The Purse

What It's About

A young painter lodging in a Paris boarding house becomes curious about his neighbours, a elderly mother and her daughter, who are clearly well-bred but living in quiet poverty. As he gets to know them, his admiration for the daughter grows, and the story turns on the gap between appearance and reality, and on the delicacy needed to help people too proud to ask for help. It is a compact, character-driven piece with a small cast and a single setting.

Key Concepts

Genteel poverty and the pride that goes with it, the pressures of early nineteenth-century Parisian society, and the life of the young artist trying to make his name. Balzac's fine attention to rooms, furnishings and small details as clues to character and circumstance is on show throughout.

About the Author

Honoré de Balzac (1799–1850) was a French novelist and playwright, and one of the founders of literary realism in Europe. He was known for his close, unsentimental observation of society, his enormous output, and his punishing work habits.

About This Edition

This is a 1896 translation by Clara Bell.