Project Gutenberg 2005-03-12 Public domain in the USA. 254 Balzac, Honoré de 1799 1850 Balzac, Honore de Saint-Aubin, Horace de De Balzac, Honoré Balzac, H. de (Honoré de) Wormeley, Katharine Prescott 1830 1908 The Marriage Contract Wikipedia page about this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Contrat_de_mariage Produced by John Bickers, and Dagny, and David Widger "The Marriage Contract" by Honoré de Balzac is a novel written in the early 19th century. The story revolves around the complex social and emotional dynamics of marriage, particularly focusing on Paul de Manerville, a count seeking to marry Natalie Evangelista, the beautiful daughter of a former wealthy family whose fortunes have dwindled. The beginning of the novel introduces Paul, who after a structured but oppressive upbringing, yearns for love and a stable family life. He finds himself caught between the expectations of society and the nature of his own desires. The conversations he has with his friend de Marsay highlight the differing views on marriage; one that views it as a social burden and another that sees it as a source of happiness. As Paul navigates his feelings and the societal pressures surrounding his potential engagement to Natalie, we also witness Natalie’s mother's scheming, emphasizing the manipulations and negotiations often accompanying marriage contracts in the societal landscape of the time. This opening section sets the stage for a narrative filled with themes of love, power, and the complexities of familial obligations. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 68.0 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read. en Marriage -- Fiction France -- Social life and customs -- Fiction French fiction -- Translations into English PQ Text Category: Novels Category: French Literature 350044 2025-08-01T10:10:15.811210 text/html 358203 2021-01-27T19:43:49 text/html; charset=utf-8 122294 2021-01-27T19:43:49 text/html; charset=utf-8 application/zip 195404 2025-08-01T10:10:22.828132 application/epub+zip 199997 2025-08-01T10:10:18.467163 application/epub+zip 199566 2025-08-01T10:10:17.339161 application/epub+zip 355443 2025-08-01T10:10:25.855105 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 347923 2025-08-01T10:10:22.095160 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 325074 2022-09-01T11:22:22.452472 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 310968 2025-08-01T10:10:15.320172 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 310862 2016-11-22T14:24:08 text/plain; charset=utf-8 117309 2016-11-22T14:25:34 text/plain; charset=utf-8 application/zip 306931 2014-11-30T09:55:24 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 116744 2014-11-30T09:56:40 text/plain; charset=us-ascii application/zip 21921 2025-08-01T10:10:26.000111 application/rdf+xml 13159 2025-08-01T10:10:17.845158 image/jpeg 3316 2025-08-01T10:10:17.593142 image/jpeg 190298 2025-08-01T10:10:15.840132 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog fr.wikipedia en.wikipedia en.wikipedia