About the product
The novel “Shagreen Skin” by Balzac, written in 1831, brought the writer worldwide fame. In the book, fantastic elements are harmoniously intertwined with the realistic life story of a young scientist who, by the will of fate, becomes the owner of magical shagreen skin.
To better prepare for a literature lesson, we recommend reading online a chapter-by-chapter summary of “Shagreen Skin,” and then taking a special test to test your knowledge.
The material was prepared jointly with a teacher of the highest category, Kuchmina Nadezhda Vladimirovna.
Experience as a teacher of Russian language and literature - 27 years.
Other characters
- An antiquarian is the owner of an antiquities shop, a wise and perspicacious old man.
- Polina is the young daughter of Madame Godin, a kind, sympathetic girl with a loving heart.
- Countess Fedora is a young beautiful woman, a socialite, a cold, selfish, indifferent person.
- Emile and Rastignac are Raphael's friends.
- Aquilina, Euphrasinya - courtesans.
- Banker Tayfer is a rich and influential businessman, owner of an opposition newspaper.
Shagreen skin summary
Shagreen skin plays with fate.
Balzac's novel is philosophical reflections expressed in literary form. Anyone reading this work faces a dilemma about the relationship between wealth and grief. I would like to find out: why a piece of miracle leather, saving the hero of the story from poverty, requires misfortune to pay for its good services, destroys the desire to enjoy life. The hero of the work, Raphael de Valentin, presents a standard picture of a handsome young man from a good family, but for a number of reasons he finds himself in a difficult situation. It should be noted that among the reasons, not the least, are one’s own lack of management and the desire to quickly and earn a lot, for example, in gaming houses.
Mysterious talisman
The novel begins at the moment when a young man named Raphael de Valentin reached the edge. Failures and defeats plunged him into despair and the thought of suicide seems most suitable to Raphael. Having lost his last twenty-franc coin, the young man went out into the street and went wherever his eyes led him. You need to throw yourself off the bridge into the Seine, but during the day the boatmen won’t let you take your own life for fifty francs, and it was disgusting. We must wait until twilight, then society, which failed to appreciate the moral greatness of Raphael, will receive his unidentified, lifeless body. In the meantime, we decided to finally amuse our eyes with city views. The doomed man admired the Louvre and the Academy, examined the turrets of Notre Dame Cathedral and the Palace of Justice. Here, on the path of the future drowned man, there was an antiquities shop where he sold antiques and various groceries. The ominous-looking old man saw Raphael's spiritual breakdown and offered him a chance to become more powerful than the king. The merchant laid out the goods in front of the young man, a piece of shagreen with an intricate engraving in Sanskrit, the meaning of which sounded something like this: the owner of the piece will have everything, but his life will belong to the skin, all wishes will be fulfilled, but the piece of skin will melt, like the days of the life of the owner of the talisman. Raphael shook hands with the prickly old man and first of all wished that the merchant would fall in love with the dancer, as long as fate did not change. Arriving at night on the bridge, Valentin was taken aback by the unexpected meeting with his friends. They were passionate about the project of creating a moderate opposition to King Louis Philippe and offered to participate in the matter as a newspaper employee. And to top it all off, they invited the rich banker Taillefer to a dinner party. A motley bohemian audience gathered there, a rich dinner ended with exotic entertainment - a conversation with the courtesans Aquilina and Euphrasia about the frailty of existence.
Heartless woman
Only after experiencing strong emotional unrest does Rafael reveal to his friend memories from his childhood, mostly filled with disappointments. The dreamy boy did not receive his father's love. The domineering and tough parent, busy with machinations with the lands conquered by Napoleon’s army, did not leave any warmth to his sensually vulnerable son. When Napoleon lost everything, the elder Valentin's business ceased to generate income. After the death of his father, Raphael was left only with debts that deprived him of his fortune. What we managed to save had to be stretched out for some time, eking out a semi-beggarly existence, renting an attic in a cheap hotel. Feeling his literary talent, Raphael devoted himself to creating a “great work,” while simultaneously pursuing the pretty daughter of his owner. The object of his passing desire was called Polina, but she was not the lady of his dreams. The young man, like Don Juan, needed an ideal social passion, and also a rich one. A short time later, such a woman appears in Raphael's life. Countess Theodora attracted the attention of many Parisian suitors who suffered a fiasco in front of the inaccessible and rich beauty. At the beginning of their acquaintance, Valentin felt the favor of the enviable lady. Sweet dreams almost deprived him of his mind when a cynical calculation was revealed. Through Raphael, Theodora intended to establish a relationship with the Duke de Navarrene, who was a distant relative of the young man. After a love failure, he moves to his friend Rastignac. Once they won a large sum, the friends “went to all kinds of troubles”, quickly squandered the jackpot and ended up on the social bottom. Sensitive Raphael considered life over. So the decision came to throw myself off the bridge into the Seine. Having received the chance that a piece of shagreen gave the young man, Raphael wished to receive one hundred and twenty thousand in rent. In the morning a message arrived from the notary about the inheritance left to Valentin by a certain Major O'Flaherty, who had died the day before. Having taken out a magical piece of skin, the newly-minted rich man noted a visible reduction in the flap. Suddenly there was a consciousness that the end was approaching. Now Raphael could have everything, but he lost his desires.
Agony
Having replaced the attic with a rich house, Raphael had to strictly control his emerging desires. Any expression of them led to an irreversible reduction in the piece of shagreen. Once at the theater, Valentin accidentally met the old man who sold him a piece of leather. He was walking arm in arm with a young courtesan. Having not changed much in appearance, the shopkeeper's gaze was greatly transformed. The old man's eyes sparkled like those of an inspired youth. It turns out that the matter lies in love, an hour of which is sometimes worth a lifetime. Looking around at the elegant audience, Raphael fixed his gaze on Theodora, as brilliant as before. But the feelings no longer stirred; behind the external gloss there was a faceless emptiness. Then another socialite attracted attention; to his surprise, Valentin recognized her as Polina, with whom he whiled away the time in a modest attic. Now everything has changed, Polina inherited a considerable fortune. Having made a wish that Polina would love him, Rafael noticed that the piece of skin had become very small. In a fit of rage, Raphael threw her into the well, let fate decide everything. Life sparkled with new colors, a sea of happiness washed over the young people. But the gardener accidentally reminded him of the inevitable; he took out a discarded piece of shagreen from the well. Raphael runs to the scientists with a request to eliminate the patch, but no one is able to help him. This leads to despair. Life, which until recently seemed unbearable to Raphael, suddenly became an enduring value. Illnesses begin to overcome Valentin, doctors find consumption in him and wash their hands of him - his days are already numbered. Polina remained the only person who sincerely empathized with Rafael. This circumstance and his unbearable mental anguish force him to flee from his bride. When they met after a while, not having the strength to resist the desire, Rafael rushed to Polina. This desire ended his life. In the epilogue, the author gave a vague hint of reflection about Polina’s fate.
Summary
Part I. Talisman
In October 1829, a young man, Raphael de Valentin, entered the gambling hall. His whole behavior in the brothel indicated that “he still has the soul of a beginner.” The young man’s appearance was so unhappy, speaking “of fruitless efforts, of a thousand disappointed hopes,” that it struck even the most dispassionate and deeply indifferent to the grief of others at the gambling establishment. His face, “once pure and lively,” was disfigured by the passion tormenting him from within and expressed the desperate determination of a suicide.
Having lost the last gold coin, Raphael began to wander through the streets of Paris in a daze. All his thoughts were absorbed in one thing: to end this miserable life by jumping from the Royal Bridge into the Seine. “He decided to die at night,” and spent the rest of the day studying the beautiful architecture, admiring the pretty woman and giving alms to the beggars.
Finally, Raphael wandered into an antiquities shop to ask the price of works of art. He spent a long time looking at antiques belonging to different eras. Soon he noticed the owner of the shop - “a lean, thin old man in a black velvet dress.”
The astute old man quickly realized that his visitor was in a depressed state. He managed to get Raphael to talk, who told him about his intention to commit suicide due to dire poverty.
Wanting to help the young man, the antique dealer handed him “a piece of shagreen leather, the size of a fox skin.” On the reverse side there was “an imprint of the seal that the Easterners call Solomon’s Ring,” as well as a warning according to which the owner of the leather could have all the treasures of the world, but had to pay for it with his life.
The old man admitted that he had never dared to use the amazing shagreen leather. With age, he came to the idea that only knowledge can bestow youth of soul and happiness, and therefore he concentrated his life “in the brain, which does not decay and survives everything.”
Passionately wanting to change his fate, Raphael agreed to become the owner of shagreen leather. The old man warned that from now on all his “wishes will be fulfilled to the smallest detail,” but at the expense of his own life.
The young man grabbed a piece of leather and ran out of the shop into the street, where he ran into three of his friends. The young people said that they had been looking for Rafael for a long time, who, “as a person of superior abilities,” was ideally suited for the role of an employee of the new newspaper of the opposition government. The young man was stunned not so much by the fulfillment of his desires, but by the natural way in which events intertwined.
The closest to Raphael was his friend Emil, a journalist, “a bold critic, full of enthusiasm and causticity.” He took his friend to dinner with the influential banker Taillefer, the organizer and owner of a bold newspaper, where young, promising artists, writers, and scientists gathered. Over a glass of wine they talked about politics and discussed the structure of the state.
When the guests, intoxicated and relaxed by the luxurious reception, were already reclining in comfortable armchairs, “suddenly a group of women introduced themselves.” These were the best, most expensive courtesans in Paris - subtle imitations of well-behaved girls. Having the appearance of angels in the flesh, inside they hid the most exquisite vice, promising a lot of sensual pleasures. Without a doubt, each of these beautiful girls “could tell some bloody drama” that pushed her onto such an unrighteous path in life.
Emil and Raphael met two beautiful courtesans - Aquilina and Euphrasinya. In a conversation with them, the young people learned that these charming creatures, despite their youth, had long been disillusioned with love and preferred to take from life the maximum that their beauty allowed them.
Part II. Woman without a heart
Rafael decided to tell Emil the story of his life so that his friend could understand the reason for his suffering and mental anguish.
From an early age, Rafael was at the mercy of an overly strict, stern father, who dreamed of seeing his son become a successful lawyer. As a result, the young man “had to listen to lectures and work for a lawyer.” He was afraid and at the same time loved his father, who never showed him his parental affection.
Having reached the age of twenty-one, Raphael received some freedom of action. He learned that his father had been seeking recognition of rights to land holdings in Bavaria and Prussia for a long time. Raphael's future depended on this process, and he also actively joined the process. However, the protracted trial ended in ruin for the young man's father, who died ten months later.
By that time, all of Raphael’s property “consisted of an inventory of things sold,” and his future did not bode well. His origin connected him “with some rich families,” but no one needed the poor young man, and his pride did not allow him to ask for help from wealthier relatives.
He stretched out the funds left to him as an inheritance for three years, eating very meager food. Raphael settled in a cheap hotel and decided to devote himself entirely to writing a scientific work called “The Theory of the Will.” All this time he worked diligently day and night, “not allowing himself to taste the joys of Parisian life.”
Raphael managed to become close to the owner of the hotel, Madame Godin, who took care of the young man like a mother. Her fourteen-year-old daughter Polina provided “many services that could not be refused.” As a token of gratitude, Rafael began teaching her to play the piano. The girl proved herself to be a capable and diligent student and tried in every possible way to please her strict teacher, whom she managed to love in her heart.
However, Rafael did not give in to temptation and did not pay attention to the charms of his charming student: he was used to “looking at Polina only as a sister” and did not even think about getting together with her. In addition, Raphael’s feelings could only be aroused by a luxurious, well-groomed beauty, dressed in silk and velvet: the young man sincerely did not understand “love in poverty.”
And one day fate brought Raphael together with such a woman. Thanks to an old acquaintance, Rastignac, the young man found himself in high Parisian society, where he met the Countess of Russian origin, Fedora. She was “the most beautiful, most charming woman in Paris,” mysterious and unapproachable. Rastignac told his friend that the countess had a very substantial dowry, and advised him not to miss the chance to successfully arrange his life.
Fedora, a twenty-two-year-old socialite, already had a marriage behind her, but she did not have a lover, and many metropolitan dandies fruitlessly tried to win her heart. Raphael was no exception, who decided to marry the countess at all costs.
The young scientist had to spend his last money in order to be able to appear in decent form at Fedora’s receptions. Once Valentin was forced to agree to write false memoirs in order to ensure himself a decent wardrobe. He used his sophisticated mind to seduce the beauty and tie her to him, but very quickly fell in love himself, while Fedora remained cold and indifferent, like an antique statue.
Unexpectedly, Rafael received a note from his lady love, in which she invited him for a walk. He began to get ready “in a fit of nervous fever,” worrying only about the fact that he had absolutely no money for a carriage.
Raphael breathed a sigh of relief when he learned that Fedora had decided to walk with him through the Luxembourg Gardens. The Countess asked to provide her with a “rather important service”: to assist with the patronage of the Duke de Navarenne, who was Raphael’s cousin. Fedora admitted that her fortune and position in society depended on this. The young man in love was happy to help, but as soon as he did what was required of him, the countess immediately alienated him from her.
Gradually, the veil of love fell from Raphael’s eyes, and he realized how cold, callous and spiritually poor his chosen one was. However, he dreamed of knowing “this woman physically.” The young man hid in Fedora’s bedroom and, waiting for her to fall asleep, admired her serene sleep for a long time. Rafael wanted to “slowly lie down next to her, cuddle up to her and hug her,” but then he changed his mind: he wanted to take possession of her soul much more strongly.
Unable to endure the torment of unrequited love any longer, Rafael dared to confess his feelings to Fedora. The Countess replied that she felt happy only when alone and did not intend to belong to anyone.
Raphael admitted to Rastignac that he dreamed of committing suicide. A friend dissuaded him from this idea and offered to play with his last money in a gambling house. Luck smiled on the friends: they won a large sum and plunged into “a whirlwind of pleasures, both empty and real.” When the money ran out, Raphael went to a gambling house, but lost the last coin and decided to throw himself from the Royal Bridge into the Seine...
Chapter III. Agony
Raphael's old teacher, Mr. Porique, appeared at the luxurious mansion of his former student to communicate with him. From a faithful servant he learned that “the Marquis does not accept anyone” and lives according to the established order once and for all. In addition, he forbade the servants to ask him questions: “Would you like it?” Wouldn't you like it? Would you please?"
Realizing that the shagreen skin shrank every time after a wish was fulfilled, Raphael dreamed of “lengthening his life at all costs.” He turned into a real ascetic, giving up “life in order to live.”
Professor Porica did manage to meet Raphael and was stunned when he saw "this young corpse." The old man complained that he “found himself without a place, without a pension and without a piece of bread,” and asked the former student to lobby for the provision of some suitable place of work. Forgetting any precautions, Raphael wholeheartedly wished the teacher good luck, and immediately noticed with horror how the precious flap of skin had shrunk.
Once at the Italian Opera, Raphael met Polina, who by that time had turned into a real beauty. He was incredibly surprised by such a change, and demanded that the shagreen skin make the girl fall in love with him, but “the skin did not move”: she could not fulfill a wish that had already come true.
When they met, the young people confessed their love to each other. The girl said that her father had returned from distant travels, she had become a rich heiress and had the right to “determine her destiny” as she pleases. Feeling the “breath of happiness,” Raphael proposed to his beloved, and she happily agreed. The young man’s happiness was overshadowed only by his shagreen skin, which continued to slowly but surely decrease in size.
Raphael found an experienced zoologist who identified the shagreen patch as the skin of a rare species of donkey - an onager, living exclusively in Persia. The mechanics professor tried to stretch it under a powerful press, but the size of the skin did not change a millimeter. The experiments of the famous chemist did not yield any results.
The man was truly frightened when he first “had a terrible coughing fit,” which took all his strength. He began to melt literally before our eyes and was forced to gather a council of doctors so that they could “pass a verdict: whether he should live or die.” However, none of the “oracles of modern medicine” could determine the true cause of Valentin’s deteriorating health. As a result, the patient went to improve his health in the water.
The climate change did not help Rafael: he continued to be tormented by severe attacks of hysterical prolonged cough. In addition, he was not accepted by the local society, and one day he was forced to accept a challenge and kill his opponent in a duel.
The Marquis moved to another place, and his last days were brightened up by picturesque landscapes of wild nature. When the simple villagers from whom Raphael rented a room began to openly feel sorry for him, “the very next day he went to Paris.”
Valentin asked for a tincture of opium to be prescribed to him in order to remain “invariably in a sleepy state.” After some time, he showed Polina “a piece of shagreen leather, fragile and small, like a periwinkle leaf,” and told about his power over him. Raphael died in the arms of his beloved...
“Shagreen skin” summary by chapter
"Shagreen skin"
- novel by Honoré de Balzac. Dedicated to the problem of the collision of an inexperienced person with a society infested with vices.
“Shagreen skin” summary by chapter
Mascot
The young man, Raphael de Valentin, is poor. Education has given him little; he is unable to provide for himself. He wants to commit suicide, and, waiting for the right moment (he decides to die at night, throwing himself from a bridge into the Seine), he enters an antiquities shop, where the old owner shows him an amazing talisman - shagreen leather. On the reverse side of the talisman there are embossed signs in “Sanskrit”; translation reads:
Possessing me, you will possess everything, but your life will belong to me. God wants it that way. Wish and your wishes will be fulfilled. However, balance your desires with your life. She is here. With every wish, I will decrease, as if your days. Do you want to own me? Take it. God will hear you. Let it be so!
Thus, any wish of Raphael will come true, but for this his life will also be shortened. Raphael entered into an agreement with an old antique dealer (the motive of a deal with the devil, a connection with Goethe’s Faust), who had been saving his strength all his life, depriving himself of desires and passions, and wished him to fall in love with a young dancer.
The hero plans to organize a bacchanalia (the skin shrinks to such a size that you can fold it and put it in your pocket).
He leaves the shop and meets friends. His friend, journalist Emil, calls on Rafael to head a wealthy newspaper and reports that he has been invited to the celebration of its establishment. Raphael sees this only as a coincidence, but not as a miracle. The feast truly fulfills all his desires. He admits to Emil that a few hours ago he was ready to throw himself into the Seine. Emil asks Rafael about what made him decide to commit suicide.
Woman without a heart
Rafael tells the story of his life.
The hero was brought up in strictness. His father was a nobleman from the south of France. At the end of the reign of Louis XVI he came to Paris, where he quickly made his fortune. The revolution ruined him. However, during the Empire he again achieved fame and fortune thanks to his wife's dowry. The fall of Napoleon was a tragedy for him, because he was buying up lands on the border of the empire, which were now transferred to other countries. A long trial, in which he also involved his son, a future doctor of law, ended in 1825, when M. de Villele “unearthed” the imperial decree on the loss of rights. Ten months later, the father died. Raphael sold all his property and was left with 1120 francs.
He decides to live a quiet life in the attic of a miserable hotel in a remote quarter of Paris. The owner of the hotel, Madame Godin, has a baron husband who has gone missing in India. She believes that someday he will return, fabulously rich. Polina, her daughter, falls in love with Rafael, but he has no idea about it. He completely devotes his life to working on two things: a comedy and a scientific treatise “The Theory of the Will”.
One day he meets young Rastignac on the street. He offers him a way to quickly get rich through marriage. There is one woman in the world - Theodora - fabulously beautiful and rich. But she doesn’t love anyone and doesn’t even want to hear about marriage. Rafael falls in love and begins to spend all his money on courtship. Theodora does not suspect his poverty. Rastignac introduces Raphael to Fino, a man who offers to write a forged memoir for his grandmother, offering a lot of money. Rafael agrees. He begins to lead a broken life: he leaves the hotel, rents and furnishes a house; every day he is in society... but he still loves Theodora. Deeply in debt, he goes to the gambling house where Rastignac was once lucky enough to win 27,000 francs, loses the last Napoleon and wants to drown himself.
This is where the story ends.
Raphael remembers the shagreen leather in his pocket. As a joke, to prove his power to Emile, he asks for two hundred thousand francs in income. Along the way, they take measurements - put the skin on a napkin, and Emil traces the edges of the talisman with ink. Everyone falls asleep. The next morning, the lawyer Cardo comes and announces that Raphael’s rich uncle, who had no other heirs, died in Calcutta. Raphael jumps up and checks his skin with the napkin. The skin shrank! He's terrified. Emil states that Raphael can make any wish come true. Everyone makes requests half seriously, half jokingly. Rafael doesn't listen to anyone. He is rich, but at the same time almost dead. The talisman works!
Agony
Beginning of December. Rafael lives in a luxurious house. Everything is arranged so that you don’t have to say the words I wish
,
I want
, etc. On the wall in front of him there is always a framed piece of shagreen, outlined in ink.
A former teacher, Mr. Porrique, comes to Rafael, an influential man. He asks to secure a position for him as an inspector at a provincial college. Rafael accidentally says in a conversation: “I sincerely wish...”. The skin tightens and he screams furiously at Porika; his life hangs by a thread.
Rafael goes to the theater and meets Polina there. She is rich - her father has returned, and with a large fortune. They meet in Madame Godin's former hotel, in that same old attic. Rafael is in love. Polina admits that she has always loved him. They decide to get married. Arriving home, Rafael finds a way to deal with the shagreen: he throws the skin into the well.
End of February. Rafael and Polina live together. One morning a gardener comes, having caught shagreen from the well. She became very small. Rafael is in despair. He goes to see the learned men, but everything is useless: the naturalist Lavril gives him a whole lecture on the origin of donkey skin, but he can’t stretch it; mechanic Tablet puts it in a hydraulic press, which breaks; the chemist Baron Jafe cannot break it down with any substances.
Polina notices signs of consumption in Rafael. He calls Horace Bianchon, his friend, a young doctor, who convenes a consultation. Each doctor expresses his own scientific theory, they all unanimously advise going to the water, placing leeches on your stomach and breathing fresh air. However, they cannot determine the cause of his illness. Raphael leaves for Aix, where he is treated poorly. They avoid him and declare almost to his face that “since a person is so sick, he should not go to the water.” A confrontation with the cruelty of secular treatment led to a duel with one of the brave brave men. Raphael killed his opponent, and the skin shrank again. Convinced that he is dying, he returns to Paris, where he continues to hide from Polina, putting himself into a state of artificial sleep in order to last longer, but she finds him. When he sees her, he lights up with desire and rushes at her. The girl runs away in horror, and Rafael finds Polina half-naked - she scratched her chest and tried to strangle herself with a shawl. The girl thought that if she died, she would leave her lover alive. The life of the main character is cut short.
Epilogue
In the epilogue, Balzac makes it clear that he does not want to describe Polina’s further earthly path. In a symbolic description, he calls her either a flower blooming in a flame, or an angel coming in a dream, or the ghost of a Lady, depicted by Antoine de la Salle. This ghost seems to want to protect his country from the invasion of modernity. Speaking about Theodora, Balzac notes that she is everywhere, as she personifies secular society.
You might be interested in:
- When is it better to eat kiwi in the morning or evening?
- Skin care rules with Obagi
- Telangiectasia: what is it?
- How does hepatitis C affect your health? Why is it dangerous?
