Beschreibung:

BALZAC, Honoré de (1799-1850). Important unpublished autograph letter signed ('Honoré') to an unidentified correspondent (? Madame Zulma Carraud), n.p. [Paris], 4 January 1831 , revealing with extraordinary candour his state of mind, the difficulty of expressing his feelings, his preocupation with his work, 'Mes nuits mes jours, se consument dans une seule pensée: du pain et de l'honneur. Il y a bien des secrets dans la misère et il faut un coeur bien profond pour tout y ensevelir en silence'; dwelling on the hardships of journalism, 'Disputer dans une sorte d'arêne et à coup d'idées, le pain litteraire - se tuer a trouver des idées d'articles, perdre son energie et son activité a de petites choses', apologising for unburdening himself to her, 'Pardonnez moi de vous confier ainsi mes peines orgeilleuses, mes voeux temeraires. Vous êtes si bonne et votre âme est si grande et elevée, qu'il y a moins de hardiesse et de crainte à vous tout avouer', and showing the greatest appreciation for her friendship, 4 pages, 4to ('Letter de M . de Balzac' inscribed in a 19th century hand at the head of the first page). A remarkable letter to one of Balzac's most intimate and trusted friends. He writes to acknowledge the gift of a purse, and a letter which was too brief ('deux petits pages maigres'), and perhaps criticised him, 'Jamais je n'ai trouvé de mots, d'idées pour peindre ce que j'éprouve. Pour les livres oui, mais pour les accidens de ma vie, oh non ... je ne sais que vous dire, aussi, j'irai vous voir. Un regard ami exprime plus que toutes ces phrases, car si une lettre est une âme écrite, un regard est l'âme elle-meme'. His current work ( La Peau de Chagrin ) he describes as 'un veritable niaiserie en fait de litterature, mais où j'ai essayé de transporter quelques situations de cette vie cruelle par laquelle les hommes de genie ont passe avant d'arriver a ecrire quelque chose'. Hinting at numerous tribulations, emnities and jealousies, he is writing late at night, 'en ce moment je suis dans une des heures les plus tranquilles de ma nuit, et je me reporte en idée auprès de vous. Pour moi c'est une scene de bonheur et de paix, une heure de confession pure et fraiche, apres laquelle je serai presque consolé de ma vie'. His present taste is for study, silence and thought, and he begins to understand the Trappists, but since he still enjoys one or two friendships and the company of women, will not yet cut himself off. At the end of 1830 Balzac was heavily in debt, mostly in consequence of his family's failing financial situation and a disastrous business venture. He wrote regularly for various journals and newspapers, and in January 1831 sold his great allegorical novel La Peau de Chagrin to Charle Gosselin, the manuscript to be delivered by February 15th. Zulma Carraud (b.1796), a childhood friend of Balzac's sister Laure, was one of his most important correspondents. Frequently drawn towards women older than himself and married or otherwise unobtainable, he is said to have found in her his surest friend and confidante, and a person of admirable qualities. Many of the letters recording this amitié amoureuse are published. In 1816 Zulma married an artillery captain who later became Director of Studies at St Cyr, but after the revolution of July 1830 his future was uncertain, and in July 1831 he was transferred to Angoulême. The present letter is written to someone in St Cyr whose plans are not yet clear ('Vous ne m'avez rien dit de votre situation à St Cyr, si vous y restez et combien de vous encore'). Balzac's greeting at the end of the letter to 'vos deux compagnons' echoes his frequent messages in the published letters to Commandant Carraud and Captain Périolas, a fellow officer. He also refers to [Auguste] Borget, to whom he had been introduced by Zulma Carraud ( Correspondance , I, 444-445). It therefore seems most likely that the present letter is to Madame Carraud. He visited the Carrauds in March 1831, and in their company p