Sexual attraction, artistic insight, and the often ironic relationship
between them are the dominant themes in the three short works by Balzac
collected in this volume.
In Sarrasine, an impetuous young sculptor falls in love with a diva of
the Roman stage, but rapture turns to rage when he discovers the reality
behind the seductiveness of the singer's voice. The ageing artist in
The Unknown Masterpiece, obsessed with his creation of the perfect
image of an ideal woman, tries to hide it from the jealous young student
who is desperate for a glimpse of it. And in The Girl with the Golden
Eyes, the hero is a dandy whose attractiveness for the mysterious
Paquita has an unexpected origin. These enigmatic and disturbing forays
into the margins of madness, sexuality, and creativity show Balzac
spinning fantastic tales as profound as any of his longer fictions.
This volume is the only edition to bring these three great Balzac
novellas together in one book, and it is the first paperback collection
to include Sarrasine. Patrick Coleman's Introduction builds on the
latest scholarship to help the reader appreciate the connections between
notions of gender and the aesthetic explorations of nineteenth-century
French romanticism and realism. The edition also includes thorough notes
which explain all important cultural and political references.
About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has
made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the
globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to
scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other
valuable features, including expert introductions by leading
authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date
bibliographies for further study, and much more.
