«Par fas et nefas» de splendeurs et misères à ferragus

Abstract

This study aims to bring to the surface Balzac’s point of view not only on the corruption of financial and political worlds but also his former mirage of a circle of elected officials able to govern from above. By linking Ferragus to Splendeurs et misères des courtisanes while evoking other novels centered on the virtual force of money, the evocation or the testimony of a certain kind of crimes goes through the allegory and the enigma. From Ferragus to Vautrin via Mercadet, we arrive at the embodiment of the link between theatre and finance in a reality to be discovered from behind the scenes.