The story "Gobsek" appeared in 1830.Later it became part of the world-famous collection of works "The Human Comedy", authored by Balzac. "Gobsek", a brief outline of this work will be described below, focuses the attention of readers on such a property of human psychology as stinginess.
Honore de Balzac "Gobsek": a summary
Everything begins with the fact that in the house of the viscountess deGrandlier was occupied by two guests: the solicitor Derville and the Count de Resto. When the last one leaves, the viscountess tells his daughter Camilla that she can not show the location of the count, because no family of Paris will agree to be related to him. Vicontessa adds that the count's mother is of low birth and left the children without a penny, having squandered the fortune of her lover.
Listening to the viscountess, Derville decides to explain to herthe true state of affairs, telling the story of a usurer named Gobsek. The summary of this story is the basis of Balzac's story. The solicitor mentions that he met Gobsek during his student years, when he lived in a cheap boarding house. Derville calls Gobsak a cold-blooded "man-bill" and "golden idol."
Once, the usurer told Derville how he soughtduty with one countess: fearing disclosure, she handed him a diamond, and her lover received money. "This dandy can ruin the whole family," Gobsec asserted. The brief content of the story will prove the veracity of his words.
Soon, Count Maxim de Tray asks Derville to reducehim with the named usurer. First, Gobsek refuses to give a loan to a count, who has debts instead of money. But to the pawnbroker comes the aforementioned countess, who lays in a fine diamonds. She agrees without hesitation to the conditions of Gobsak. When lovers leave, the countess's husband breaks into the pawnbroker and demands the return of family jewelry, which the wife left in the mortgage. But as a result, the count decides to transfer the property to Gobsek to save his fortune from the lover's lover of his wife. Further, Derville points out that the described story occurred in the family of de Resto.
After the deal with the pawnbroker, Count de Restofalls ill. The countess, in turn, breaks all relations with Maxim de Tray and jealously cares for her husband, but soon he dies. The next day after the Count's death, Derville and Gobsek are in the house. The summary can not describe all the horror that appeared before them in the Count's office. In search of a will, his wife of the count is a real rout, not ashamed and dead. And most importantly, she burned the papers addressed to Dervil, as a result of which the property of the family of de Resto passed into the possession of Gobsek. Despite Dervil's entreaties to take pity on the unhappy family, the usurer remains adamant.
Learning about the love of Camille and Ernest, Dervil decidesgo to the house of the usurer named Gobsek. The summary of the final part is striking in its psychology. Gobsek at death, but in his old age, his stinginess turned into a mania. At the end of the story, Derville tells Viscountess de Granlie that Count de Reste will soon return the lost state. Thinking, the noble lady decides that if de Resto becomes very rich, then her daughter may well marry him.
