Bureaucracy

"Bureaucracy" by Honoré de Balzac is a story set in 19th-century France that looks at the complicated world of government jobs after the revolution showing Xavier Rabourdin, a determined government worker, who wants to make big changes to how the system works as he also deals with his busy work and home life, especially his marriage to Celestine Leprince; The book starts by introducing to Rabourdin, his ordinary yet hard life working for the government, and his relationship with Celestine; As Rabourdin pushes for promotions and tries to put his ideas for reforming the bureaucracy into action, Celestine feels trapped by their limited lifestyle, pushing her to pursue her own goals, with their different ambitions, what society expects of them, and the problems with the bureaucracy all come together to explore French society and governance.