Women in the Life of Balzac/Chapter II/Part II
"To the Casket containing all things delightful; to the Elixir of
Virtue, of Grace, and of Beauty; to the Gem, to the Prodigy of all
Normandy; to the Pearl of the Bayeux; to the Fairy of St.
Laurence; to the Madonna of the Rue Teinture; to the Guardian
Angel of Caen, to the Goddess of Enchanting Spells; to the
Treasury of all Friendship—to Laura!"
Two years younger than Balzac, his sister Laure, not only played an important part in his life, but after his death rendered valuable service by writing his life and publishing a part of his correspondence.[1] Being reared by the same nurse as he, and having had the same home environment, she was the first of his intimate companions, and throughout a large part of his life remained one of the most sympathetic of all his confidantes. As children they loved each other tenderly, and his chivalrous protection of her led to his being punished more than once without betraying her childish guilt. Once when she arrived in time to confess, he asked her to avow nothing the next time, as he liked to be scolded for her.
He it was who accompanied her to dances, but having had the misfortune to slip and fall on one such occasion he was so sensitive to the amused smiles of the ladies that he gave up dancing, and decided to dominate society otherwise than by the graces and talents of the drawing-room. Thus it was that he became merely a spectator of these festivities, the memory of which he utilized later.
It was to Laure that, in the strictest confidence, he sent the plan of his first work, the tragedy Cromwell, writing it to be a surprise to the rest of the family when finished. To her he looked for moral support, asking her to have faith in him, for he needed some one to believe in him. To her also he confided his ambitions early in his career, saying that his two greatest desires were to be famous and to be loved.
Laure was married in May, 1820, to M. Midi de la Greneraye Surville, and moved from her home in Villeparisis to Bayeux. When she became homesick Balzac wrote her cheerful letters, suggesting various means of employing her time. His admiration of her was such that he even asked her to select for him a wife of her own type. He explained to her that his affection was not diminished an atom by distance or by silence, for there are torrents which make a terrible to-do and yet their beds are dry in a few days, and there are waters which flow quietly, but flow forever.
Madame Surville seems to have been the impersonation of discretion and appreciation; she was intimately acquainted with all the characters in his work and made valuable suggestions; he was most happy when discussing plans with her. He longed to have his glory reflect on his family and make the name of Balzac illustrious. When carried away with some beautiful idea, he seemed to hear her tender voice encouraging him. He felt that were it not for her devotion to the duties of her home, their intimacy might have become even more precious and that stimulated by a literary atmosphere she might herself have become a writer.
He consulted her frequently with regard to literary help, once asking her to use all her cleverness in writing out fully her ideas on the subject of the Deux Rencontres, about which she had told him, for he wished to insert them in the Femme de trente Ans. As early as 1822 she received a similar request asking her to prepare for him a manuscript of the Vicaire des Ardennes; she was to prepare the first volume and he would finish it. And many years later (1842), Balzac asked his sister to furnish him with ideas for a story for young people. After the name of this story had been changed a few times, it was published under the title of Un Debut dans la Vie. This explains why Balzac used the following words in dedicating it to her: "To Laure. May the brilliant and modest intellect that gave me the subject of this scene have the honor of it!" This, however, was not the first time he had honored her by dedicating one of his works to her, for in 1835 he inscribed to "Almae Sorori" a short story, Les Proscrits.
Balzac was often depressed, and felt that even his own family was not in sympathy with his efforts; he told his sister that the universe would be startled at his works before his relations or friends would believe in their existence. Yet he knew that they did appreciate him to a certain extent, for his sister wrote him that in reading the Recherche de l'Absolu, and thinking that her own brother was the author of it, she wept for joy.
In his youth, at all events, Balzac seems to have had no secrets from his sister, and it is to her that the much disputed letter of Saturday, October 12, 1833, was addressed. Their friendship was sincere and devoted; and yet there were coolnesses, caused largely by the influence of their mother,—and of M. Surville, whose jealous and tyrannical disposition prevented their seeing each other as frequently as they would have liked. She once celebrated her birthday by visiting her brother, but she held her watch in her hand as she had only twenty minutes for the meeting. For awhile, he could not visit her; later, this estrangement was overcome, and after the first presentation of his play Vautrin (1840), his sister cared for him in her home during his illness.
Madame Surville performed many duties for her brother but was not always skilful in allaying the demands of his creditors. On Balzac's return from a visit to Madame Hanska in Vienna, he found that his affairs were in great disorder, and that his sister, frightened at the conditions, had pawned his silverware. In planning at a later date to leave France, however, he did not hesitate to entrust his treasures to his sister, saying that she would be a most faithful "dragon." He was also wisely thoughtful of her; on one occasion when she had gone to a masked ball contrary to her husband's wishes, Balzac went after her and took her home without giving her time to go round the room.
She evidently had more influence over their mother than had he, for he asked her when on the verge of taking Madame de Balzac into his home again, to assist him in making her reasonable:
"If she likes, she can be very happy, but tell her that she must
encourage happiness and not frighten it away. She will have near
her a confidential attendant and a servant, and that she will be
taken care of in the way she likes. Her room is as elegant as I
can make it. . . . Make her promise not to object to what I wish
her to do as regards her dress: I do not wish her to be dressed
otherwise than as she ought to be, it would give me great
pain . . ."
During his prolonged stay in Russia, he requested his sister to conceal from their mother the true condition of his illness and the uncertainty of his marriage, and to entreat her to avoid anything in her letters which might cause him pain. Feeling that she would never have allowed such a thing had she known of it, he informed her in detail concerning their mother's letter which had caused him endless trouble.
While Madame Surville was a great stimulus to Balzac early in his literary career, she in turn received the deepest sympathy from him in her financial struggle, and, while he was so happy and was living in such luxury in Russia, he only regretted that he could not assist her, for he had enjoyed hospitality in her home.
Madame Surville had at least one of her mother's traits—that of continually harassing Balzac by trying to marry him to some rich woman; once she had even chosen for him the goddaughter of Louis-Philippe. But the most serious breach of relations between the two resulted from her failure to approve of Balzac's adoration of Madame Hanska. While admitting the extreme beauty of the celebrated Daffinger portrait, she was jealous of his Predilecta. When she saw the bound proofs of La Femme superieure which he had intended for Madame Hanska, she felt that she was being neglected. In the end, he robbed his Chatelaine to the profit of his cara sorella. But when she became impatient at Balzac's prolonged stay at Wierzchownia, he resented it, explaining that marriage is like cream—a change of atmosphere would spoil it,—that bad marriages could be made with the utmost ease, but good ones required infinite precautions and scrupulous attention. He tried to make her see the advantage of this marriage, writing her:
"Consider, dear Laura, none of us are as yet, so to speak,
arrived; if, instead of being obliged to work in order to live,
I had become the husband of one of the cleverest, the best-born,
and best-connected of women, who is also possessed of a solid
though circumscribed fortune, in spite of the wish of the lady to
live retired, to have no intercourse even with the family, I
should still be in a position to be much better able to be of use
to you all. I have the certainty of the warm kindness and lively
interest which Madame Hanska takes in the dear children. Thus it
is more than a duty in my mother, and all belonging to me, to do
nothing to hinder me from the happy accomplishment of a union
which before all is my happiness. Again, it must not be
forgotten that this lady is illustrious, not only on account of
her high descent, but for her great reputation for wit, beauty,
and fortune (for she is credited with all the millions of her
daughter); she is constantly receiving proposals of marriage from
men of the highest rank and position. But she is something far
better than rich and noble; she is exquisitely good, with the
sweetness of an angel, and of an easy compatibility in daily life
which every day surprises me more and more; she is, moreover,
thoroughly pious. Seeing all these great advantages, the world
treats my hopes with something of mocking incredulity, and my
prospects of success are denied and derided on all sides. If we
were all to live . . . under the same roof, I could conceive the
difficulties raised by my mother about her dignity; but to keep on
the terms which are due to a lady who brings with her (fortune
apart) most precious social advantages, I think you need only
confine yourself to giving her the impression that my relations
are kind and affectionate amongst themselves, and kindly
affectionate towards the man she loves. It is the only way to
excite her interest and to preserve her influence, which will be
enormous. You may all of you, in a great fit of independence, say
you have no need of any one, that you intend to succeed by your
own exertions. But, between ourselves, the events of the last few
years must have proved to you that nothing can be done without the
help of others; and the social forces that we can least afford to
dispense with are those of our own family. Come, Laura, it is
something to be able, in Paris, to open one's salon and to
assemble all the elite of society, presided over by a woman who
is refined, polished, imposing as a queen, of illustrious descent,
allied to the noblest families, witty, well-informed, and
beautiful; there is a power of social domination. To enter into
any struggle whatever with a woman in whom so much influence
centers is—I tell you this in confidence—an act of insanity. Let
there be neither servility, nor sullen pride, nor susceptibility,
nor too much compliance; nothing but good natural affection. This
is the line of conduct prescribed by good sense towards such a
woman."
One can see how Madame Surville would resent such a letter, especially when she might have arranged another marriage, advantageous and sensible, for him. But poor Balzac, knowing her interest in his happiness, writes to her a joyful letter the day after his marriage: "As to Madame de Balzac, what more can I say about her? I may be envied for having won her: with the exception of her daughter, there is no woman in this land who can compare with her. She is indeed the diamond of Poland, the gem of this illustrious house of Rzewuski." After explaining to her that this was a marriage of pure affection, as his wife had given her fortune to her children and wished to live only for them and for him, Balzac tells his sister that he hoped to present Madame Honore de Balzac to her soon, signing the letter, "Your brother Honore at the summit of happiness."
A great attraction for Balzac in the home of Madame Surville were his two nieces, Sophie and Valentine, to whom he was devoted, and with whom he frequently spent his evenings. The story is told that one evening on entering his sister's home, he asked for paper and pencil, which were given him. After spending about an hour, not in making notes, as one might imagine, but in writing columns of figures and adding them, he discovered that he owed fifty-nine thousand francs, and exclaimed that his only recourse was to blow his brains out, or throw himself into the Seine! When questioned by his niece Sophie in tears as to whether he would not finish the novel he had begun for her, he declared that he was wrong in becoming so discouraged, to work for her would be a pleasure; he would no longer be depressed, but would finish her book, which would be a masterpiece, sell it for three thousand ecus, pay all his creditors within two years, amass a dowry for her and become a peer of France!
Balzac had forbidden his nieces to read his books, promising to write one especially for them. The book referred to here is Ursule Mirouet which he dedicated to Sophie as follows:
"To Mademoiselle Sophie Surville.
"It is a real pleasure, my dear niece, to dedicate to you a book of
which the subject and the details have gained the approbation—so
difficult to secure—of a young girl to whom the world is yet
unknown, and who will make no compromise with the high principles
derived from a pious education. You young girls are a public to be
dreaded; you ought never to be permitted to read any books less
pure than your own pure souls, and you are forbidden certain
books, just as you are not allowed to see society as it really is.
Is it not enough, then, to make a writer proud, to know that he
has satisfied you? Heaven grant that affection may not have misled
you! Who can say? The future only, which you, I hope, will see,
though he may not, who is your uncle
"BALZAC."
To Valentine Surville he dedicated La Paix du Menage.
The novelist was interested in helping his sister find suitable husbands for her daughters. He and Sophie had a wager as to which—she or he—would marry first; so when Balzac finally reached his own long-sought goal, he did not forget to remind his niece that she owed him a wedding gift.
Sophie became an accomplished musician, having for her master Ambroise Thomas. Balzac spoke very lovingly of Valentine during her early childhood; but she was so attractive that he feared she would be spoiled. And spoiled she was, or perhaps naturally inclined to indolence, for he wrote her a few years later:
"I should be very glad to learn that Valentine studies as much as
the young Countess, who, besides all her other studies, practices
daily at her piano. The success of this education is owing to hard
work, which Miss Valentine shuns a little too much. Now, I say to
my dear niece that to do nothing except what we feel inclined to
do is the origin of all deterioration, especially in women. Rules
obeyed and duties fulfilled have been the law of the young
Countess from childhood, although she is an only child and a rich
heiress. . . . Thus I beg Valentine not to exhibit a Creole
nonchalance; but to listen to the advice of her sister, to
impose tasks on herself, and to do work of various sorts, without
neglecting the ordinary and daily cares of the household, and,
above all, constantly to withstand the inclination we all have,
more or less, to give ourselves up to what we find pleasant; it is
by this yielding to inclination that we deteriorate and fall into
misfortune."
While Balzac was living in Wierzchownia, he urged his nieces to write to him oftener, as the young Countess Anna took the greatest interest in their chatter; they were like two nightingales coming by post to enchant the Ukrainian solitude. He had portrayed them so well that all took an interest in them, and their letters were called for first whenever he received a package from Paris. He requested them to send him certain favorite recipes, and planned to have Sophie play with the young countess.
Sophie seemed to have some of the traits of her grandmother; for the novelist wrote his sister:
"Sophie has traced out a catechism of what she considers my
duties towards you, just as last year my mother wrote me a
catechism of my duties towards my nieces; it is a sort of cholera
peculiar to our family, to lecture uncles both at home and abroad.
I make fun if it, but all these little things are remarked upon,
which I do not like; then these blank pages make me furious. I
forgive Sophie on account of the motif, which is you, and for
all she and Valentine have done for your fete. Ah! if my wishes
are ever realized, how I shall enjoy introducing my dear nieces,
both so unspoiled by the devil! I have sung their praises here. I
have said Sophie is a great musician: I add, Valentine is a man
of letters, and she is tired with writing three pages."
If certain letters received by Balzac from his family irritated him, he perhaps unconsciously was making his sister jealous by continually extolling the young Countess Mniszech:
"She has a genius, as well as a love, for music; if she had not
been an heiress, she would have been a great artiste. If she comes
to Paris in eighteen months or two years, she will take lessons in
thorough bass and composition. It is all she needs as regards
music. She has (without exaggeration) hands the size of a child of
eight years old. These minute, supple, white hands, three of which
I could hold in mine, have an iron power of finger, in the
proportion, like that of Liszt. The keys, not the fingers, bend;
she can compass ten keys by the span and elasticity of her
fingers; this phenomenon must be seen to be believed. Music, her
mother, and her husband: these three words sum up her character.
She is the Fenella of the fireside; the will-o'-wisp of our souls;
our gaiety; the life of the house. When she is not here, the very
walls are conscious of her absence—so much does she brighten them
by her presence. She had never known misfortune; she knows nothing
of annoyance; she is the idol of all who surround her, and she had
the sensibility and goodness of an angel: in one word, she unites
qualities which moralists consider incompatible; it is, however,
only a self-evident fact to all who know her. She is evidently
well informed, without pedantry; she has a delightful naivete;
and though long since married, she has still the gaiety of a
child, loving laughter like a little girl, which does not prevent
her from possessing a religious enthusiasm for great objects.
Physically, she has a grace even more beautiful than beauty, which
triumphs over a complexion still somewhat brown (she is hardly
sixteen);[2] a nose well formed, but not striking, except in the
profile; a charming figure, supple and svelte; feet and hands
exquisitely formed, and wonderfully small, as I have just
mentioned. All these advantages are, moreover, thrown into relief
by a proud bearing, full of race, by an air of distinction and
ease which all queens have not, and which is now quite lost in
France, where everybody wishes to be equal. This exterior—this
air of distinction—this look of a grande dame, is one of the
most precious gifts which God—the God of women can bestow. The
Countess Georges speaks four languages as if she were a native of
each of the countries whose tongue she knows so thoroughly. She
has a keenness of observation which astonishes me; nothing escapes
her. She is besides extremely prudent; and entirely to be relied
on in daily intercourse. There are no words to describe her, but
perle fine. Her husband adores her; I adore her; two cousins on
the point of old-maidism adore her—she will always be adored,
as fresh reasons for loving her continually arise."
Such adoration of Madame Hanska's daughter was enough to make Madame Surville jealous, especially when she was so despondent over her financial situation, but Balzac tried to cheer her thus: "You should be proud of your two children, they have written two charming letters, which have been much admired here. Two such daughters are the reward of your life; you can afford to accept many misfortunes."[3]
Footnotes
[edit]- ↑ MM. Hanotaux et Vicaire, Le Jeunesse de Balzac, have correctly observed that Balzac's sister, Madame Surville, has written a most delicate and interesting book, but that she had not correctly portrayed her brother because she was blinded by her devotion to him.
- ↑ For the incorrectness of this statement, see the chapter on the Countess Mniszech.
- ↑ Sophie Surville, the older daughter, whose matrimonial possibilities were so much discussed, was finally unhappily married to M. Mallet. She was a good harpist, and taught the harp. She died without issue. Valentine was married, 1859, to M. Louis Duhamel, a lawyer. She had a good voice for singing and literary talent; she took charge of having Balzac's correspondence published. She had two children; a daughter who became Mme. Pierre Carrier-Belleuse, wife of an artist, and a son, publiciste distingue. Laurence de Balzac had two sons; the older Alfred de Montzaigle, dissipated, a friend of Musset, died in 1852 without issue. The younger son, Alfonse, married Mlle. Caroline Jung; he died in 1868 at Strasbourg. Of their three children, only one, Paul de Montzaigle, lived. M. Surville-Duhamel, Mme. Pierre Carrier-Belleuse, and M. de Montzaigle are the only living relatives of Balzac. Mme. Belleuse and M. de Montzaigle have each a little daughter.