"Cousin Bette"- A Novel With Few Honorable Characters

Cousin BetteI’ve never read anything by Balzac, so I thought I would give him a try on a recent vacation with “Cousin Bette”, which is one of his better known works. Despite the fact that the book lacks any characters with any kind of moral dignity (or maybe because of it), “Cousin Bette” is a great read and one I would certainly recommend to those interested in expanding their knowledge of the classics.

A prolific writer, Balzac wrote a total of 92 novels, many of which he devoted to profiling the darker side of French society. If that was Balzac’s aim in “Cousin Bette”, he certainly hit his mark. A primary theme within the novel is one man’s quest for vengeance after his ‘mistress’ (who he started ‘taking care of’ when she was only 12 or 13 years old), was stolen by a Baron. To achieve his goal, he attempts to first sleep with the Baron’s wife and then his next mistress.

You may be under the impression that I have given too much away, but this much was revealed in the very first chapter of the book. And, lest you think that only the men are less than honorable, the majority of the women in the novel are no better. Almost without exception, the women are of equally low moral fiber and would not bear well under close scrutiny. In one instance, a pregnant mistress plays a baby “like a bomb” when she writes a letter to one of the four possible fathers, hoping his wife will open the missive instead.

The spinster protanganist “Cousin Bette” who is the poor and often trampled-upon relative of the Baron’s wife, is also amoral in her attempts to use her new connections to get back at her better-off cousins for their perceived wrongs and the injustices she feels.

Again, without giving too much away, I can say that this particular French story does not have a happy ending and it is highly likely that  “Cousin Bette” probably would not have been proclaimed the “feel-good novel” of the year for its time. Of course, that also might have something to do with the French mentality versus the American perspective as we tend to prefer happier endings.

There is a Hollywood version starring Elisabeth Shue, which I have not seen, so I can’t really say if the ending was changed at all to reflect a different mind-set. It, is however, billed as a “Black Comedy” and is not recommended for everyone, so we can only hope it stuck to the original.