Honore de Balzac is called the king of novelists. He managed to raise the genre of the novel to artistic perfection and give it social significance. But his shorter works are worthy of all praise. The story "Gobsek" - the best one example.
"Gobsek"
The story was written in January 1830 and was included in the cycle of works “The Human Comedy”. The main characters in it were the moneylender Gobsek, the family of Count Resto and the lawyer Derville. The main theme of the story was passion. On the one side, main character studies human passions - for wealth, women, power, on the other - the author himself shows that even a wise person can be destroyed by an all-consuming passion for gold and enrichment. The story of this man can be learned from Balzac’s story “Gobsek”. Summary read this article.
In the Viscountess's salon
The lawyer Derville told about Gobsek in the Viscountess's salon. Once the young Count Resto and he stayed late with her, who was received only because he helped her return the property confiscated during the revolution. When the count leaves, she reprimands her daughter that she should not show her affection to the count too openly, because no one will become related to the count because of her mother.
Of course, now nothing reprehensible was noticed about her, but in her youth this person behaved very imprudently. Her father was a grain merchant, but the worst thing is that she squandered all her fortune on her lover and left her children without money. The Count is very poor and not a match for Camilla. Derville, sympathizing with the lovers, intervened in the conversation and explained to the Viscountess how everything really was. Let's start with Derville's story and present a brief summary of Honore Balzac's "Gobsek".
Meet Gobsek
During his student years, he had to live in a boarding house, where he met Gobsek. This old man had a very remarkable appearance: yellow, ferret-like eyes, a long, sharp nose and thin lips. His victims threatened and cried, but the moneylender remained calm - a “golden image.” He did not communicate with his neighbors, maintained relations only with Derville, and somehow revealed to him the secret of power over people - he told him how he collected a debt from one lady.
Countess Resto
We will continue our retelling of the brief content of “Gobsek” by Honore de Balzac with the story of the moneylender about this countess. Her lover lent the money from the moneylender, and she, fearing exposure, handed the moneylender a diamond. Looking at the handsome young blond man, the future of the countess could easily be predicted - such a dandy could ruin more than one family.
Derville completed a law course and received a clerk's position in a solicitor's office. To redeem the patent, he needs one hundred and fifty thousand francs. Gobsek lent him money at thirteen percent, and through hard work with the moneylender, Derville managed to pay off in five years.
Deceived husband
Let us continue to consider the summary of “Gobsek”. Once Count Maxim asked Derville to introduce him to Gobsek. But the old moneylender refused to give him a loan, because a man who had three hundred thousand debts did not inspire confidence in him. After some time, Maxim returned with a beautiful lady, and the lawyer immediately recognized the same countess. The lady was going to give the moneylender the magnificent diamonds, and the solicitor tried to prevent this, but Maxim hinted that he would take his own life. The Countess agreed to enslaving conditions.
We continue the brief summary of “Gobsek” with the story of how, after they left, the Countess’s husband burst into Gobsek’s house demanding the return of the mortgage, explaining that his wife had no right to dispose of ancient family jewelry. The moneylender advised the count to transfer his entire fortune to a reliable person through a fictitious sale. So he could save his children from ruin.
After some time, the count came to the solicitor to find out about Gobsek. To which he replied that he would trust such a person as a moneylender even with his children. The Count immediately transferred his property to Gobsek, wanting to protect it from his wife and her young lover.
Count's disease
What will the summary of “Gobsek” tell us next? The Viscountess, taking advantage of the pause, sent her daughter to bed, because there was no need for a young girl to listen to the extent of debauchery that a woman who had violated known norms would reach. Camilla left, and Derville immediately said that the conversation was about Countess de Resto.
Soon Derville learned that the count himself was seriously ill, and his wife would not allow a lawyer to see him to finalize the deal. At the end of 1824, the Countess herself became convinced of Trai’s meanness and broke up with him. She cared so zealously for her sick husband that many were ready to forgive her for her unworthy behavior. In fact, the Countess was simply lying in wait for her prey.
The count, having not achieved a meeting with the solicitor, wants to give the documents to his son, but the countess does her best to prevent this. In her husband's last hours, she begs for forgiveness on her knees, but the count remained adamant - he did not give her the paper.
Death of a Moneylender
The summary of “Gobsek” continues with the story of how the next day Gobsek and Derville came to the count’s house. A terrifying sight opened before their eyes: the countess, not ashamed of the fact that there was a dead man in the house, committed a real pogrom. Hearing their steps, she burned the documents addressed to Derville, and thereby predetermined the fate of all the property: it came into the possession of Gobsek.
The moneylender left the mansion and began to spend his time like a lord in his new possessions. To Derville’s requests to take pity on the countess and children, he invariably answered: “Misfortune - best teacher».
When Resto's son finds out the value of the money, then he will return the property. Derville, having heard about the love of the young count and Camilla, went to the old man and found him dying. He bequeathed all his property to a relative - a public girl.
In presenting the summary of “Gobsek”, it should be noted that the old moneylender did not forget about Dervil - he instructed him to manage the supplies. Seeing the rotten and rotten food, the lawyer was convinced that Gobsek’s stinginess had turned into mania. That's why he didn't sell anything because he was afraid to sell it too cheap.
So the Viscountess has nothing to worry about: young Resto will regain his fortune. To which the Viscountess replied that Camilla did not have to meet her future mother-in-law.
The tragedy of Gobsek
In the center of Honore de Balzac's story "Gobsek", a summary of which is presented above, is a man who has accumulated a huge fortune, but is left at the end of his journey completely alone. Gobsek - that is the name of this hero - does not communicate with anyone, does not leave the house much. The only person he trusts is Derville. The moneylender saw in him a business friend, an intelligent interlocutor, and a good person.
The young lawyer, communicating with the old man, gains experience, asks for recommendations and advice. Observing the moneylender, Derville concluded that there were two people living in him: a vile and an exalted creature, a miser and a philosopher.
Life experience taught the old man to evaluate a person at first sight, to think and analyze. He often talked about the meaning of life. But with age, the passion for money still prevailed and gradually grew into worship. Sublime feelings grew into selfishness, greed and cynicism. If in his youth he dreamed of exploring the world, then by the end of his life his main goal became the hunt for money. But they did not bring him happiness; he died alone with his millions.
As can be seen from the summary of the chapters, Gobsek and his whole life are the tragedy not of an individual person, but of an entire system. Gobsek's life only confirms the well-known expression: happiness cannot be found in money. Using his example, Balzac showed what the thoughtless worship of specie leads to.
10 CLASS
HONORE DE BALZAC
GOBSEC
The story “Gobsek” begins with an exposition. First, the story is told on behalf of the author, who describes one of the winter evenings of 1792-1830 pp. in the Vicomtesse's salon where Granlier is one of the most famous ladies in the aristocratic Faubourg Saint-Germain, and then the voices of the storytellers appear - Derville and Gobseck.
That evening, the guests - the young Count Ernest de Resto and the lawyer Derville - stayed up late. Derville is considered a family friend because he once helped the viscountess return money and estates lost during the revolution. Camila, the daughter of a viscountée, loves the young Count Ernest de Resto. But the count's mother has a bad reputation in the aristocratic world, so Madame Granlier wants to refuse him to visit her home, promising that while she is alive, none of the parents will trust him with the future of their daughter.
Here Derville intervenes in the conversation. He tells the women a story that, in his opinion, should change the view of the state of affairs in the family of the young Count de Resto.
This story began a long time ago. At that time, Derville was a junior scribe in the solicitor's office, studied law and lived in furnished rooms. His neighbor was the moneylender Gobsek - a calm, arrogant man whom no one and nothing could throw off balance.
Every detail of this bright image emphasizes the character of the hero. Gobsek had a “moon face” and ash-gray hair. “The yellowish pallor of his skin resembled the color of silver from which the gilding had been stripped.” His facial features seemed cast from bronze, and his yellow eyes, like those of a ferret, hid from the bright light. Gobsek’s nose was sharp, similar to a sverdlik, and his lips were thin. He never lost peace of mind, even when his clients begged, cried, threatened, he remained calm and spoke quietly. Gobsek’s ruthlessness is emphasized by such signs as “bill man”, “automatic man”, which suppresses any feelings in itself. The portrait description ends with the mention that while earning money, he himself ran “all over Paris on thin, thin legs, like a deer’s.” It was difficult to guess his age: either he had aged in advance, or in old age he looked young. Everything in his house was neat and shabby, like an old maid’s room. His life seemed to flow quietly, like sand in an old hourglass.
Gobsek was very careful, and no one knew whether he was poor or rich. One day, a gold coin fell out of his pocket; with Derville, to whom he revealed his innermost thoughts about the world and people.
This is what Derville found out. Gobsek was born in Holland. When the boy was ten years old, his mother gave him as a cabin boy on a ship that was sailing to India. He traveled on that ship for the next twenty years. Gobsek always strived to get rich, and fate threw him around the world in search of wealth in all continents. He knew many famous people of his time, was involved in many historical events, but didn’t like to talk about it.
Gobsek’s “philosophy” was that gold rules the world, and the moneylender owns gold, so he has secret power over people . Gobsek's monologue - this is a hymn to gold. And it is no coincidence that pathetic notes sound in it: “I have a look, like the Lord God: I read in hearts...” But at the same time, cynical thoughts are also felt: “I am rich enough to buy a human conscience...”, “What is life if not a machine that is set in motion by money?”
Gobsek amused himself by studying human passions and enjoying his power over them. As an instructive example, he told Derville the stories of two bills for which he received money. One was paid for on time by the seamstress Fani Malva, a hardworking and respectable girl who aroused sympathy even from the moneylender. The second bill was signed by one countess, and her lover received the money. Gobsek came to the countess, but he was informed that she was still sleeping and would not wake up before twelve o'clock, because she had been at the ball all night. The moneylender gave his last name and asked him to tell the countess that he would come by later. At noon he came again, and from the countess’s forest-like behavior he realized that he had nothing to pay him with. Even the beauty of the woman, whom he could not help but notice, did not awaken sympathy in his heart: he warned that he would reveal her secret when she did not pay. During their conversation, the countess's husband came into the room, and she was forced to give Gobsek a diamond in order to get rid of the moneylender. Leaving the countess's house, he met her lover, on whose face he read the countess's future.
Several years passed, Derville completed his law course and received the position of senior clerk in the solicitor's office. Soon he had the opportunity to buy out the patent of his patron. Gobsek lent Derville money only at thirteen percent; he usually took from fifty to five hundred percent of the amount owed). Derville's diligence and perseverance in his work gave him the opportunity to pay off the moneylender in five years.
And a year later, Derville found himself at a Parubotsky breakfast, where he was supposed to be introduced to Mr. de Tray, famous in high society. The latter asked Derville to reconcile him with Gobsek. But the moneylender refuses to lend money to a man who had nothing but debts. Then de Tray, laughing and boasting, declared that there was no one in Paris who had such capital as he had. Moreover, he said, among his friends are famous high world People. At this time, a carriage stopped near the house, and de Tray rushed to the exit. He returned with an unusual beautiful woman, in which Derville recognized the same countess. The woman brought magnificent diamonds as collateral. Derville realized the depth of the abyss into which the countess was falling and tried to dissuade her from pawning the jewelry, citing the fact that the countess was a married woman and subject to a man. Gobsek assessed the jewelry and decided to take it as collateral, but, given the legal dubiousness of the case, he offered a significantly lower amount than the real price of the jewelry. Noticing the hesitation of the Countess, de Tray began to hint to her that this was forcing him to die. Therefore, the woman was forced to accept Gobsek’s offer. Of the eighty thousand specified in the contract, the moneylender wrote a check for only fifty. With an ironic smile, he gave the rest of the money in bills from M. de Tray himself. The young man burst into a roar and called the moneylender an old swindler. In response to this challenge, Gobsek calmly pulled out a pair of pistols and said that he would shoot first because the Comte de Tray had insulted him. The Countess begged de Traya to apologize. He muttered an apology and followed the countess, who ran out the door, overcome with horror, but still warned that when what was happening here became known, then someone's blood would definitely be shed. To which Gobsek replied that for this you need to have blood, and in de Traya instead of it there is very dirt.
Left alone with Derville, Gobsek gave vent to his joy, which was caused by the possession of luxurious diamonds for little money. At this time, hurried steps were heard in the corridor, Gobsek opened the door. The countess's husband entered, who was terribly furious and demanded the return of the deposit, citing the fact that his wife had no right to dispose of these jewelry. However, Gobsek was not at all afraid of his rage and threats to go to court. Derville decided to intervene in the dispute and explained to the count that by going to court, he would probably get nothing but shame, because the case was very dubious. The count agreed to pay eighty thousand and interest for the jewelry. Grateful Gobsek gave him advice on how to save the property, preserve it at least for the children. According to Gobsek, in this case the property must be fictitiously sold to a trusted friend.
A few days after this event, the count came to Derville to find out his opinion about Gobsek’s honesty, Derville replied that there were two creatures living among usurers - a miser and a philosopher, mean and high, but whenever he, Derville, was threatened with death, he I would appoint Gobsek as the guardian of my children. Then Derville told the count the story of his loan to Gobsek. And also about what the moneylender answered when asked why he did not allow himself to do a good deed disinterestedly, which prompted him to force even his friend to pay huge interest. Gobsek’s answer best characterizes him: this is how he freed Derville from gratitude and gave him the right to believe that he owes nothing to the moneylender. The Count decided to transfer ownership of his property to Gobsek, and to transfer the counter-receipt, which would legally prove the fictitiousness of the sale, to Derville...
Derville tried to reveal to Camila the terrible abyss into which women can fall if they cross certain limits. With this, the Viscountess sent her daughter to bed. When the girl left the company, it was possible to continue the conversation without hiding the names: after all, we were talking about Count de Resto and his wife, the parents of Count Ernest de Resto.
Much time has passed since the agreement was drawn up. Derville learned that Count de Resto was seriously ill and wanted to see the Count - he still had not received the promised receipt. But the countess did not allow this. She understood well what awaited her in the future, because at that time all her property was in the hands of Gobsek. The Countess also understood the essence of Mr. de Tray and broke off relations with him. Now she seemed like a caring wife, caring for a sick man. But in fact, she was only waiting for an opportunity to take possession of the property, since she felt that there was a secret meaning in her husband’s affair with Gobsek. The count tried to transfer the receipt to Derville through his son, but the countess intervened in the matter. She began to beg the count to forgive her for the sake of the children. But the count was inexorable. After some time, the count died. In the morning, when Derville and Gobsek arrived, the countess locked herself in her husband’s room and did not allow anyone to enter. Ernest warned his mother about the visit of guests. When the solicitor and the moneylender entered the room where the dead man lay, the room was in terrible disorder, and the documents that were to be handed over to Derville were burning in the fireplace. Gobsek took advantage of the crime that the countess committed and appropriated the count's property.
Later Gobsek rented out the count's mansion. He spent the summer on his estate, posing as a nobleman, building farms, and repairing mills. Once the solicitor tried to persuade Gobsek to help Ernest, but the moneylender replied that misfortune is the best teacher, let the young count learn the value of money and people, let him sail on the Parisian sea, when he becomes a skilled pilot, then they will give him a ship. Having learned about Ernest's love for Camila, Derville made another attempt to influence the old moneylender and went to him. Gobsek had long since gone to bed, but did not leave his work. He put off answering Ernestov’s case until he could get up, and he was no longer destined to do so. A few days later, Derville was informed of the death of the moneylender. He left all his wealth to the great-granddaughter of his sister, a prostitute, who was nicknamed “Electric Stingray” or Light. He left Derville as an inheritance the supplies of food that he had accumulated over the course of last years, receiving them from their clients. When Derville opened the adjacent rooms, he almost fainted from the stench coming from rotten goods - fish, pates, coffee, tobacco, tea, etc. At the end of his life, Gobsek did not sell anything, because he was afraid to give it away cheaply. Thus his passion outlived his mind.
Derville informed the Viscountess that Count Ernest de Restaud would soon be placed in possession of the property, which would allow him to marry Miss Camilla. To this the Viscountess replied that Ernest would have to be very rich to become engaged to her daughter. The count's family is very ancient, and Kamila cannot see her mother-in-law, although she is received at receptions.
The lawyer Derville tells the story of the moneylender Gobsek in the salon of the Viscountess de Granlier, one of the most noble and wealthy ladies in the aristocratic Faubourg Saint-Germain. One day in the winter of 1829/30, two guests stayed with her: the handsome young Count Ernest de Resto and Derville, who was easily accepted only because he helped the owner of the house return property confiscated during the Revolution. When Ernest leaves, the Viscountess reprimands her daughter Camilla: one should not so openly show affection to the dear count, because not a single decent family would agree to become related to him because of his mother. Although now she behaves impeccably, she caused a lot of gossip in her youth. In addition, she is of low origin - her father was the grain merchant Goriot. But the worst thing is that she squandered a fortune on her lover, leaving her children penniless. Count Ernest de Resto is poor, and therefore not a match for Camille de Granlier. Derville, who sympathizes with the lovers, intervenes in the conversation, wanting to explain to the Viscountess the true state of affairs. He starts from afar: during his student years he had to live in a cheap boarding house - there he met Gobsek. Even then he was a deep old man of very remarkable appearance - with a “moon face”, yellow, like a ferret’s eyes, a sharp long nose and thin lips. His victims sometimes lost their temper, cried or threatened, but the moneylender himself always kept his cool - he was a “bill man,” a “golden idol.” Of all his neighbors, he maintained relations only with Derville, to whom he once revealed the mechanism of his power over people - the world is ruled by gold, and the moneylender owns gold. For edification, he talks about how he collected a debt from one noble lady - fearing exposure, this countess without hesitation handed him a diamond, because her lover received the money on her bill. Gobsek guessed the countess's future from the face of the blond handsome man - this dandy, spendthrift and gambler is capable of ruining the whole family.
After completing a law course, Derville received the position of senior clerk in a solicitor's office. In the winter of 1818/19, he was forced to sell his patent - and asked one hundred and fifty thousand francs for it. Gobsek lent money to the young neighbor, taking from him “out of friendship” only thirteen percent - usually he took at least fifty. At the cost of hard work, Derville managed to get out of debt in five years.
One day, the brilliant dandy Count Maxime de Tray begged Derville to introduce him to Gobsek, but the moneylender flatly refused to give a loan to a man who had three hundred thousand in debt and not a centime to his name. At that moment, a carriage drove up to the house, Count de Tray rushed to the exit and returned with an unusually beautiful lady - from the description, Derville immediately recognized her as the countess who had issued the bill four years ago. This time she pledged magnificent diamonds. Derville tried to prevent the deal, but as soon as Maxim hinted that he was going to commit suicide, the unfortunate woman agreed to the enslaving terms of the loan. After the lovers left, the Countess's husband burst into Gobsek's house demanding the return of the mortgage - his wife had no right to dispose of the family jewels. Derville managed to settle the matter peacefully, and the grateful moneylender gave the count advice: transferring all his property to a reliable friend through a fictitious sale transaction is the only way to save at least his children from ruin. A few days later the count came to Derville to find out what he thought about Gobsek. The solicitor replied that in the event of an untimely death, he would not be afraid to make Gobsek the guardian of his children, for in this miser and philosopher there live two beings - the vile and the sublime. The Count immediately decided to transfer all rights to the property to Gobsek, wanting to protect him from his wife and her greedy lover.
Taking advantage of the pause in the conversation, the Viscountess sends her daughter to bed - a virtuous girl has no need to know to what extent a woman can fall if she transgresses known boundaries. After Camilla left, there was no need to hide names anymore - in the story we're talking about about Countess de Resto. Derville, having never received a counter-receipt about the fictitiousness of the transaction, learns that Count de Resto is seriously ill. The Countess, sensing a catch, does everything to prevent the lawyer from seeing her husband. The denouement comes in December 1824. By this time, the countess had already become convinced of the meanness of Maxime de Tray and broke up with him. She cares so zealously for her dying husband that many are inclined to forgive her for her past sins - in fact, she, like a predatory beast, lies in wait for her prey. The Count, unable to get a meeting with Derville, wants to hand over the documents to his eldest son - but his wife cuts off this path for him, trying to influence the boy with affection. In the last terrible scene, the Countess begs for forgiveness, but the Count remains adamant. That same night he dies, and the next day Gobsek and Derville appear in the house. A terrible sight appears before their eyes: in search of a will, the countess wreaked havoc in the office, not even ashamed of the dead. Hearing the steps of strangers, she throws papers addressed to Derville into the fire - the count’s property thereby becomes the undivided possession of Gobsek. The moneylender rented out the mansion, and began to spend the summer like a lord - in his new estates. To all Derville’s pleas to take pity on the repentant countess and her children, he answered that misfortune is the best teacher. Let Ernest de Resto know the value of people and money - then it will be possible to return his fortune. Having learned about the love of Ernest and Camilla, Derville once again went to Gobsek and found the old man dying. The old miser bequeathed all his wealth to his sister’s great-granddaughter, a public wench nicknamed “Ogonyok.” He instructed his executor Derville to dispose of the accumulated food supplies - and the lawyer actually discovered huge reserves of rotten pate, moldy fish, and rotten coffee. Towards the end of his life, Gobsek's stinginess turned into mania - he did not sell anything, fearing to sell it too cheap. In conclusion, Derville reports that Ernest de Resto will soon regain his lost fortune. The Viscountess replies that the young count must be very rich - only in this case can he marry Mademoiselle de Granlier. However, Camilla is not at all obliged to meet with her mother-in-law, although the Countess is not barred from entering the receptions - after all, she was received at Madame de Beauseant’s house.
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 summary of this work will be described below, focuses readers’ attention on this property human psychology like stinginess.
Honore de Balzac “Gobsek”: summary
It all starts with the fact that two guests stayed in the house of the Viscountess de Granlier: the lawyer Derville and the Count de Resto. When the latter leaves, the Viscountess tells her daughter Camilla that she cannot show affection to the count, because not a single family in Paris will agree to become related to him. The Viscountess adds that the count's mother is of low origin and left the children penniless, having squandered a fortune on her lover.
Listening to the Viscountess, Derville decides to explain to her the true state of affairs by telling the story of a moneylender named Gobsek. A summary of this story is the basis of Balzac's story. The lawyer mentions that he met Gobsek back in his student years, when he lived in a cheap boarding house. Derville calls Gobsek a cold-blooded “bill man” and a “golden idol.”
One day, a moneylender told Derville how he collected a debt from one countess: fearing exposure, she handed him a diamond, and her lover received the money. “This dandy can ruin the whole family,” Gobsek argued. A summary of the story will prove the veracity of his words.
Soon Count Maxime de Tray asks Derville to introduce him to the named moneylender. At first, Gobsek refuses to give a loan to the count, who has only debts instead of money. But the previously mentioned countess comes to the moneylender and pledges magnificent diamonds. She agrees to Gobsek’s conditions without hesitation. When the lovers leave, the countess's husband bursts into the moneylender and demands the return of what his wife left as a mortgage. But as a result, the count decides to transfer the property to Gobsek in order to protect his fortune from his wife’s greedy lover. Derville further points out that the story described took place in the de Resto family.
After a deal with a moneylender, Count de Resto falls ill. The Countess, in turn, breaks off all relations with Maxime de Tray and jealously looks after her husband, but he soon dies. The day after the count's death, Derville and Gobsek come to the house. A brief summary cannot describe all the horror that appeared before them in the count’s office. In search of a will, his wife the Count is a real wreck, not ashamed and dead. And most importantly, she burned the papers addressed to Derville, as a result of which the property of the de Resto family passed into the possession of Gobsek. Despite Derville's pleas to take pity on the unfortunate family, the moneylender remains adamant.
Having learned about the love of Camilla and Ernest, Derville decides to go to the house of a moneylender named Gobsek. The summary of the final part is striking in its psychologism. Gobsek was dying, but in old age his stinginess turned into mania. At the end of the story, Derville informs Viscountess de Granlier that Count de Resto will soon regain his lost fortune. After thinking, the noble lady decides that if de Resto becomes very rich, then her daughter may well marry him.
Year: 1830 Genre: story
Gobsek is a word that means a person who only thinks about money. Gobsek - in another way, this is a person who lends money at high interest rates. This is a moneylender who knows no pity when it comes to money. It is precisely such people who often cause negativity and hostility, because they are difficult to understand, it is difficult to have friendly relations with them, except for business and any profitable transactions.
Ernst is the name of a young man who evokes sincere feelings in a young lady who is a beautiful and rich heiress. And her mother is a Viscountess herself, who is quite reasonable, and therefore it is not strange that she opposes the lovers. Moreover, one of the lovers is her daughter. This is because Ernst is young, handsome, but at the same time poor.
He is a member of aristocratic society, and is an aristocrat himself, but impoverished. Since his mother was very frivolous in her youth, and it turned out that she pawned her entire fortune because she had a young lover. She wasted money, and therefore now her son does not have a very good reputation. Present during this conversation is Derville, a lawyer who enjoys the respect of the Viscountess and is therefore a friend of the family. He intervenes in the conversation and tells a very interesting story, which concerns the mother of the young man Ernst.
Derville, when he lived in a cheap boarding house as a student, met there an unpredictable man whose name was Gobsek. This man was a moneylender. It was an old man, whose appearance was somehow yellow, his nose was long, his lips were thin. He was a bill of exchange man, he was cold and indifferent to the troubles of others. He was incredibly rich, but he was hated by everyone who borrowed from him. One day, Gobsek, who of all the neighbors communicated only normally with Derville, told him about the countess. She came to borrow money to give it to her young, handsome lover, who was also a spendthrift and spendthrift. She gave Gobsek a diamond of unprecedented beauty as a mortgage. It so happened that the countess spent all subsequent years with her husband’s money and jewelry.
One day, the husband burst into Gobsek’s room, demanding that he return the jewelry, since he had no right to take it. But everything turned out differently. Gobsek advised him to give all rights to own the house and money after the death of him, the count, to Gobsek, so that his wife would not dare to spend the money.
Picture or drawing of Balzac - Gobsek
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