Honoré de Balzac’s novel “Eugénie Grandet” is part of a cycle of works depicting the life and manners of French society, “La Comédie humaine.” The main heroine—Eugénie—is “a woman out of place among the world.” Her delicate soul, her personality, and her character are put through severe trials. The tyranny of her miserly father, the unfaithfulness of her lover, and other misfortunes are dramatically interwoven into her fate.