Values of Contemporary Society in Balzac's Old Goriot

Old Goriot by Honore de Balzac can be introduced as a sociological presentation disguised as a work of fiction. The topic of this presentation is best described as a process of moral degradation in search of power in Parisian society. The statement that power corrupts, and the absolute power corrupts absolutely, comes to mind as Balzac presents the two layers of society that differ only on the surface. There is a certain contrast between the debilitating surrounding of the common people and the luxurious settings of the upper class. The corruption of the lower level of society, however atrocious, is hardly comparable to what takes place among the rich and the noble, where the power struggle is on, and the noble titles and fat wallets are all that matters.

There can be no progress for a newcomer in the upper class without money. For those who are not aware of this, Rastignac for example, realization comes very quickly. The appearance is so significant that the man would rather attempt to live on insufficient diet than appear in high circles without a pair of "clean gloves." Financial welfare must be brought to the surface for everyone else to see; therefore one cannot possibly walk to a social engagement. Means of transportation are not a luxury but a requirement. In many ways, money is more important than a title. For example, it is no longer possible to land a position in the government just by being a Count. One has to buy this position now.

To some, the understanding of importance of money comes too late. Only at the very end does Goriot realize that it was not love and affection that held his daughters close to him. It was their father's gold. "If I had plenty of money to leave behind me, they would nurse me and tend me," (220) exclaims Goriot on his deathbed, meaning his daughters. What may seem commonplace among upper class still strikes the reader as the ultimate insult - the man must possess some financial stability to keep family ties. "Money brings everything to you," Goriot comments, "even your daughters" (220).

Money affects every character of the novel. It does so in different ways, however, depending on the identities of the characters. Goriot's daughters, for instance, represent the case of money as a cause of moral decay. Raised in luxury, married to rich men, and never having their needs unsatisfied, Anastasie and Delphine appear unable to recognize any other values beside money. Analyzing further, it becomes shockingly clear that, because of their upbringing, money has, in their eyes, become the only true measure of human virtues. This is how they measure their father's love - in dresses, gifts, and debts that they incur and he covers. No wonder they abandon him when the treasure chest has become empty. For them, the lack of cash meant the lack of love from Papa.

At a glance, Goriot appears to be different from his daughters in this respect. The power of his money is lost on him until the moment he physically needs it - when he cannot pay a doctor to attend to him. His capital is sacrificed to the upbringing of Anastasie and Delphine. But ultimately, he is the one who reaps the fruits of his mistakes. Attempting to show his love by continuously indulging his offspring's every desire, he ends up being the one who instilled in them the meaning of money as the only true virtue.

Rastignac's character is more complex. Creating an impression of just another treasure-hunter at the beginning of the novel, Eugene later emerges as a real nobleman, the one who would not sacrifice his moral values in order to achieve his goal. He would not steal, lie, or destroy others for his own sake. In fact, Rastignac is the one possessing real human virtues such as generosity and compassion, which he shows by taking care of Goriot before the old man's death by paying for his medicine, and after by paying for his funeral.

At this point, the moral decay of society is obvious to Eugene. Nothing is sacred anymore: People are murdered, friends betrayed, relatives robbed for the sake of obtaining more money, hence more power. Rastignac sadly admits that there is no more moral values left among those people. He recognizes M. de Beauseant and M. Goriot as the only people he is acquainted with who are capable of love and friendship and familiar with the true meaning of honor. But the former has left the high circles of Paris after being betrayed by M. d'Ajuda for the sake of other woman's dowry, and the latter dies, betrayed for the sake of money by his own flesh and blood. The depth of the society's obsession with money is clearly revealed in the relationships of Goriot's older daughter, Anastasie, and her lover, M. de Trailles. As long as Anastasie is able to pay his enormous debt, she appeared to be the only one de Trailles lived for. For him, her selling of her mother-in-law's jewelry and stripping her father off his capital is a normal occurrence. Later, he repays her by running away.

Being born in nobility is the only other value recognized by the upper class of society. To some degree, it is something even the money cannot buy, though really big money certainly can. The interdependency of poor noblemen and rich common folks is most obvious in this case as they use each other to gain access to the higher echelons of society. Rastignac, though short on cash, has no trouble being admitted to M. de Beauseant's salon for a simple reason of being of noble blood. Originating from common people, Goriot's daughter, Delphine, though not bothered by financial hardships, has no access to the aforementioned place. To her understanding, the salon of Vicontese Beauseant is the place of real social power. Delphine desperately wishes to be a part of it and she would do anything to gain admittance. Her only chance to reach her goal is marrying a nobleman. Her sister, Anastasie, rid herself of an inconvenience of being rejected in the privileged levels by marrying Count de Restaud.

Sexual segregation is another vice of the Parisian society. At a glance, is appears that women's opinions carry some weight among the upper class. Balzac proceeds to show the reader that this is an illusion. Even those women who possess the gold - the most recognized object of influence - do not have much influence over men who really control it. A woman's dowry becomes her husband's or her lover's active capital. "What do we know of the world, of business, of men, of life? Our father should think for us!" (191) exclaims Delphine, further indicating that women in this society are nothing more than beautiful birds in a rich golden cage, off which men break peace by peace with impunity. It is this cage that keeps the men's attention and thus represents the only symbol of women's so-called influence. Once it is gone, a beautiful bird inside ceases to be attractive.

The French society during Restoration, as seen through the eyes of Eugene Rastignac, is the society that Honore de Balzac intended his readers to see. It is a place where values of love, compassion, faithfulness, sacrifice, and honor have been replaced by greed, betrayal, sloth, envy, and indifference. "Nobel creatures cannot dwell in this world," (217) Rastignac notes. An honest person becomes a representative of the endangered species in this world of men and women who are not only corrupted but also used by their sexual counterparts. "What place indeed is there in the shallow, petty, frivolous thing called society for noble thoughts and feelings?" (217) Eugene continues. A person of moral values cannot succeed in a culture where money rules everything, in social life where the noble blood is the foremost requirement for success, or in business for obvious reasons of lacking the starting capital. Despite the author's passionate description of decaying upper classes, what Balzac is really involved with is not a mere case of high society bashing. Through a simple and frank expression by one of his characters (Vautrin, in conversation with Rostignac), the author spreads the direction of his blow: "I do not think that the rich are any worse than poor; man is much the same, high or low" (91). Thus, it is obvious that the moral decay of society is not a one-sided process. Lacking grandeur and thus less noticeable, the lower classes of society are nevertheless as rotted through with corruption as those of the elite. The vices described above are not the attributes of a high society, but of humanity in general.