The Fatal Skin: A Tale of Desire and Despair by Balzac
The Fatal Skin (1831) by Honoré de Balzac
Summary
The Fatal Skin is an early nineteenth-century novel that tells the story of a young man named Raphael Valentin who wants to commit suicide. Before doing so, he enters an antique shop where he is sold a piece of shagreen. This skin grants wishes but shrinks with each wish, representing the depletion of the owner’s life force. Initially skeptical, Raphael is convinced of the skin’s power after witnessing its effects. He indulges in his desires, but as the skin shrinks, he realizes the cost of his wishes. Pauline, a woman in love with him, tries to save him from his self-destructive path. The novel explores the conflict between desire and the limitations of life, ultimately leading to Raphael’s tragic demise.
Analysis
The Fatal Skin belongs to Balzac’s series of novels known as La Comédie humaine. It was a successful novel, leading to a second edition with added stories. While incorporating fantastic elements, the novel primarily focuses on a realistic representation of society, particularly the excesses of materialism. Balzac’s renowned attention to detail is evident in his descriptions of various settings, such as a gambling house, an antique shop, and a royal banquet. The novel also draws from Balzac’s own life as a struggling writer, with the protagonist’s living conditions mirroring his own early experiences.
The central theme of the book is the conflict between desire and mortality. The magic skin symbolizes the life force of its owner, diminishing with each act of will. The novel consists of three sections: “The Talisman,” “A Woman Without a Heart,” and “Agony,” followed by a two-page epilogue. Although Balzac preferred the term “philosophical,” his novel is based on a fantastic premise. This inclusion of the fantastic serves as a framework for exploring human nature and society.
In The Fatal Skin, the talisman represents both Valentin’s soul and his impending death, symbolizing social decline. The novel’s true focus lies in the energy of human desire and the nature of society after the July Revolution. Balzac likely modeled the protagonist, Valentin Raphael, after himself. Details about Valentin’s impoverished living conditions allude to Balzac’s early struggles. Balzac himself attended a banquet similar to the one described in the novel, hosted by the Marquis de Las Marismas, who planned to launch a newspaper—a situation mirroring Valentin’s experience after his first wish. Some critics believe that the characters Pauline and Fedora resemble a platonic love and a lover of Balzac’s.
Other Works by Balzac
- Cromwell (1820)
- The Last Chuan (1829)
- The Human Comedy (1832)
- Eugénie Grandet (1833)
- Le Père Goriot (1835)
- Avant-propos (1842)
- Lost Illusions (1843)
- Splendor and Misery of the Courtesans (1843)
- Cousin Pons (1847)
- Cousin Bette (1848)
Honoré de Balzac: A Brief Biography
Honoré de Balzac was a prominent French novelist of the first half of the nineteenth century and a leading figure in the realist movement, alongside Flaubert. Balzac’s realism is characterized by his vivid and accurate descriptions of Paris, his characters, and the emphasis on money in his works.
Balzac was born in Tours to a bourgeois family. His childhood was marked by emotional detachment from his parents. He was entrusted to a nurse until the age of four and experienced a cold and distant relationship with his parents upon returning home. Despite attending boarding schools, his academic performance was poor. After completing his studies, his family moved to Paris, where he faced a difficult period and reportedly attempted suicide. In 1816, he began studying law and developed an interest in Emanuel Swedenborg. Upon graduating, he declined a job offer from a family friend and moved to Paris in 1819, where he remained until 1821. In 1827, he engaged in unsuccessful publishing ventures that left him in debt.
Balzac had an affair with Madame de Berny, who was fifteen years his senior and introduced him to Parisian society. This marked the beginning of his literary success, and he later met the great love of his life, Ewelina Hanska. In 1850, after facing financial and health problems and overcoming the Tsar’s prohibition, Balzac married Countess Hanska in Wierzchownia, Ukraine. They moved to a lavish residence near Paris, but Balzac’s health deteriorated during the return trip. He suffered from various ailments until his death five months later. On the day of his death, he was visited by his friend and admirer Victor Hugo, who delivered a famous eulogy. His funeral was attended by prominent figures such as Frédéric Lemaître, Gustave Courbet, Alexandre Dumas fils, and many others.