Balzac woman vs Turgenev girl. Women of Balzac age

Illustration for Honore de Balzac's story "The Thirty-Year-Old Woman"

We often say: "Balzac age ... she is Balzac age." And what does this expression really mean?

Many women “try on” the common expression “Balzac's age” on themselves. And thirty, forty and fifty-year-old ladies are proud of their age, because they know how to preserve the beauty and inner fire of life. Over the past decades, the "Balzac age" has sharply shifted the boundaries: today they call women who are "for" and even "under", "over forty, under fifty."

History of the term

After the publication of the work of Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850) "Woman of Thirty" (1831), women of Balzac's age began to call women from 25 to 35 years old. The main heroine of the novel by the great French novelist Viscountess de Beaussean was distinguished by her courageous judgments, independence and complete freedom in the expression of her feelings.

At first, immediately after the release of the novel, the expression "Balzac's age" was used ironically and referred to women who sought to resemble Balzac's heroine. Over time, the semantics of words has changed a lot and began to mean only the age of a woman. Today, this is the name for ladies over the age of forty. The modern correction did not happen by chance, it has a physiological basis. The hormonal peak, the disclosure of female sexuality, is reached by the age of 35-40, for many - another peak occurs even after fifty years.

Modern women of "Balzac's age"

Over the past hundred years, women have learned to actively prolong their youth. In his famous novel Eugene Onegin, Pushkin has a colorful description of Tatyana's mother: “Larina is a simple, but very sweet old woman,” while this “old woman” was a little over forty years old. In Pushkin's times, girls were early married, to sit up "in girls" - to remain unmarried by age, was considered immoral, condemned by society. They married early, gave birth to all the children whom God would send, grew old early and died at a fairly young age by modern standards.

The last century has helped women unleash their own creative and sexual potential. Today's fifty-year-old ladies can compete for a "place in the sun" with twenty or thirty-year-old girls. A woman has long ceased to be a male shadow, gained independence, self-confidence. There are many examples of successful and active women in the world: just look at Sophia Loren, who even at 75 looks forty to assess the possibilities of modern ladies in preserving and increasing their beauty.

A thirty-five-year-old lady today cannot be called a “Balzac woman”. Grown up, mature women are actively competing for the attention of young men and are successfully seeking it. The marriage, which a few decades ago seemed like an age misalliance, is perceived by society more and more tolerantly. The prima donna of the Russian stage Alla Pugacheva and Maxim Galkin have an age difference of 27 years. She was fifteen years older than her husband Demi Moore (but the couple got divorced and Demi Moore again looks at those who are younger - she is more comfortable this way).

With age, a woman comes to emancipation, freedom from internal complexes, which allows her to appreciate and love herself, competently and tactfully present in society, in sex. A whole fashion and beauty industry works for women after forty years, helping to preserve women's health and emphasize her beautiful appearance. A woman's sexual potential is reached at the age of 35-45, prolonging a full-fledged female life.

How to stay beautiful after forty

To maintain your natural beauty and youthfulness, it is important to follow a healthy drinking and eating regimen. You need to drink up to two liters of pure spring or melt water a day. Nutrition should be balanced, with a full range of vitamins and minerals. Smoking and alcohol abuse kills female beauty, quickly turns a lady into an old woman. From lack of sleep or disturbed sleep, a woman withers.

Regular skin nutrition is one of the most important rules of beauty and non-fading of a lady. Rubbing your face with a piece of ice daily in the morning will help bring back your glow and smooth out wrinkles. It is not necessary to torture yourself with daily heavy exercise, fitness twice a week will return the shape to the figure.

However, the most important rule for any woman is that she does everything she does with pleasure. She has no time to worry and be nervous about her age. Life is so interesting and multifaceted, there is still so much to be done, for such a woman the Balzac age never ends.

« Balzac Age in Cinema "

The theme of the Balzac age of women is constantly raised in the cinema. The famous American TV series "Sex and the City" is based on the newspaper column of the same name by the writer Candace Bushnell. The film tells the story of the sexual adventures of four friends at the age of thirty at the beginning of the series and forty at the end. Women are very different in temperament and character, but united by free views on life. The series has received nearly forty cinematic awards, the viewer interest is explained by the fact that the focus is on the rich life stories of adult women.

If earlier in show business a lady aged “over thirty” “went into circulation”, was considered a “shot down pilot”, today the audience has a high interest in the presenters and actresses at the Balzac age. Lolita Milyavskaya, Tatiana Lazareva, Laima Vaikule, Nadezhda Babkina, Sofia Rotaru, Elena Proklova shine on television screens and adorn the covers of glossy magazines. Western "stars" are ahead of the rest: Madonna, Demi Moore, Kim Basinger, Nicole Kidman, Jane Fonda lead the ratings of many TV channels, actively appear in films.

A woman at the Balzac age can do a lot and can still do everything - open her own business from scratch, learn a new business, get married again, have a baby, have a dizzying romance, live a full-fledged beautiful life, breathing deeply.

Zhanna Pyatirikova from the site: womenclub.ru

Preface, or what is a woman of balzac age

Balzac age - this is when marriage is no longer called, and it is still early in the coffin.

Age for a woman is not the most important thing: you can be delightful at 20, charming at 40 and remain irresistible until the end of your days.

Coco Chanel

As can be seen from the selected epigraphs, the attitude towards the Balzac age can be very different. So what is it and where did this very controversial term come from?

Any philologist will tell you that the term "Balzac's age" became common after the appearance in 1831 of Honore de Balzac's novel "The Thirty Years Old Woman". The heroine of this novel was distinguished by independence, independence of judgment and freedom in the expression of her feelings. As a result, in the first years after the publication of the novel, this expression was used ironically in relation to women who resembled or sought to resemble the heroine of Balzac's work.

Unfortunately, later this meaning of the term was forgotten. Moreover, the term has acquired some kind of jokingly ironic sound, sometimes very offensive for women. As a result, the age from 30 to 40 years was called the Balzac age. Moreover, this term was used not only in relation to independent women, free in their feelings, but also to all women of about this age.

This expression is widely used in films, books and the media. Suffice it to mention the popular television movie "Balzac's Age, or All Men Are Their Own ...", which contains about forty episodes. But nowadays a lot has changed since the time of Balzac. First of all, if in the 19th century by the age of 30 a woman should have already had children of adolescence, now 30 years is for many only the age of marriage. Yes, and modern cosmetology began to work such miracles that the concept of "Balzac's age" has shifted even more - towards 40–45 years. A typical example is the well-known proverb: "At forty-five - a woman has a berry again!"

Different people put completely different meanings into this phrase. Some believe that a woman of Balzac's age is a woman who has life experience and her own judgment about many everyday and not only situations. Others are sure that this is a woman in her prime, no longer a girl, but has not yet begun to fade.

And what about Balzac? He perfectly knew how to use women who loved him and were older in age. He himself was born on May 20, 1799. His first woman, Laura de Bernie, was born on May 23, 1777, that is, she was 22 years older.

Duchess Laura d'Abrantes was born in 1784 and she was 15 years older than Balzac.

Zulma Carro was born in 1796 and she was only 3 years older than Balzac.

The Marquise de Castries was also born in 1796, and she was 2.5 years older than Balzac.

Evelina Ganskaya was born in 1801 and she was younger than Balzac.

And Countess Gidoboni-Visconti was born in 1804.

Who are these women? You will learn this by reading the book. But one thing is certain - they all played a very important role in the life of the great writer. Moreover, it was they who helped him become a great writer.

As you can see, the age difference between Balzac and his next woman was decreasing. But they were all typical women of the "Balzac age". The most typical example is Laura de Bernie. When they met, Balzac was 23 years old, and she was 45 years old.

Laura d'Abrantes was younger than Laura de Bernie. But they met Balzac, according to various sources, in 1825 or in 1829. That is, the duchess was then either 41 years old, or all the same 45 years old.

Henriette de Castries was even younger, but when Balzac began dating her, she was 36 years old. With Zulma Carro, he began to correspond when she was 33 years old, Evelina Hanska, who later became Balzac's wife, when the writer met her, was 32 years old, and Countess Gidoboni-Visconti, when they met, was 31 years old.

So, we see that in the biography of Balzac himself, women who were significant for him were from 31 to 45 years old. And this was at the moment when they got to know each other, because later, in the process of communication, they all only grew older. And this is surprising, because in those days, women over 30 already simply had to be married (then girls were married at the age of 14-18). Therefore, it was believed that a 30-year-old woman does not seem to have the right to love ...

However, as already mentioned, by the middle of the last century, the time frame of the Balzac age confidently shifted to the age of 40, and then even further.

Why were all these women so attracted to Balzac? Because they were adults, experienced, fully developed natures. He needed to take something from them, and he did. Someone has money, someone has useful advice or acquaintances. In short, he used them in his own interests. And what do you get from an 18-year-old fool? Yes, she can be as beautiful as a flower, but how can she help, will she support in difficult times ...

Well, from a purely social point of view, today the Balzac age of a woman means complete freedom for her. She already has a lot, the children (if any) have grown up, and the woman can think about herself again. She can arrange the day as she sees fit and devote more time to her favorite activities. A woman at this age becomes wiser, she has already learned to understand many issues. After all, she has at her disposal a huge life experience, which simply cannot be with 18-year-olds.

And most importantly, a woman of Balzac's age is no longer worried about her husband's bad behavior, because at the age of 40-50, many men already have a decent tummy and abuse alcohol. And sometimes they walk on the side ... And if for an 18-year-old girl this is a disaster, then a woman of Balzac's age looks at it in a completely different way. She is also a person, her vital interests have long ago gained clarity, and she is able to enjoy life on her own. As the saying goes, “either of two things: love you or not. In both of these extreme cases, jealousy is completely pointless. " By the way, do you know who said that? Honore de Balzac, by the way.

American psychologists, who conducted a survey among women of Balzac's age regarding their sense of life, were surprised to learn that almost all women during this period of life live more carefree and freer than before, and only now can they truly enjoy life.

And polls in our country show that women of Balzac's age are more self-confident and more independent. For the most part, they do not think about old age, do not register themselves as old women. As long as health allows, they enjoy the world around them and life. After all, a person is exactly as old as he feels himself.

Now even Russian women, who have long been tired of stopping their horses at a gallop and entering burning huts, have learned to love themselves. And look who now mainly fills gyms, attends exhibitions and goes on excursions ... To paint over the gray hair now is not a problem. Losing heels of extra pounds - too. And a normal woman of Balzac's age will no longer allow herself to be “divorced” by some youth from the provinces, she herself will “divorce” anyone, especially the young and inexperienced. And she uses it so skillfully that the man will be sure that it was he who used her ...

By the way, have you noticed that the term "Balzac's age" is not used in relation to men? And this is because modern men in their 40s and 50s are, for the most part, a very miserable sight. And at some, even at the age of 30, you can't look at them without laughing. This is understandable, because the way to their heart lies through the stomach, and they are silent only because they have nothing to say, and they differ from boys only in the cost of their toys. And let it be fashionable to lead a healthy lifestyle, but they are not chasing fashion ...

And surprisingly, it is these men who are very fond of talking about women of Balzac's age with a tinge of contempt, associating it with physical and psychological withering and developing complexes in women about their own age.

And what is there to complex? After all, "a woman is always seven years younger than her friends claim, and five years older than men give her." This is Gina Lollobrigida said, one of the most beautiful women in the world, sex symbol of the 50s. By the way, she was born in 1927, and she is now well over eighty ...

True, there are other opinions. For example, like this:

“And now, out of the blue, you become a middle-aged woman. Nobody notices you. You gain amazing freedom - the freedom of an invisible man. "

And these are the words of the English writer Doris Lessing. But she, by the way, was born in 1919, and received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2007, that is, at 88 years old. So those are right who believe that at fifty, life is just beginning to end. And, of course, "every woman has the age she deserves." And these are the words of the famous Coco Chanel, who died in 1971 at the age of 87.

And what about Balzac? Yes, he used women of Balzac's age. He became what he became, largely thanks to them. But, by the way, his last woman, Evelina Ganskaya (practically ours, by the way, a compatriot), when Balzac died on August 18, 1850, did not grieve for long. First, she found solace in the arms of the young writer Jules-François Chamfleury, who studied the life and work of Balzac, and then, in 1852, became the mistress of the artist Jean Gigoux. She was then 51 years old, and she died at the age of "over eighty", perfectly confirming the thesis that women who do not hide their age are good, but even better are those who have no reason to do this.

And who after that will say that after fifty a woman is at the end of her sexual attractiveness, beyond the threshold of her female happiness ...

But Laura de Bernie died in 1836 at the age of 59. She continued to love Balzac, while he was having fun with another woman. Yes, he loved Laura, but in his own way. Too "in its own way". She became more than a mother to him. She always supported him in word and deed. She thought about him even in the last minutes of her life.

In psychology, this is called "anchoring." This means events or people that once aroused strong emotions in a person, and then recorded by his unconscious and many years later causing a similar emotional reaction.

"Anchoring" is wrong, and sometimes very dangerous. An "anchored" emotion can and should be interrupted by another strong emotion or, finally, by some kind of deed. It is not for nothing that people in the village have the least depression, because they need to milk the cow, chop wood, light the stove, and go to fetch water - in short, a lot of things to do, there is no time to worry. And in the city “not to anchor” women are helped by a career, as well as by such a universal means as children and grandchildren, in which many, becoming mothers and grandmothers, dissolve almost completely.

But Laura de Bernie's problem was much more complicated, because Balzac was 22 years younger than her. For women of Balzac's age, this often becomes an insurmountable question. Here very often there is a transformation of mind and character, for a fading woman projects onto a much younger partner her, as it seems to her, her last love.

The fact is that a young woman always gives a young man sexually (I am young and beautiful, and thus I already have happiness) and demands gratitude for this. But a woman of Balzac's age already understands that her lover makes her equally happy. If he is much younger, then he gives her his masculine strength, his body, his attention. And she learns to accept this gift, learns to be grateful for it. She's getting wiser ...

And it’s good when between a young man and a woman of Balzac’s age in the main there is a certain parity: she is for him, and he is for her. And it's bad when this parity is violated. Unfortunately, most men frankly do not appreciate the experience and spiritual wealth of the one who "has already reached the top of her mountain of life and began to descend into the valley of female oblivion." They were simply not taught this. But the love of an already aging woman can become an exceptional happiness for a man. For such women, love is like a swan song. And here everything is appreciated ... Like the last time ... And any shepherd boy can seem like a prince. And if a woman of Balzac's age is experienced and wise, she, of course, sees that this is not a prince, but ... she is so glad to be deceived ...

Much has been written about first love. About the latter - much less. And yet it is precisely the last love of a woman, a wise and experienced woman, that is exceptional love, for an aging woman knows how to love a man. Knows how to appreciate him. Knows how to be grateful to him. The only pity is that not all men understand this. So Balzac changed the woman who was 22 years older than him to the one who was older "only" by 15 years. And then - for two or three years ... And then I found myself those who are younger. But did he become happier from this ...