Project Gutenberg 2005-05-23 Public domain in the USA. 52 Balzac, Honoré de 1799 1850 Balzac, Honore de Saint-Aubin, Horace de De Balzac, Honoré Balzac, H. de (Honoré de) The Stepmother, A Drama in Five Acts Reading ease score: 84.4 (6th grade). Easy to read. Produced by Dagny and John Bickers "The Stepmother: A Drama in Five Acts" by Honoré de Balzac is a theatrical drama written in the mid-19th century. The play revolves around the complex dynamics of a family led by General Comte de Grandchamp, particularly highlighting the struggle of his daughter, Pauline, and her connections with those around her, including her stepmother, Gertrude, and a suitor named Godard. The narrative delves into themes of love, jealousy, and familial duty, set against the backdrop of societal expectations in 1829 France. At the start of the play, we are introduced to the lavish drawing-room of the General’s chateau, where he and Gertrude discuss their daughter Pauline's prospective marriage. Gertrude expresses concern over the persistent gossip suggesting she is impeding Pauline's romantic opportunities. As the General favors Pauline’s freedom to choose her husband, Godard, a wealthy suitor, enters with intentions of courtship. The opening scenes unfold the tensions between Gertrude and Pauline, contrasting Gertrude's role as a devoted yet insecure stepmother with Pauline’s youthful aspirations and emerging affections for another man, Ferdinand. As familial bonds and romantic endeavors intertwine, underlying animosities and secrets begin to surface, setting the stage for the dramatic conflicts to come. (This is an automatically generated summary.) en France -- Social life and customs -- 19th century -- Drama French drama -- 19th century -- Translations into English PQ Text Browsing: Culture/Civilization/Society Browsing: Literature Browsing: Fiction 248886 248818 2024-10-07T07:44:23.900202 2023-09-07T08:54:14.252649 text/html text/html 248879 248811 2024-10-07T07:44:24.179071 2023-09-07T08:54:14.438659 text/html text/html 164977 2024-10-07T07:44:33.618954 application/epub+zip 166722 2024-10-07T07:44:28.038989 application/epub+zip 143524 2024-10-07T07:44:26.524989 application/epub+zip 357188 2024-10-07T07:44:36.981996 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 333627 2024-10-07T07:44:32.286984 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 305017 2022-09-08T00:11:18.578453 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 196560 196543 2024-10-07T07:44:23.496993 2023-09-07T08:54:13.973640 text/plain; charset=us-ascii text/plain 196411 2020-12-14T12:52:24 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 70058 2020-12-14T12:52:24 text/plain; charset=us-ascii application/zip 19859 2024-10-07T07:44:37.120932 application/rdf+xml 17412 2024-10-07T07:44:27.124006 image/jpeg 3946 2024-10-07T07:44:26.859977 image/jpeg 162787 2024-10-07T07:44:24.198995 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog fr.wikipedia en.wikipedia