Čiča Goriot / Eugenie Grandet

Balzac's works Père Goriot and Eugène Grandet, collected in one book, represent two extremely important novels from the human comedy of French realism. Although different in atmosphere and plot, both works are connected by a deep interest in the power of money, social rise, family ties and the moral price of ambition.

In Père Goriot, Balzac depicts Parisian society as a place of relentless struggle, hypocrisy and social cruelty. The fate of the old Goriot, who completely exhausts himself in love with his daughters, reveals the tragic power of parental sacrifice in a world in which feelings increasingly give way to interests. At the same time, through the character of Eugène de Rastignac, the novel also brings one of the most striking images of youthful ambition and entry into a society shaped by money, connections and cold calculation.

Eugène Grandet is a more intimate and peaceful novel, but equally sharp in its depiction of human relationships. At the center is young Eugenie, whose kindness, sensitivity, and capacity for love stand in contrast to the hardness, stinginess, and spiritual closure of her father. Here, Balzac brilliantly demonstrates how wealth does not necessarily bring breadth or nobility, but can become a means of emotional repression and the closure of life.

Together, these two novels provide a striking picture of a society in which money penetrates family, love, and morality. Balzac remains an exceptional observer of human weakness, but also of rare nobility, and this book still seems powerful, convincing, and surprisingly contemporary today.