A Woman of Thirty

"A Woman of Thirty” by Honoré de Balzac is a story placed in France during Napoleon's time, focusing on Julie de Chatillon, who is a young woman dealing with hard themes in the world she lives in. She is trying to understand love, what society wants from her, and what she wants for herself while living in the high class areas of Paris. She is first shown on a spring day excited to watch Napoleon lead a display of the military, she is there with her father and the reader can see the caring and complicated relationship between them. This opening gives a glimpse into Julie's feelings for Colonel Victor d'Aiglemont, who she will eventually marry. The reader will start to see some difficulties lying beneath the surface that Julie will have to deal with as she grows from an innocent girl into a woman having to with face the truths of marriage and the pressures of society.