The Quest of the Absolute (French: La Recherche de l'absolu) is a novel by Honoré de Balzac.[1] The novel first appeared in 1834, with seven chapter-divisions, as a Scène de la vie privée; was published by itself in 1839 by Charpentier; and took its final place as a part of the Comédie in 1845.
The astronomer Ernest Laugier helped Balzac in the use of chemical terminology in this novel.[2]
In Popular Culture
In François Truffaut's 1959 film The 400 Blows, teenager Antoine Doinel idolizes Balzac's work and depicts 'my grandfather's death' in a school essay, based on the plot of The Quest of the Absolute, leading his teacher to accuse of him of plagiarizing, causing him to quit school.
References
^Hayward, Margaret (April 1973). "Review: Balzac et 'La Recherche de l'Absolu' , by Madeleine Fargeaud". Modern Language Review. 68 (2): 416–422. JSTOR3725892.
