Seraphita [Hardcover]

Honore de Balzac (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1981

Written by a Rosicrucian adept, this fantastic tale is a masterful work of occult teachings. Not written for the masses, Seraphita was for those few lofty spirits who could discern Jacobs mystical stair.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Seraphita will be my master stroke. One can create a Goriot every day but one creates a Seraphita only once in a lifetime." Honore de Balzac

"Never did Balzac approach the very ideal of Beauty as in this book." Theophile Gautier --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Language Notes

Text: English, French (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Multimedia Pub Corp (June 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0833407341
• ISBN-13: 978-0833407344
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,316,678 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Swedenborgian aesthetics, April 3, 2000

By 

Sarah Skowronski (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Seraphita (Paperback)

The opening of this book is one of the most sublime and lovely scenes in French literature. It is the description of an ascent up a Norwegian fjord by a girl and an other-worldy being,and, as Gautier said, "He has used no colors but the pure blue of the sky, the white of the snow, and a few pearly tints for the shadows."

The rest of the book involves long didactic sermons, but as the sermons pertain to Swedenborgian theology, they are aestheitcally gratifying as well as instructive.

Amateurs may be confused by the character of Seraphita/Seraphitus, who continually fluctuates between both genders, and some may fail to see how this all relates to the Human Comedy, but I think most readers will be entirely capable of enjoying and comprehending this wonderful novel.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars unforgettable portrait of spiritual attainment, April 25, 2006

By 

Arthur S. Lutefisk - See all my reviews

This review is from: Seraphita (Paperback)

One of the very greatest achievements of European literature. A pair of lovers transcend every conceivable spiritual obstacle to transcend their very sexual identities, becoming one with one another in the most refined and lofty circumstances imaginable. And you believe it, if you are ready. Balzac's and the reader's Mt. Everest, equaled but not surpassed by Holderlin's HYPERION and other great contemporaneous works of German romanticism.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Too much about obscure Christian sects, June 7, 2011

By 

iris flannery (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Seraphita: (and Louis Lambert & The Exiles) (Dedalus European Classics) (Paperback)

This story about Seraphita/Seraphitus draws the reader in with well-drawn descriptions of the Norwegian fjords, icy hills, and vast spaces. However, the only thing that compelled me to keep reading past the remarkable setting was the intriguing ambiguity about whether the main character was Seraphita or Seraphitus.

Unfortunately, the main point of the whole story was religious awakening. There was extensive discussion of Swedenborg, who apparently founded yet another Christian sect. So unless one is very interested in obscure Christian sects, or is willing to skip large sections of boring text this book might be avoided.