Study of a Woman

"Study of a Woman" by Honoré de Balzac is a story set in France during the Restoration, mainly about what it was like for women in society back then. It focuses on the Marquise de Listomere, who seems to always be polite and proper, but she's really dealing with her own wants and her not-so-great marriage. When a charming young man named Eugène de Rastignac starts paying attention to her, it makes her think about her life and how she fits into society. The book looks at things like love and wanting to get ahead, and it shows how hard it was for women to be themselves when they had so many rules to follow because of the complicated world they lived in, she struggles because the attention and subsequent letters of Eugéne forces her to compare her principles with her emotions in the setting.