MAIN PAGE
> Back to contents
Philosophy and Culture
Reference:
Konson, G. R.
Is Honore de Balzac’s Raphael de Valentin a Victim of or a Bearer of Catastrophism?
// Philosophy and Culture.
2014. ¹ 7.
P. 1038-1046.
URL: https://en.nbpublish.com/library_read_article.php?id=65295
Konson, G. R. Is Honore de Balzac’s Raphael de Valentin a Victim of or a Bearer of Catastrophism?
Abstract:
The subject under research is the moral essence of a young man Raphael de Valentin in Honore de Balzac’s novel
‘La Peau de Chagrin’ (‘The Magic Skin’). The main attention is paid to studying amoral qualities of the main character
who was after sensual pleasures and as a result, came to the idea of overindulgence. The author of the present article
focuses on the following paradox: what was the actual cause of the marquis’ death? Was it poverty, richness or any other
phenomena and forces that usually make a man to suicide? To answer this question, the author of the present article
views the image of Raphael de Valentin from the point of view of catastrophism hanging over Raphael. The research
method used by the author is based on the combination of the five types of analysis including legal, philosophical, psychological,
literary and musicological analysis. The scientific novelty of the research is expressed in several aspects. From
the point of view of legal studies, Raphael de Valentin is classified as an ‘accidental’ criminal with reference to others and
an ‘unstable’ criminal towards himself. From the point of view of philosophy, the image of Raphael developed from the
victim of catastrophism to the bearer of catastrophism and therefore a threat for the society and particular people, but
then he appeared to be the victim of catastrophism again or, in fact, the victim of his own desires. From the psychological
point of view, the marquis had a thinking stereotype which made him react similarly to different events and therefore
brought him to the continuous neurosis leading to the suicide. From the musicological point of view, Raphael’s conflict
had the three phases which allows to understand Raphael’s conflict as a psychological conflict between desire and ability,
i.e. desire and inability to achieve his desire. As a conclusion, the author establishes that the never-ending power and
control over the society granted by the Devil is just an unreal illusion. In Balzac’s novel the Devil’s almightiness was limited
by the three circumstances: quite an ‘average’ personality of the marquise, his blindness for true love and the fact that
Satan’s abilities were still less powerful than those of the higher forces.
Keywords:
Honore de Balzac, Raphael de Valentin, Foedora, man and devil, desire, talisman, catastrophism, soul and mind, death, image.
This article can be downloaded freely in PDF format for reading. Download article
This article written in Russian. You can find original text of the article here
.
References
1. Bal'zak O. Predislovie k «Chelovecheskoy komedii» // Bal'zak O. Chelovecheskaya komediya. Sobranie sochineniy v 24 tt. / Sost. D. Oblomievskiy. — M.: Pravda, 1960. T. I. — S. 21–38.
2. Bal'zak O. Shagrenevaya kozha // O. Bal'zak. Chelovecheskaya komediya: Etyudy o nravakh. Stseny sel'skoy zhizni // Sobranie sochineniy v 24 tt. / Per. B. Griftsova. — M.: Pravda, 1960. T. 18. — S. 337–591.
3. O. Bal'zak: Shagrenevaya kozha. URL: http://hohleinsidler.livejournal.com/9350.html.
4. Kantor V. K. O kodakh tsivilizatsii // Tsivilizatsii. Vypusk 2. — M., 1993. URL stat'i: http://www.gumer.info/bibliotek_Buks/History/Article/Kant_KodCiv.php. [Data obrashcheniya: 16.05.2013.]
5. Morua A. Prometey, ili zhizn' Bal'zaka / Per. s frants. N. Nemchinoy i Ya. Lesyuka; Predisl. F. Narkir'era; Red. E. Babun. — M.: Progress, 1967. — 639 s.
6. Priap / Bogi i bozhestva Gretsii. URL: http://www.greekroman.ru/priapus.htm. [Data obrashcheniya: 05.12.2012.]
7. Reizov B.G. Frantsuzskiy roman XIX veka: Ucheb. posob. dlya filolog. spetsial'nostey un-tov i ped. in-tov. Izd. 2-e. — M.: Vysshaya shkola, 1977. — 304 s.
Link to this article
You can simply select and copy link from below text field.
|