the world, he comes to the conclusion that “all the forces of mankind are concentrated in gold ... what is life, if not a machine driven by money? Gold is the spiritual essence of the whole society.” Everything revolves around money. public life, all the thoughts of people are directed only to gold. And having come to such an understanding of the laws of life, Gobsek makes such an ideology a guide to his own actions. Money completely enslaved his mind and thoughts. “This old man,” says Derville, “suddenly grew in my eyes, became a fantastic figure, the personification of gold.” Yes, Gobseck's cult of gold is consecrated by the philosophically meaningful power of money and causes some social activity of the hero. However, gold has already become for him the very goal and content of his whole life, gradually ousting from his soul all the positive principles that might possibly have manifested under other circumstances. By lending money at incredibly high interest rates, the usurer openly robbed people, shamelessly taking advantage of their plight, extreme need and complete dependence on him. Callous, soulless, he has become not even just cruel man, but "man-machine", "man-promissory note".
The destructive principle contained in the hoarding passion, the passion for money, caused Balzac's irreconcilable critical attitude towards the bourgeoisie, who sought to assert their dominance in society with the help of gold. The image of Gobsek became for its creator a living embodiment of that powerful predatory force that irresistibly made its way to power, stopping at nothing, using any, even the lowest and meanest means to achieve its goal, and not for a second doubting itself. The author tried to understand the essence of this force, its origins, in order to reveal all its foundations as vividly and truthfully as possible, to expose, to show the world in all its meanness and baseness, to awaken human consciousness, morality, morality in people. The writer strongly criticizes the material interests on which the policy was based, government, laws. And he does it so convincingly and truthfully that, according to F. Engels, we learn more from his books, "than from the books of all specialists - historians, economists, statisticians of this period, taken together."
Subject: Honore de Balzac. The story "Gobsek". Image destructive power money in the story of O. de Balzac "Gobsek"
Objective: To help students understand deeply and consciously ideological content story, formulate the problems posed in it; improve the ability to characterize the images of heroes, analyze artistic text, compare images; develop logical and abstract thinking, coherent speech; cultivate high moral qualities.
Equipment: a portrait of Balzac, illustrations for the story, tables, an epigraph on the board.
Lesson form: lesson - press conference
Two creatures live in it:
miser and philosopher, vile
being and sublime
O. Balzac
During the classes
I. Org. moment.
II. Teacher greeting.
Hello students, hello teachers and guests. I am glad to see everyone at our lesson. And the lesson today will not be easy, its topic is ____________________________________________________________. Our lesson will be held in the form of a press conference, so now I invite you to take your seats actors our conference ahead of the class, and the rest today are not just students, they are correspondents of various well-known Ukrainian and foreign publishing houses. They will express their opinion, they will ask our heroes various tricky problematic issues and demonstrate their knowledge and skills.
ІІІ. introduction teachers.
Great writers, like Columbus, perfecting their immortal feat open up new worlds for us. Balzac amazed his contemporaries with a discovery in society. An abyss appeared before the astonished gaze of the artist. He looked into it and realized that no work, even a perfect one, can contain the drama. modern life. He dedicated all his work to her.
Imagine that the writer Balzac is present at our lesson, some of his literary heroes, literary critic. They will tell us about themselves, about the era in which they lived.
Question to Balzac.
What can you tell us about yourself?
Balzac: Born in Tours, France, in 1799. I am the son of a wealthy peasant named Balse, which made me extremely sad, so I changed the name to "Balzac" and added a "de" in front - a sign of noble origin.
Question to Balzac.
Tell us about the years of study, about creative activity.
Balzac: Went to college, then law school. He worked as a scribe in a notary's office, but without interest. He asked his father for a two-year term in order to become a writer. Got poor content.
Literary critic: (adds and reads quickly)
“The walls of the attic let the winter cold through. It blows from all cracks. The young man tangles himself in an old shawl that his sister sent him, tucks his cold feet under him, warms his reddened fingers with his breath and writes, writes. At work, he even forgets that he is hungry, and he is constantly hungry this winter. His parents send him very little money. It was free for him to take up the dubious craft of literature, abandoning the honorary career of a lawyer! But neither the father nor the strict and capricious mother managed to break the recalcitrant. The young man is firm in his decision. He did not yet know what and how he would write about, but he was convinced that he was creating something great, significant.
Question to Balzac.
What was typical, in your opinion, for the era in which you lived?
Balzac: 20-30s were a time of rapid development natural sciences And philosophical thought in Europe. In France, this is the period of the Restoration and the June Monarchy. I am first in Western European literature tried to start artistic research devices of modern society, their everyday life, their struggle for power and gold, their intrigues and secrets. It seemed that I was able to penetrate into the most hidden corners human heart, depicting the prose of life.
Question to Balzac.
When did fame come to you?
Balzac: The first novel from which I can be considered an accomplished writer is Chouans (1979), then in 1830 I wrote the novels House of the Cat Playing Ball, Conjugal Consent, Gobsek, Silhouette Women" and many others, which are combined in the series "Human Comedies".
Question to Balzac.
Did you think of a piece about modern society, but did not you find this task too difficult?
Balzac: Yes, if I undertook to write only one novel and in it to say everything about my time, it would be impossible. But I decided to write 144 novels by combining them common name"Human Comedies" Managed to write 95.
Question to Balzac.
Where did you find strength in yourself and draw a source of inspiration?
(to tell a little about Balzac's acquaintance with Evelina Ganskaya).
Question to Balzac.
How do you connect your life with Ukraine?
IV. Teacher's message about the history of the story.
The story "Gobsek" became one of the pinnacles of Balzac's work and all world literature. It has three editions. The first version was created in 1830 (wrote an essay for the magazine "Fashion", which was called "Pawnbroker"). In 1835 appears new edition"Papa Gobsek", the third - "Gobsek".
Genre and composition complex work. Genre novella (short epic work with a plot, often with an unexpected ending). Almost all elements this genre are present in the work.
V. Teacher's questions to all correspondents.
What can you say about the composition of the story? What is its feature?
Gobseck's story is a story within a story. It is not the narrator who tells about the extraordinary figure of the usurer Gobsek, but the narrator, the lawyer Derville. (The composition is circular, retrospective, it was intended for a more complete and deep disclosure of the image of the protagonist of the work).
Question for Derville:
What is your social status, profession? How does the author feel about you?
Derville: I come from a democratic environment, a lawyer, "solicitor, a man of high integrity, knowledgeable, modest, with good manners, became a friend of the Granlier family. By his behavior towards Madame de Grandlier, he achieved honor and clientele in best houses Faubourg Saint-Germain"
(10 years of dating)
Derville: Firstly, I am his friend, and secondly, we are people of the same profession. Perhaps it will be immodest, but I am an experienced lawyer who perfectly knows the "kitchen" of entrepreneurship and savings. Thirdly, Balzac himself sympathizes with me.
Question for Derville:
Who first heard your story about Gobsek?
Derville: Members of the de Grandlier family.
Question for Gobsek:
What is your origin? What does your last name mean?
Gobsek: Translated from English as "crookshanks".
Tell us about your youth and youth.
Gobsek: Mother is Jewish, father is Dutch, full name Jean Esther van Gobseck. At the age of 10, my mother attached me as a cabin boy on a ship (sailed from the East Indies, where I wandered for 12 years. I tried everything to get rich: I was looking for a treasure, had a relationship with the ups and downs of the US War of Independence, was a corsair, etc.)
Question for Gobsek:
Which moral lessons, did you carry out ideals from your turbulent youth and maturity?
Gobsek: Often, in order to save a life, I had to sacrifice moral principles. “Of all earthly blessings, there is only one that is reliable enough to make it worth a man to chase after him. Is this gold. All the forces of mankind are concentrated in gold... Man is the same everywhere: everywhere there is a struggle between the poor and the rich, everywhere. And it is inevitable. So it’s better to push yourself than to let others push you.”
Question for Gobsek:
Why did you choose to be a pawnbroker? Who are your clients?
Gobsek: I got rich in criminal operations and now I don't have to risk my life for the sake of wealth. My position is strong and stable in society. Under my control are the golden youth, actors and artists, socialites, players - the most entertaining part of Parisian society.
Question for Gobsek:
What is your life credo? What do you believe?
Gobsek: Money is a commodity that can be bought and sold profitably. I believe in the limitless power and power of gold. "Gold is the spiritual value of today's society." Only gold can give a person absolute, real power over the world.
Question to Fanny Malvo:
How is your fate connected with papa Gobsek? How are yours with Derville?
Why does Balzac, with merciless criticism, fall in his story not on Gobseck, but on representatives high society: Comtesse de Restaud and Maxime de Tray?
In the character of Maxime de Tray we will not find a single positive trait. The narrator calls him "an elegant scoundrel". “Fear him like the devil,” Derville whispered in the ear of the old man. "It's a real killer."
Question for Derville:
What is the strength of Maxime de Tray's influence on people?
He is good at manipulating people. He is able to find the innermost strings in every person and play the right melody on them.
Question for a literary critic:
Who is Maxime de Tray? What relationship does he have with the Comtesse de Resto?
What has the Countess de Restaud stained herself with?
What episode that Derville saw horrified him?
Do you think that Maxime de Tray is a kind of Gobsek's double in the story?
Yes, because the hero himself says about this: “We are necessary for each other, like soul and body.”
Gobsek is a shrewd person, he perfectly knows the low and insidious nature of people like Maxime de Tray, therefore he refuses to accept his challenge to a duel, ending his speech with very precise words: “To shed your blood, you must have it, my dear, but you have dirt instead of blood. The author says: "In this large Gobsek was an insatiable boa constrictor." What is it about?
He received a fidelcommission, i.e. legal law use someone else's property to transfer it later to a third party.
How does Gobsek behave in this situation?
(He behaves with dignity, he did not take advantage of the favorable situation and did not "warm his hands" on the earl's inheritance, but, on the contrary, increased it).
Until he came of age, Gobsek singled out extremely meager content to the son of the Count de Restaud - Ernest. How does he explain this decision?
Gobsek (you can ask the class a question):
"Misfortune - the best teacher. In misfortune, he will learn a lot, learn the value of money, the value of people - both men and women. Let him float on the waves of the Parisian sea. And when he becomes a skilled pilot, we will make him a captain.”
Question for Derville:
Have you solved the riddle of Gobsek? What did you see in Gobsek's office when the invalid came for you? (p. 67-68, read out)
“Although I set myself the goal of studying him, I must, to my shame, admit that until the last minute his soul remained a mystery to me behind seven locks.”
“Does it all come down to money?” - this question tormented Derville.
VII. Checking homework.
The author concludes his account of the life and death of the usurer with a description of his wealth. The result of the hero's life is deplorable, all the good he has acquired has fallen into disrepair, remained unclaimed. Gain, the power that Gobsek possessed, swallowed up the best values of the world: friendship, love of loved ones.
Let's hear how the "sharks of the pen" answered this question.
(Students read their miniature essays)
VIII. Final word teachers.
The image of the miser appears in the poem " Dead Souls"(Plyushkin). "Miserly" is found in Molière's comedy, Alena Ivanovna (an old woman-interest-bearer) in Dostoevsky's novel "Crime and Punishment", a usurer from Gogol's story "Portrait". All these characters are negative, their authors denounce them for spiritual impoverishment and the desire to get rich at the expense of the weaknesses and misfortunes of other people.
Composition
The role of money in modern society main topic in the work of Balzac.
By creating \" human comedy\", Balzac set himself a task that was still unknown to literature at that time. He strove for truthfulness and a merciless display of contemporary France, showing the real, real life of his contemporaries.
One of the many themes that sound in his works is the theme of the destructive power of money over people, the gradual degradation of the soul under the influence of gold. This is particularly evident in two famous works Balzac-\"Gobsek\" and \"Eugen Grandet\".
Balzac's works have not lost their popularity in our time. They are popular both among young readers and among older people who draw the art of understanding from his works. human soul seeking to understand historical events. And for these people, Balzac's books are a real storehouse of life experience.
The usurer Gobsek is the personification of the power of money. Love for gold, thirst for enrichment kill everything in it human feelings, drown out all other beginnings.
The only thing he aspires to is to have more and more wealth. It seems absurd that a man who owns millions lives in poverty and, while collecting bills, prefers to walk without hiring a cab. But these actions are also due only to the desire to save at least a little money: living in poverty, Gobsek pays a tax of 7 francs with his millions.
Leading a modest, inconspicuous life, it would seem that he does not harm anyone and does not interfere in anything. But with those few people who turn to him for help, he is so merciless, so deaf to all their pleas, that he resembles some kind of soulless machine rather than a person. Gobsek does not try to get close to any person, he has no friends, the only people with whom he meets are his partners in the profession. He knows he has an heiress great-niece but does not seek to find it. He does not want to know anything about her, because she is his heiress, and it is hard for Gobsek to think about heirs, because he cannot accept the fact that he will someday die and part with his wealth.
Gobsek strives to spend his money as little as possible. vital energy, therefore, he does not worry, does not sympathize with people, always remains indifferent to everything around him.
Gobsek is convinced that only gold rules the world. However, the author endows him with some positive individual qualities. Gobsek is intelligent, observant, insightful and strong-willed person. In many of Gobseck's judgments, we see the position of the author himself. So, he believes that an aristocrat is no better than a bourgeois, but he hides his vices under the guise of decency and virtue. And he takes cruel revenge on them, enjoying his power over them, watching how they kowtow to him when they cannot pay their bills.
Turning into the personification of the power of gold, Gobsek at the end of his life becomes pathetic and ridiculous: accumulated food and expensive art objects rot in the pantry, and he bargains with merchants for every penny, not inferior to them in price. Gobsek dies, his eyes fixed on the huge pile of gold in the fireplace.
Papa Grande is a stocky "good man" with a moving bump on his nose, a figure not as mysterious and fantastic as Gobsek. His biography is quite typical: having made his fortune in the troubled years of the revolution, Grande becomes one of the most eminent citizens of Saumur. No one in the city knows the true extent of his fortune, and his wealth is a source of pride for all the inhabitants of the town. However, the rich man Grande is distinguished by outward good nature, gentleness. For himself and his family, he regrets an extra piece of sugar, flour, firewood to heat in the house, he does not repair the stairs, because he feels sorry for the nail.
Despite all this, he loves his wife and daughter in his own way, he is not as lonely as Gobsek, he has a certain circle of acquaintances who periodically visit him and support him. good relations. But still, because of his exorbitant stinginess, Grande loses all trust in people, in the actions of those around him he sees only attempts to get hold of him at his expense. He only pretends that he loves his brother and cares about his honor, but in reality he does only what is beneficial to him. He loves Nanette, but still shamelessly uses her kindness and devotion to him, exploits her mercilessly.
Passion for money makes him completely inhuman: he is afraid of the death of his wife because of the possibility of dividing property.
Taking advantage of his daughter's boundless trust, he forces her to renounce her inheritance. He perceives his wife and daughter as part of his property, so he is shocked that Evgenia herself dared to dispose of her gold. Grande cannot live without gold and often counts his wealth hidden in his study at night. Grande's insatiable greed is especially disgusting in the scene of his death: dying, he snatches a gilded cross from the priest's hands.
