The Framed Image: The Chain of Metaphors in Balzac's Le Père Goriot

In this study, I show that Le Père Goriot is a work in which Balzac refers to his role as author and to the representational status of the novel he has written. It is, however, a novel that represents its discursive origins in a complex and mitigated manner. My analysis of this text will suggest that Balzac was both eager and reluctant to refer to the creative process that engendered the story. (LAB)