Josepha Mirah’s home. Madame Khulo’s cousin Bette (also called Lizabeth), held in her heart envy to her successful relatives. Adeline and Hulot’s brother seem to die of fatigue and grief. Bette also anonymously has Steinbock imprisoned for his unpaid debts. In Cousin Bette, a change in living quarters represents a character’s move, deliberately or not, from one social or moral level to another. Though Steinbock has little money, Adeline agrees to their marriage, but the engagement is kept from Bette. Bette is one of several Balzacian characters who revenge themselves on their betters. Cousin Bette is a poor and lonely seamstress, who, after the death of her prominent and wealthy sister, tries to ingratiate herself into lives of her brother-in-law, Baron Hulot, and her niece, Hortense Hulot. The first third of the book is devoted to the history of the main characters. Bette introduces Crevel (whose mistress Hulot once stole) to Madame Marneffe and he becomes a … Bette treats the sculptor maternally but loves him with a jealous affection. The Seine literally and figuratively divides Paris. In the mid-nineteenth century, as in the twenty-first, Parisians’ social status was often indicated by the location of their homes. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe. The lesson is, then, that money buys status, immorality prospers in the Paris of King Louis-Philippe, and goodness and Christian conduct meet with pain and humiliation. This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience. The novel is meant as a companion piece to Cousin Pons (see this database) in which a male cousin seeks revenge on his family. Peasant woman, possessing no beauty compared of her cousins, 42-year-old Bette has rejected several offers of marriage from men of the middle class, and is still single. Bette's father and Adeline's father were two of the Fischer brothers. First published: 1847-8. Balzac’s description of the neighborhood offers an interesting version of nineteenth century Parisian urban renewal.... Start your 48-hour free trial to unlock this Cousin Bette study guide and get instant access to the following: You'll also get access to more than 30,000 additional guides and 300,000 Homework Help questions answered by our experts. Translated by Marion Crawford. Here he records the greed and guilty passion that motivates Parisian social disease. Bette's father and Adeline's father were two of the Fischer brothers. She files legal papers to record the financial support she has given him. Adeline then dies, her emotional reserves exhausted. Cousin Bette is the old maid of the family, and her lover is a sculptor and Polish refugee named Count Steinbock. Cousin Bette by Honoré de Balzac is more the story of an entire family rather than that of one person. Paris slum in which Baroness Hulot finds her fallen husband. Thus develop Bette’s various roles in the novel, of go-between, procuress, confidant, and spy. © 2020 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Hortense, whose dowry is shrinking daily, mindlessly amuses herself by teasing Bette about her "lover", the sculptor, Count Steinbock, who lives above Bette’s apartment. Cousin Bette is bitter towards the Baron and his family because they treat her like a servant. Bette's father and Adeline's father were two of the Fischer brothers. Oscars Best Picture Winners Best Picture Winners Golden Globes Emmys STARmeter Awards San Diego Comic-Con New York Comic-Con Sundance Film Festival Toronto Int'l Film Festival Awards Central Festival Central All Events Lisbeth Fischer, known to her family and friends as Bette, has harbored a resentment against her cousin Adeline Hulot since childhood. Cousin Bette by Honore de Balzac, or La Cousine Bette in French, was written and published in 1846. Meanwhile, Madame Marneffe seduces Steinbock. Bette comes to have free access to the homes (and confidence) of all the major characters and pits them against one another. She secretly has under her protection Count Steinbock, a young sculptor, but as his patroness, not his lover. The luxury of her home near the Palais Royal, on the Right Bank of the Seine, stuns Baroness Hulot. In Honoré de Balzac’s vision, the reign of King Louis-Philippe (who ruled France from 1830 to 1848) was characterized by the transcendence of material appearances over moral attributes. Our summaries and analyses are written by experts, and your questions are answered by real teachers. She then secures her power by telling each of her lovers that he is the father of her unborn child. Cousin Bette by Honoré de Balzac is more the story of an entire family rather than that of one person. Cousin Bette is set entirely in central Paris—indeed, the claustrophobic settings of the characters’ scheming change only to the extent that the characters visit one another or move from one dwelling to another. eNotes.com will help you with any book or any question. Hortense decides she must meet Steinbock and the two fall in love at first sight. Hulot reaches the end of the line shortly thereafter, when it is discovered that he has been stealing money from the government. In Cousin Bette, a change in living quarters represents a character’s move, deliberately or not, from one social or moral level to another. Lisbeth Fischer, known to her family and friends as Bette, has harbored a resentment against her cousin Adeline Hulot since childhood. Learn more. Passage du Soleil (pah-saj dew soh-lay). While the Baroness remains virtuous, her husband throws his money away on loose women. Failing to do so, she instead finds solace and company in … Baron Hulot’s mistress leaves him and he becomes invoved with Madame Marneffe, the wife of one of his employees. Political, social, and cultural center of France, even more so in the nineteenth century than in the twenty-first. Got it! Lisbeth Fischer, known to her family and friends as Bette, has harbored a resentment against her cousin Adeline Hulot since childhood. She plans to seduce God. Madame Marneffe and Crevel also meet miserable ends. With her dying breath, however, Madame Marneffe still plays the seductress. The contrast between the opulence of what Josepha has earned by the sale of her honor and what the Baroness has been left with in defending her moral and Christian principles is a striking juxtaposition. The financial support she has given him Hulot once stole ) to Marneffe., even more so in the mid-nineteenth century, as in the twenty-first, Parisians ’ social status often! 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