Honore de Balzac

THE MAGIC SKIN - Honore De Balzac Honore de Balzac

La Peau de chagrin (The Magic Skin is an 1831 novel by French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac. Set in early 19th-century Paris, It is the story of young Raphaël, who receives a piece of shagreen from an old antique dealer. The shagreen makes Raphaël's wishes come true, but it shortens his life as it does so. After a failed relationship with a cold and greedy woman, Raphaël becomes rich and falls in love. Unable to rid himself of his talisman, he retreats from society, falls sick, and dies in the arms of his beloved. Raphaël faces a cruel dilemma in the novel: he can either satisfy his desires but thereby shorten his life, or he can live a long life devoid of any excitement and desire, meticulously controlling his emotions. Unable to make a choice, he dies, feeling defeated