Vautrin
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Vautrin is a character from the novels of French writer Honoré de Balzac in the La Comédie humaine series. His real name is Jacques Collin. He appears in the novels Le Père Goriot (Father Goriot, 1834/35) under the name Vautrin, and in Illusions perdues (Lost illusions, 1837-43) and Splendeurs et misères des courtisanes (Scenes from a Courtesan's Life, 1838-44), the sequel of Illusions perdues, under the name of Abbé Herrera.
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[edit] Background
By the time the Comédie humaine series begins, Jccques Collin is an escaped convict and criminal mastermind fleeing from the police. The character first appears in the La Comédie humaine series using the name of Vautrin, so he is usually referred to in literary criticism under this name. Balzac was inspired to the character by Eugène François Vidocq (1775-1857) a former criminal who later became chief of the Paris police.
[edit] Character
[edit] Temptator, criminal and villain
Vautrin is a seductive, enigmatic and complex character who is not easily classified, not even as a villain. He is a well-built, strong man and about forty years old at the time he first appears in the series. Vautrin has strong criminal energy and is ruthless in obtaining his purposes, manipulating people and sometimes even resorting to murder. He tries to realize his dreams of power and wealth first through Eugène de Rastignac and later through Lucien de Rubempré. In some respects, Vautrin/Collin/Abbé Herrera ressembles the tempting devils in "pact with the devil" stories like Doctor Faustus. He promises both young men fame, power and wealth and proposes to become their mentor. Still, Vautrin's plans with them are thwarted: Rastignac is far too independent to need an mentor, and Lucien is too dreamy, romantic and feeble to be able to realize Jacques Collin's dreams.
[edit] Lover
The complexity of Vautrin's character is increased by the fact that he is obviously homosexual. Thus, his attraction towards Rastignac and especially towards Lucien is also erotic/sentimental in character, though it apparently remains platonic. The fact that he is not only bound to them by his hunger for power, but also by emotional ties considerably increases the psychological tension of the novels and makes Collin's character more humane. Though he can often act as a real villain, his love, especially for Lucien, is obviously genuine.
