Father Goriot (Le Père Goriot), an 1835 novel by Honoré de Balzac, is set in the Maison Vauquer, a shabby Parisian boarding house, in 1819. It weaves together three destinies: old Goriot, a retired merchant who impoverishes himself to satisfy his wealthy, ungrateful daughters; Eugène de Rastignac, an ambitious young law student eager to conquer high society; and Vautrin, a charismatic escaped convict who tempts Rastignac toward moral compromise. Through tragedy and betrayal, Balzac exposes the corrosive power of money and social ambition in Restoration France. Celebrated as a masterpiece of realism, the novel forms a cornerstone of La Comédie humaine.
