Newport: Sunday in the Library

I would have liked to sleep in this morning, but I decided to volunteer at my university's admissions open house for prospective students. After a few hours there, I went to the library. I packed leftover pizza from last night, thinking there was a microwave in the library's cafe...my mistake. I was lucky that one of the librarians was kind enough to heat up my pizza in the faculty lounge. I finished my essay on Old Man Goriot (see previous post) before coming home for dinner. 

Looking through my iPhone calendar, I cannot help but notice how full my schedule got. Another busy month ahead!

Today's Outfit: Sweater, Gap; Pants, Banana Republic; Belt, Forever 21; Shoes, Nine West

Reading Aloud: Old Man Goriot

Written by Honore de Balzac, Old Man Goriot is another one of Balzac's novels exploring the human condition. The book follows Eugene Rastignac, an ambitious student, and Goriot, an outcast, yet devout, father. 

Rastignac seeks to establish himself in Parisian society by having an affair with Goriot's daughter, but circumstances throughout the novel cause him to constantly reconsider his dreams of dancing and champagne against the stark reality of Maison Vauquer, the boarding house he lives in.   

Old Man Goriot exposes how not everything is as it seems. After all, "the heaviest chains are made of gold."

What I enjoyed most about this book was that the constructs Balzac points out are still relevant today. People are still dreaming of riches, still wishing for love, still praying for a better life than the one they lead. The appetite of "want" is insatiable and sometimes whatever efforts we put forth never seem like they are enough. 

Old Man Goriot is the first book my 19th century Parisian literature class read--Madame Bovary is soon to come, as well as Zola's Nana.