Sign-In
Cart
Seraphita
Paperback
Publisher: Indoeuropeanpublishing.com
Published: Mar 5 2024
Pages: 140
Weight: 0.39
Height: 0.35 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
Séraphîta is a French novel by Honoré de Balzac with themes of androgyny. It was published in the Revue de Paris in 1834. In contrast with the realism of most of the author's best known works, the story delves into the fantastic and the supernatural to illustrate philosophical themes.
In a castle in Norway near the fjord Stromfjord, Séraphitüs, a strange and melancholic being, conceals a terrible secret. Séraphitüs loves Minna, and she returns this love, believing Séraphitüs to be a man. But Séraphitüs is also loved by Wilfrid, who considers Séraphitüs to be a woman (Séraphîta).
In reality, Séraphitüs-Séraphîta is a perfect androgyne, born to parents who by the doctrines of Emanuel Swedenborg have transcended their humanity, and Séraphitüs-Séraphîta is the perfect example of humanity.
Ruggero Leoncavallo wrote a symphonic poem based on the story.
An early drawing of Paul Gauguin's ceramic sculpture Oviri bears the inscription Et le monstre, entréignant sa créature, féconde de sa semence des flancs généreux pour engendrer Séraphitus-Séraphita (And the monster, embracing its creation, filled her generous womb with seed and fathered Séraphitus-Séraphita), referring to the novel.
From 2010 to 2014 Ouriel Zohar staged Seraphita, his adaptation of the novel starring Barbara Heman at the Théâtre de l'Île Saint-Louis in Paris, and then in several countries around the world. (wikipedia.org)
About the author:
Honoré de Balzac born Honoré Balzac; (20 May 1799 - 18 August 1850) was a French novelist and playwright. The novel sequence La Comédie humaine, which presents a panorama of post-Napoleonic French life, is generally viewed as his magnum opus.
Owing to his keen observation of detail and unfiltered representation of society, Balzac is regarded as one of the founders of realism in European literature. He is renowned for his multi-faceted characters; even his lesser characters are complex, morally ambiguous and fully human. Inanimate objects are imbued with character as well; the city of Paris, a backdrop for much of his writing, takes on many human qualities. His writing influenced many famous writers, including the novelists Émile Zola, Charles Dickens, Marcel Proust, Gustave Flaubert, and Henry James, and filmmakers François Truffaut and Jacques Rivette. Many of Balzac's works have been made into films and continue to inspire other writers. James called him really the father of us all.
An enthusiastic reader and independent thinker as a child, Balzac had trouble adapting to the teaching style of his grammar school. His willful nature caused trouble throughout his life and frustrated his ambitions to succeed in the world of business. When he finished school, Balzac was apprenticed in a law office, but he turned his back on the study of law after wearying of its inhumanity and banal routine. Before and during his career as a writer, he attempted to be a publisher, printer, businessman, critic, and politician; he failed in all of these efforts. La Comédie Humaine reflects his real-life difficulties, and includes scenes from his own experience.
Balzac suffered from health problems throughout his life, possibly owing to his intense writing schedule. His relationship with his family was often strained by financial and personal drama, and he lost more than one friend over critical reviews. In 1850, Balzac married Ewelina Hańska (née Contessa Rzewuska), a Polish aristocrat and his longtime love. He died in Paris six months later. (wikipedia.org)
Also from
de Balzac, Honoré
Learn French with Short Stories: Interlinear French to English
Hyplern, Bermuda Word
de Maupassant, Guy
de Balzac, Honoré
Paperback
Darkness Brews: Draughts, Elixirs, Vintages, and Libations in Classic Speculative Fiction
Hauff, Wilhelm
de Balzac, Honoré
Paperback
Notes remises à Messieurs les députés composant la Commission de la loi sur la propriété littéraire
de Balzac, Honoré
Paperback
Petit dictionnaire critique et anecdotique des enseignes de Paris, par un batteur de pavé
de Balzac, Honoré
Paperback
Physiologie du mariage. Tome 1: ou Méditations de philosophie éclectique sur le bonheur et le malheur conjugal
de Balzac, Honoré
Paperback
Physiologie du mariage. Tome 2: ou Méditations de philosophie éclectique sur le bonheur et le malheur conjugal
de Balzac, Honoré
Paperback
L'art de mettre sa cravate, de toutes les manières connues et usitées: Enseigné et démontré en seize leçons
de Balzac, Honoré
Paperback
Cousin Bette (Royal Collector's Edition) (Case Laminate Hardcover with Jacket)
de Balzac, Honoré
Hardcover
Histoires Drôlatiques De L'empereur Napoléon Ier
de Balzac, Honoré
Soulié, Frédéric
Tousez, Étienne Augustin
Paperback
The Works of Honoré De Balzac: Eugénie Grandet, Ursule Mirouët, and Other Stories
Saintsbury, George
de Balzac, Honoré
McSpadden, Joseph Walker
Paperback
La Comédie Humaine of Honoré De Balzac; Volume 31
Wormeley, Katharine Prescott
de Balzac, Honoré
Paperback
La Comédie Humaine of Honoré De Balzac; Volume 20
de Balzac, Honoré
Wormeley, Katharine Prescott
Paperback
Eugénie Grand: Les intrigues provinciales et les transitions cachées dans "Eugénie Grandet"
de Balzac, Honoré
Paperback
Modeste Mignon: Les épreuves d'une famille face à la ruine et à la trahison
de Balzac, Honoré
Paperback
Eugénie Grandet (The Human Comedy) (Royal Collector's Edition) (Case Laminate Hardcover with Jacket)
de Balzac, Honoré
Hardcover
Scènes De La Vie Privée: Honorine; Le Colonel Chabert; La Messe De L'athée; L'interdiction; Pierre Grassou
de Balzac, Honoré
Paperback
Scènes De La Vie Politique: I. Un Épisode Sous La Terreur. Ii. Le Réquisitionnaire
de Balzac, Honoré
Paperback
The Lily of the Valley. the Firm of Nucingen. the Country Doctor: And Other Stories
de Balzac, Honoré
Saintsbury, George
Paperback
The Works of Honoré De Balzac: The Magic Skin, the Quest of the Absolute, and Other Stories. Illustrated Sterling Edition; Illustrated Sterling Editi
Saintsbury, George
de Balzac, Honoré
Hardcover
The Unknown Masterpiece: (Le Chef-D'hoeuvre Inconnu) and Other Stories
de Balzac, Honoré
Marriage, Ellen
Paperback
The Correspondence of Honoré De Balzac; Volume 1
de Balzac, Honoré
Kenney, Charles Lamb
Surville, Laure
Hardcover
La Comédie Humaine of Honoré De Balzac: Cousin Pons
de Balzac, Honoré
Wormeley, Katharine Prescott
Paperback
Les Français Peints Par Eux-Mêmes: Encyclopédie Morale Du Dix-Neuvième Siècle
de Balzac, Honoré
Paperback
Fiche de lecture La Femme de trente ans de Balzac (Analyse littéraire de référence et résumé complet)
de Balzac, Honoré
Paperback
Fiche de lecture Le Colonel Chabert de Balzac (Analyse littéraire de référence et résumé complet)
de Balzac, Honoré
Paperback
Fiche de lecture Le Lys dans la vallée de Balzac (Analyse littéraire de référence et résumé complet)
de Balzac, Honoré
Paperback
Fiche de lecture Le Père Goriot de Balzac (Analyse littéraire de référence et résumé complet)
de Balzac, Honoré
Paperback
Histoire des Treize: trois courts romans d'Honoré de Balzac: Ferragus, La Duchesse de Langeais, La Fille aux yeux d'or
de Balzac, Honoré
Paperback
The Rise and Fall of César Birotteau: (Grandeur Et Décadence De César Birotteau)
Saintsbury, George
de Balzac, Honoré
Marriage, Ellen
Hardcover
Les Français Peints Par Eux-Mêmes: Encyclopédie Morale Du Dix-Neuvième Siècle; Volume 3
de Balzac, Honoré
Paperback
Fiche de lecture La Cousine Bette de Balzac (Analyse littéraire de référence et résumé complet)
de Balzac, Honoré
Paperback
Histoire de la grandeur et de la décadence de César Birotteau: L'ascension et la chute d'un parfumeur parisien
de Balzac, Honoré
Paperback
Séraphîta: Une exploration mystique des paysages norvégiens et des âmes humaines
de Balzac, Honoré
Paperback
Histoire des Treize: trois courts romans d'Honoré de Balzac: Ferragus, La Duchesse de Langeais, La Fille aux yeux d'or.
de Balzac, Honoré
Paperback
Also in
Classic Fiction
James Fenimore Cooper: The Leatherstocking Tales Vol. 1 (Loa #26): The Pioneers / The Last of the Mohicans / The Prairie
Cooper, James Fenimore
Hardcover
Four Comedies: The Taming of the Shrew, a Midsummer Night's Dream, the Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night
Shakespeare, William
Paperback
The Princess Bride Deluxe Limited Edition: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure
Goldman, William
Paperback
The Fellowship of the Ring: Being the First Part of the Lord of the Rings
Tolkien, J. R. R.
Paperback
The Lord of the Rings Illustrated by the Author: Illustrated by J.R.R. Tolkien
Tolkien, J. R. R.
Hardcover
The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure
Goldman, William
Hardcover
The Pilgrim's Progress: A Readable Modern-Day Version of John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress (Revised and easy-to-read)
Bunyan, John
Vermilye, Alan
Paperback
Frankenstein, Dracula, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Shelley, Mary
Stevenson, Robert Louis
Stoker, Bram
Paperback