The Quest Of The Absolute

By Honoré de Balzac

Book Overview

""The Quest Of The Absolute"" is a novel by Honore de Balzac, first published in 1834. The story revolves around a wealthy and ambitious young man named Balthazar Claes, who becomes obsessed with the idea of discovering the secret of the absolute, a hypothetical substance that would allow him to create the perfect painting. Claes spends all his time and money on his quest, neglecting his family and business in the process. His wife and children are torn between their love for him and their frustration with his obsession. Meanwhile, a young artist named Porbus becomes Claes' prot�����g����� and collaborator, but he also harbors feelings for Claes' daughter. As Claes' obsession reaches its climax, the consequences of his actions become increasingly tragic. The novel explores themes of ambition, obsession, love, and the pursuit of perfection, and is considered one of Balzac's most philosophical works.THIS 236 PAGE ARTICLE WAS EXTRACTED FROM THE BOOK: The Country Doctor; The Quest of the Absolute; and Other Novels, by Honore de Balzac. To purchase the entire book, please order ISBN 0766171175.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1425462200
• ISBN13: 9781425462208
• Release Date: December 2005
• Publisher: Kessinger Publishing
• Length: 236 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 8.3" x 11.0"

Customer Reviews

A Flamand portrait

A Flamand portrait of the ups and downs on a burgeois family whose head turns deranged about chemical research. The title is not about any moral or philosophical absolute but about the "absolute basic element" that will allow him to transform substances like the good old philosophical stone of the alchemists. Most of the book is about the wreckage that this guy puts on his family while ruining his family a couple times, but the other main characters , his wife, daughter, a pure gentle guy in love with his daughter and a cold and calculating notary public who's also interested in the daughter are quite original, live and real. Exactly like Flamand paintings it is warm, soft, slow but charming. On the down side Balzac, being an outsider to science, shows not to have a clear distinction in his mind between a scientist and a crackpot.

Philosophal Stone and psychology

You'll have to like slow-rated stories... but that one will seduce you! There's some fantastic in it, with the famous quest of the Philosophal Stone. And also many psychology, with the interaction of all those souls living together in a rich house in Belgium. The first pages of that book are VERY important, explaining WHY Balzac just does not like to enter his novels "in medias res". Of course he takes his time to explain... So the reticent Balzac reader may understand better the writer. Not bad, eh?