The Human Comedy

Published in 1833 Part of Balzac's "Comédie Humaine"

Facsimiles of the manuscript and of a corrected printed edition of part 1 of Illusions perdues, entitled Les deux poètes.

SCOTT (copy 1): The Hédi Bouraoui Collection in Maghrebian and Franco-Ontario Literatures is the gift of University Professor Emeritus Hédi Bouraoui.

In a castle in Norway near the fjord Strømfjord, Séraphitüs, a strange and melancholic being, conceals a terrible secret. He loves Minna, and she returns this love, believing Séraphitüs to be a man. But Séraphitüs is also loved by Wilfrid, who considers him to be a woman, Séraphîta. In reality, Séraphitüs-Séraphîta is a perfect androgyne, born to parents who by the doctrines of Swedenborg have transcended their humanity. The novel introduces bisexuality and androgyny.