Notes
The Gymnase: the Théâtre du Gymnase-Dramatique on the boulevard Bonne-Nouvelle, one of the most fashionable Parisian theatres for lighter comedy and drama. ↩
The Marquise d'Espard, Lucien de Rubempré and Eugène de Rastignac: three of Balzac's most memorable characters from the Comédie humaine — the icy aristocratic grande dame, the ambitious provincial poet destroyed by Paris, and the calculating social climber who succeeds. Marie looking for them in the Opéra audience is the quintessential act of a Balzac reader. ↩
Lucien Chardon (alias Lucien de Rubempré): the protagonist of Illusions perdues (1837–43) and Splendeurs et misères des courtisanes (1838–47), the handsome but weak provincial who is consumed by Parisian ambition. ↩