Eugenie Grandet｜欧也妮・葛朗台

经典英文绘本

10分钟 ·2个月前

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原著作者｜奥诺雷・德・巴尔扎克

In the early nineteenth century, in central France, there was a small town called Saumur

It was not prosperous, but it produced wine

And it also produced a certain kind of people, those who believed only in money for their entire lives

Monsieur Grandet was the most successful among them

He made his fortune by speculating on land during the Revolution

By hoarding grain and exploiting tenant farmers, slowly locking his wealth into cellars and iron chests

He lived in the oldest and coldest house in town, eating the simplest food

Yet everyone privately called him the richest man in Saumur

At home, however, he was only a miserly, irritable father who calculated every cost

His daughter, Eugénie, grew up inside such a house

She was innocent, slow, and strictly supervised

Even a single candle or an extra piece of sugar required her father’s permission

She knew nothing of love and nothing of the world, only obedience and waiting

The story truly began on Eugénie’s birthday

That night, the Grandet household lit more candles than usual

And that evening, a young stranger was brought into the house

He wore refined Parisian clothes

He spoke with the lightness and confidence of the capital

His name was Charles Grandet

Charles was the son of Monsieur Grandet’s brother

And it was his first time in Saumur

On the surface, this was a family visit

But what Grandet truly cared about was never family

Before Charles arrived

Grandet had already received a letter

The letter said one thing: his brother in Paris was bankrupt

Not only bankrupt, but deeply in debt, and had taken his own life

At that moment, Grandet’s mind immediately began to calculate

His brother was dead, the debts remained, was it possible that assets were left behind

Cheap property, hidden cash

Or perhaps some remaining value

That was why he welcomed Charles with unusual warmth

But soon, the truth was revealed

In his conversations with Charles

It became clear that Charles knew nothing about his father’s finances

And had no assets he could inherit

All the debts were like shadows, about to fall upon this young man

From that moment on, Charles became a complete liability in Grandet’s eyes

Keeping him would only attract creditors

Only cause trouble, and might even lead to legal disputes

So Grandet decided to send him away immediately

The faster the better, the farther the better

Yet during this brief period of contact

Eugénie, for the first time, met someone

Completely different from the world she lived in

Charles spoke of Paris, of balls, of freedom, of the future

He was fragile and anxious, yet still possessed a kind of sincerity

A spoiled sincerity she had never seen before

Eugénie fell in love with him, not with passion, but with a desire to protect

On the night before Charles was sent overseas to make his living

Eugénie did something that changed her life

She gave Charles the gold coins her mother had left her as a dowry

She gave them all to Charles

It was not money for escape, but a silent and resolute trust

She hoped that one day Charles would return and take her away

Grandet discovered this, but he did not take the gold back

That money did not belong to him under the law

To reclaim it would mean acknowledging family property disputes

It would mean possible external scrutiny, and cost

By comparison, sending Charles away immediately

And cutting ties completely with this liability was the lowest-cost and most rational choice

So he quickly arranged a ship and sent Charles overseas

In Grandet’s world, feelings did not matter, blood ties did not matter

Only accounts mattered, and they had to be perfectly clear

Charles left, and Eugénie began a long wait

She refused all proposals, in the cold old house

Guarding that unfulfilled love

Time passed, Grandet grew older and more withdrawn

Until one day, he died in a house piled with money

Eugénie inherited all of his wealth

Many years later, Charles returned

He had indeed succeeded, making a fortune in colonial trade

He entered high society and learned calculation, coldness, and precision

He was no longer the young man who needed to be saved

He had already turned love into an asset that could be traded

When Eugénie stood before him, he chose

A more profitable marriage

At that moment, Eugénie finally understood

That money can change fate, and it can also corrupt the soul

Eugénie became one of the wealthiest people in Saumur

She had money, she had freedom, but she no longer had illusions

She devoted her life to duty, charity, and silence

Grandet died in money

Charles became money

Eugénie possessed money, yet refused to be ruled by it

In this story, there are no true victors

Only a world shaped by money, and destroyed by money

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