"Balzac Age" is how much?

In early youth, the expression "ladies of Balzac's age" sounds to us as a delicate or, on the contrary, a sarcastic allusion to female old age. Where did this phrase come from and what does it really mean?

Visitors to online forums sometimes argue on the topic: "Balzac Age is how much?" As a rule, ladies insist that this definition refers to the age of 30-40 years. Men in the majority consider, that the woman of "balzakov's age" is much more years: from 40 and is more senior.

The difference in the interpretation of the meaning of this expression is determined by how modern people perceive the notion of "maturity".

So, the "Balzac Age" is how much?

Some of our contemporaries in the simplicity of the soul are deeply convinced that "a woman of Balzac's age" is a lady who is the same age as the young mistress of the young Honore.

Today, when young people do not read much of the classics, preferring at best to get acquainted with the adapted narrative of the main storyline in a shortened version, the question "Balzac's age is how many years?" Raises heated debates. Oils in the fire pour publication articles on the stormy personal life of the writer. In pursuit of fried facts, unscrupulous "experts" are in no hurry to check the authenticity of information. Some argue that Balzac had a 42-year-old romance with a young woman, while others insist that she was 53 years old. Consequently, there is confusion in attempts to define the concept of "Balzac's age". This is how much: 42 or 53? But neither are wrong.

A bit of history

In 1842, Honore de Balzac published a work entitled "A Thirty Year Woman". This novel about the sublime sense of "forbidden love", which was opposed to primitive co-existence in a legitimate marriage, aroused in society a response and multiplied the popularity of the author.

In our time, few people will think of calling a thirty-year old woman. Statistical studies in recent years confirm the fact that it is during this age period that women become the most sexual, and the ability to monitor oneself in combination with the opportunity to lead an active lifestyle make our contemporaries irresistible and in a much more mature age.

But do not forget that in the Balzac era, a woman was a powerless creature, and her life passed in a closed space between the kitchen, the children and the church. Only a successful marriage could bring happiness to a woman. The girl was considered a promising bride only up to 18-19 years. In 20 years or older, the chances of getting married significantly decreased. And even an unmarried thirty-year-old woman and very few people were interested, her life ran monotonously under the slogan: "It's too late to marry, to die early."

But even family life was rarely a happy one. Since at the time of marriage the most significant issue was financial, the bride most often remained nothing more than a convenient multifunctional appendix to the contract. Without the right to own opinion, the wife became a living toy in the hands of her husband.

A married woman of thirty was considered a deep old woman, although she could shine at balls, emphasizing the high social position of her husband. She was allowed to be attractive and at the same time inaccessible to other men. A good upbringing, a broad outlook, a natural mind, a diverse education and a sad need to be the property of an elderly husband who does not care about meeting his partner's sexual, emotional and spiritual needs is the fate of Balzac's heroine.

Thus, the question "Balzac's age is how much?" The correct answer is after thirty. It was these women who liked Honore de Balzac. At the age of 30, according to the writer, a woman matured bodily and spiritually for harmonious family relationships, but, unfortunately, in a vicious bourgeois society, she was forced before time to grow old and wither in lawful wedlock with an unloved husband or under fear of exposure to lead a double life.