Although capable of dramatizing cases of magnificent self-sacrifice or touching expiation (as he does in bLe Lys/b dans la vallée, 1836, and bLe/b Curé de village, 1838-1839), in the vast majority of instances Balzac presents naked ... Thereafter they kept up an ardent correspondence, interrupted by occasional bvacations/b spent together in different parts of Europe. In 1841 her husband died, but Madame Hanska obstinately refused to marry Balzac despite his earnest pleas. ...
