The Village Priest

Here is a novel De Balzac which is rarely quoted in the list of his major works. Yet the plot seemed to me as complex as Illusion Perdues can be. He reaches the strength of it. The main character of this book is Véronique Graslin, née Sauviat. In Limoges, her parents lead a life of greed; they are stingy to the very end of their nails. Balzac tells us with malice their Auvergne origin. However, their greed finds a limit when it comes to the well-being of their daughters, who are missing nothing. The Sauviats raise their daughter in the strictest Catholic religion, forbidding her from anything that could constitute a deviation from a healthy Christian life. Thus incubated, Véronique grew up isolated from the rest of the world and from Limoges society. At about 18 years of age, she was allowed to read a classic literary book: Paul and Virginia. We can imagine the effect this novel will have on his prude mind. This trivial event will nevertheless have a definite role in its future.

Thanks to her parents' years of economy, she is richly endowed and makes a marriage envied by all the fathers of the city: another Auvergne passing for one of the richest men in the region. It then gradually conquered a prominent place in the upper bourgeois society of Limoges, thus moving away from its low social origins.

This is where the story really begins, and I won't spoil your pleasure in telling it to you. The novel's interest is entirely in Véronique's Destiny. And once the outcome is known, it is interesting to try to analyze it. Because in this novel, more than in any other, Balzac wants to give the reader all the keys to understand this exceptional life. We become aware of all the forces and influences that played with complexity in Veronique's life to reach the end of her life. Once again, the creative genius De Balzac appears.

From a literary point of view, I found that very strong. As Balzac himself said, "I didn't believe in the possibility of achieving such effects in literature. The priest of Village exceeds my expectations". We suspect some dark sides in Véronique's life, we say to ourselves "This time Balzac is a bit old-fashioned, his plot is sewn with white thread", "I understood everything with two hundred pages to go". In fact, the reader is led by the nose to think what Balzac has decided, to surprise us better, of course.

This novel is about the influence that the Catholic religion could have in the 19th century on the inhabitants of the provinces. That said, as always with Balzac, as with all great authors, past situations can be transposed to the present. Provided you change a few words....