V. THE TWO DAUGHTERS
197. cuffs … a thousand écus apiece: Louise de La Vallière reputedly ripped the king’s lace cuffs as she clung to him in agony during labour throes. Later replaced as his mistress by Madame de Montespan, she withdrew to a convent. Balzac had a particular (and personal) interest in fine linen and its costs (see note 154).
198. Rubicon: The name of the small stream which marked the southern boundary between Cisalpine Gaul and Italy, on the east coast of northern Italy. It was forbidden for a general to cross it with his army; Caesar, in doing so, effectively declared war against Pompey. Hence, proverbially, the expression ‘to cross the Rubicon’ means ‘to take a decisive or final step’ (OED).
199. Père Lachaise: This famous cemetery is situated in the present-day twentieth arrondissement in eastern Paris; when it was founded in 1804, it was on the outskirts of the city. It was a destination Balzac often aimed for as he walked the streets of Paris, during his early years as a writer, when he lived in the Rue Lesdiguières (near the Place de la Bastille). See also note 223.
200. separate assets: Goriot is clutching at straws. Even under the terms of this kind of contract, the law stipulated that a wife was not allowed to sell or mortgage her property without her husband’s signature, whereas the husband was able to dispose of his wife’s property as he wished without involving her. See note 54 on the Code Civil.
201. Place de Grève: Historically, it was on this square, on the right bank of the Seine, that judicial executions were carried out. The last was held in 1830 and the name was subsequently changed to Place de l’Hôtel de Ville.
202. men of straw … duped contractors … Vienna: In this scam, it seems that some kind of fake sale is taking place between the men of straw and Nucingen. The former acknowledge receipt of payment, i.e. that Nucingen has purchased the buildings from them, even though he hasn’t paid full price for them. The men of straw then go bankrupt and default on the bills used to pay the contractors, so the latter foot the cost of construction. As Nucingen appears to have legal ownership of the buildings, and as no direct agreement exists between him and the contractors, they have little or no recourse. To cover his tracks further he transfers some of his wealth abroad so that, if he’s ever questioned, he can claim that the money was spent on purchasing the houses, and his books will appear to balance.
203. Sainte-Pélagie: Debtors prison, located in the present-day fifth arrondissement, opposite the boarding house on which Balzac may have modelled the Maison Vauquer.
204. the Bank: The Banque de France, founded under Napoleon in 1800 to stabilize the French financial system, following the hyperinflationary trauma of the post-revolutionary years caused by excessive note issue (the unpopular assignats).
205. the bill endorsed to Vautrin: In return for cash from Vautrin, Rastignac had originally signed a promissory note undertaking to pay back a certain sum by a certain date. It seems likely that at this stage the bill was endorsed ‘in blank’, that is, payable to ‘the bearer’ (Vautrin). Rastignac payed Vautrin back in full the next day, so Vautrin returned the bill to him. Rastignac (drawee) now turns it into a bill of exchange by making it out to Goriot, who becomes the drawer, and Goriot then endorses it to the comtesse, so she can sell it on and convert it into cash. For more on bills of exchange, see note 70.
206. serous apoplexy: The medical theory Bianchon refers to here, of apoplexy caused by an effusion of serum to the brain, was accepted at that time, but has since been discredited. The closest modern equivalent would appear to be a brain haemorrhage, which is caused by blood invading the brain. Balzac’s description of Goriot’s symptoms seems to indicate that he is suffering from a stroke (severe headache, confusion, tiredness).
207. mustard poultices: In the nineteenth century, mustard poultices were used in threatened cases of apoplexy or paralysis, to ‘rouse the system’ (Savory’s Compendium of Domestic Medicine, 7th edn, 1865).
208. Moses’ prayer: An aria from Rossini’s opera Moses in Egypt, of which Balzac appears to have been fond (he also refers to it in ‘La Duchesse de Langeais’ and ‘Massimilla Doni’). It was first performed in Paris in 1822.
209. Tantalus: In ancient mythology, a mythical king of Phrygia who revealed the secrets of the gods. His punishment, which was unending, was to endure unquenchable thirst and unsatisfied hunger. No angel came to bring him solace.
210. the Grande Mademoiselle: That is, Mademoiselle Montpensier (a cousin of Louis XIV). In December 1670, the king gave his consent to her marriage with the Duc de Lauzun (an adventurer), only to retract it three days later and have her lover imprisoned instead.
211. Niobe made of marble: In Greek myth, the daughter of Tantalus, who was turned into stone as she wept for the loss of her children.
212. cashed in: Literally, ‘discounted’. The implication of this powerful image is that Anastasie views everything, including Goriot’s life, as a kind of bill of exchange – and she has cashed in (discounted) the latter before its maturity date. Not only has she already spent all of his capital (which he needs in order to live) before he has been able to bequeath it to her upon his death, she has devalued his quality of life and his estate in the process.
213. I … shall make one last attempt: A reference to the equivalent episode in Balzac’s story ‘The Duchesse de Langeais’ (see note 52), where the duchesse finally realizes she is in love with Montriveau and sends him a letter saying that she will retire from society if he doesn’t come back to her. When he fails to appear, she withdraws to a convent.