Eugenie Grandet

Eugénie Grandet grows up in Saumur under the absolute authority of her father Félix, a former cooper whose immense fortune is concealed behind a life of calculated miserliness. Two local families compete for Eugénie’s hand, but her secluded existence changes when her Parisian cousin Charles arrives after his father’s bankruptcy and suicide. Eugénie falls in love with him and gives him her savings so that he can seek a new fortune overseas.

Grandet discovers the gift and punishes Eugénie and her mother, treating affection as a threat to his control of the family wealth. Years later Charles returns prosperous but intent on an advantageous marriage, having abandoned the promise he made to Eugénie. She uses her inheritance to settle his obligations and then chooses a restrained life shaped by duty, charity and the emotional loss caused by her father’s avarice.