Le Père Goriot

Consider the subplot involving Vautrin. What role does he play in developing the work’s themes? Why does his storyline end relatively early in the novel?

Compare and contrast Victorine with Delphine and Anastasie. What modes of femininity do these characters embody, and how does this reflect the work’s broader themes?

Rastignac claims both to love Delphine and to be appalled by her behaviors. What draws him to Delphine? Does the novel suggest that his love (and/or his repugnance) is sincere?

Close read one of the novel’s descriptions of a carriage. How does this passage develop the theme of class distinctions in 19th-century Paris?

How does the novel use point of view to reveal societal hypocrisies? What does Rastignac’s status as protagonist add to this?

Honoré de Balzac at one point describes the lodgers at the Maison Vauqer as Madame Vauquer’s “spoilt children.” How does this idea of the lodging house and its inhabitants relate to the work’s overall depiction of family?

Consider Goriot as a tragic hero. How does he resemble or deviate from this archetype?

How does Madame de Beauséant’s ball further the novel’s critique of Parisian high society?