Sarrasine

Balzac frequently introduces characters and settings via detailed descriptions. Discuss the impact of these extended descriptive passages and the significance of such language in the context of the Realist and Romantic movements.

Barthes proposed in Death of the Author that a text’s context and its author’s biography should not factor into literary analysis. How might Balzac’s life and body of work bear on your interpretation of Sarrasine?

Analyze the significance of beauty in Balzac’s presentation of the theme of Art and the Impact of Representation on Identity in Sarrasine. Consider the various artistic forms that feature (sculpture, painting, singing, acting, storytelling, etc.) and both the idolization and idealization of physical beauty.