5. Grandeurs and miseries of the Balzacian entrepreneur. A cross-reading of At the Sign of the Cat and Racket and Caesar Birotteau
Azan, Louis
5. Grandeurs and miseries of the Balzacian entrepreneur. A cross-reading of At the Sign of the Cat and Racket and Caesar Birotteau - 2023.
64
In the early 19th century, the entrepreneur has become a major figure, both in economics and in literature. He is to be found in the analyses of economists (Cantillon, Smith and Jean-Baptiste Say), as well as in the novels and short stories of writers, in particular Balzac, who gives a special place to money and commerce in his work. This article explores the representation of the entrepreneur in a novel and a short story (César Birotteau and La Maison du Chat-qui-pelote) by the author of the Comédie Humaine, and seeks to draw a dialogue between economics and literature, in order to sketch the place of the Balzacien entrepreneur in the history of economic thought, and thus question the typologies of the entrepreneur drawn up by economic science. The Balzacian novel allows us to question the motivations and desires that drive economic agents, drawing a contradictory picture of the entrepreneur and his success, which enriches our understanding of this economic and literary character. JEL Classification: B59 ; L26.
5. Grandeurs and miseries of the Balzacian entrepreneur. A cross-reading of At the Sign of the Cat and Racket and Caesar Birotteau - 2023.
64
In the early 19th century, the entrepreneur has become a major figure, both in economics and in literature. He is to be found in the analyses of economists (Cantillon, Smith and Jean-Baptiste Say), as well as in the novels and short stories of writers, in particular Balzac, who gives a special place to money and commerce in his work. This article explores the representation of the entrepreneur in a novel and a short story (César Birotteau and La Maison du Chat-qui-pelote) by the author of the Comédie Humaine, and seeks to draw a dialogue between economics and literature, in order to sketch the place of the Balzacien entrepreneur in the history of economic thought, and thus question the typologies of the entrepreneur drawn up by economic science. The Balzacian novel allows us to question the motivations and desires that drive economic agents, drawing a contradictory picture of the entrepreneur and his success, which enriches our understanding of this economic and literary character. JEL Classification: B59 ; L26.
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