XXVII. Is Rene Boylesve a Disciple of Balzac?

Extract

That René Boylesve is descended in a direct line from Balzac has for years been a commonplace with critics. As long ago as 1906, Henri Gheon styled Boylesve a “fils direct de Balzac.” Jules Bertaut, after pointing out that Boylesve's characters, like himself, are very “sensibles,” and that the provincials among them, having been forced to suppress their individualities, experience violent emotional crises when, for one reason or another, they tear themselves loose, adds this comment: “Le grand Balzac le savait bien, lui qui a dressé ses plus belles figures de grand passionnés dans d'inertes chefs-lieux de canton!” Pierre Lasserre says of la Becquée that it has “de fortes ressemblances avec un chef-d'œuvre balzacien.” Similarly, Winifred Stephens, in her essay on Boylesve, sees in his work “the minuteness of a Balzac,” and Mme Mary Duclaux, compares Boylesve's Touraine novels to the Scènes de la vie de province of the Comédie humaine. Indeed, the work of Boylesve almost inevitably calls up the name of Balzac. It is the purpose of the present paper to determine whether this resemblance is anything more than a superficial one and, if it is not, to see wherein lies the originality of Boylesve.