La Duchesse de Langeais
Encyclopedia
La Duchesse de Langeais is an 1834 novel by French
author Honoré de Balzac
(1799-1850) and included in the Scènes de la vie parisienne section of his novel sequence La Comédie humaine
. It is part of his 1839 trilogy Histoire des treize: Ferragus is the first part, Part Two is La Duchesse de Langeais and Part Three is The Girl with the Golden Eyes
. It first appeared in 1834 under the title Ne touchez pas la hache (Don’t Touch the Axe) in the periodical L'Écho de la Jeune France.
, General Montriveau finds the duchess in a Spanish monastery of Discalced Carmelites
under the name of Sister Theresa.
Dedicated to Franz Liszt
, this portrait of a vain representative of the noble families of Faubourg Saint-Germain
, was inspired by the Duchess of Castries with whom Balzac had a failed romance.
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
author Honoré de Balzac
Honoré de Balzac
Honoré de Balzac was a French novelist and playwright. His magnum opus was a sequence of short stories and novels collectively entitled La Comédie humaine, which presents a panorama of French life in the years after the 1815 fall of Napoleon....
(1799-1850) and included in the Scènes de la vie parisienne section of his novel sequence La Comédie humaine
La Comédie humaine
La Comédie humaine is the title of Honoré de Balzac's multi-volume collection of interlinked novels and stories depicting French society in the period of the Restoration and the July Monarchy .-Overview:...
. It is part of his 1839 trilogy Histoire des treize: Ferragus is the first part, Part Two is La Duchesse de Langeais and Part Three is The Girl with the Golden Eyes
The Girl with the Golden Eyes
La Fille aux yeux d'or is a novella by Honoré de Balzac. It is the third part of the Thirteen series, which includes the short stories Ferragus and La Duchesse de Langeais...
. It first appeared in 1834 under the title Ne touchez pas la hache (Don’t Touch the Axe) in the periodical L'Écho de la Jeune France.
Plot
General Armand de Montriveau, a war hero, is enamored of Duchess Antoinette de Langeais, a coquettish, married noblewoman who invites him to a ball but ultimately refuses his sexual advances and then disappears. Assisted by the powerful group known as The Thirteen, who ascribe to an occult form of freemasonryFreemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
, General Montriveau finds the duchess in a Spanish monastery of Discalced Carmelites
Discalced Carmelites
The Discalced Carmelites, or Barefoot Carmelites, is a Catholic mendicant order with roots in the eremitic tradition of the Desert Fathers and Mothers...
under the name of Sister Theresa.
Dedicated to Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
, this portrait of a vain representative of the noble families of Faubourg Saint-Germain
Faubourg Saint-Germain
The Faubourg Saint Germain is an historic district of Paris. The Faubourg has long been known as the favorite home of the French high nobility and hosts many aristocratic Hôtels particuliers...
, was inspired by the Duchess of Castries with whom Balzac had a failed romance.
Film adaptations
- La Duchesse de Langeais, 1910 French film by André Calmettes
- La Duchesse de Langeais (The Eternal Flame), 1922 American film by Frank LloydFrank LloydFrank Lloyd was a film director, scriptwriter and producer...
- La Duchesse de Langeais (Liebe), 1926 German film by Paul CzinnerPaul CzinnerPaul Czinner was a writer, film director, and producer.Czinner was born in Budapest, Austria-Hungary. After studying literature and philosophy at the University of Vienna, he worked as a journalist. From 1919 onward, he dedicated himself to work for the filming industry as writer, director and...
- La Duchesse de Langeais, 1942 French film by Jacques de BaroncelliJacques de BaroncelliJacques de Baroncelli was a French film director best known for his silent films from 1915 to the late 1930s....
- La Duchesse de Langeais, 1982 French television film by Jean-Paul RouxJean-Paul RouxJean-Paul Roux, PhD was a French Turkologue and a specialist of Islamic culture.He was a graduate of Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales, the École du Louvre, and the École Pratique des Hautes Études. In 1966 he was awarded a doctorate in literature in Paris...
- La Duchesse de Langeais, 1995 French television film by Jean-Daniel Verhaeghe
- Ne touchez pas la hache, 2007 French film by Jacques RivetteJacques RivetteJacques Rivette is a French film director. His most well known films include Celine and Julie Go Boating, La Belle Noiseuse and the cult film Out 1....