The Atheist's Mass

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About this book

Among the celebrated doctors of Paris, Desplein stands out for his surgical skill, sharp wit, and declared atheism. His younger colleague Horace Bianchon, once a poor medical student, earns his confidence and benefits from his professional support. Honoré de Balzac builds this short story around the apparent contradiction between Desplein's convictions and his attendance at a mass, making a doctor's private history the key to understanding his public character.

In Clara Bell's English translation, discussion of medical genius gives way to the practical hardships of student life. Desplein recalls a freezing garret, worn clothes, cheap meals, and nights of study when lamp oil cost more than food. These concrete details bring ambition and deprivation into the same room. The story offers readers a compact study of reputation, belief, and the experiences that can lie behind another person's puzzling conduct.

About the author

Honoré de Balzac

Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850) was a French novelist whose vast Human Comedy, a connected series of novels and stories, is a monument of literary realism and one of the great achievements of world literature.