Balzac continues to fall short for me, and honestly, due to no fault of his own. Realism/naturalism never was for me, and the way you can spot the tragedy from a mile away just doesn’t endear me to his work. Granted, it’s no grand tragedy at that, which may be the problem. It’s all about class disparity, victorian family dynamics, all revolving around a dutiful young woman who attracts men not only for her qualities, but especially for the money she stands to inherit. By being guarded closely by an overbearing father who’s more so after protecting his money, her happiness is precluded and her future becomes a strictly economic affair. It’s not what I personally find entertaining, so unfortunately this wasn’t super enjoyable, although not altogether uninteresting.