Representations of the faustian myth in Balzac: the pact in the age of the capital

Abstract

When we think about the reason for the pact with the devil in Honoré de Balzac, we think of the novel La Peau de Chagrin. However, this is not the only moment in which this subject is approached in La Comédie Humaine. If we retrace the steps of Jacques Coulin, an escaped ex-convict who assumes different disguises, we notice he proposes to enter into a pact with Eugène de Rastignac and Lucien de Rubempré, promising them success in exchange for loyalty. The aim of this paper is to observe how the pact motif is constituted through the character Jacques Colin. We will begin by analysing the scene of the pact in La Peau de Chagrin. Next, we will tackle the frustrated attempt of a pact in Le Père Goriot. Finally, we will observe the pact in Illusions Perdues and follow the outcome of this story in Splendeurs et Misères des Courtisanes. We will establish a parallel with Goethe’s Faust, observing in which way these works relate and noticing how Balzac modulates the subject of the pact with the devil.