(The Magic Skin)보다 (La Peau de chagrin) 으로 더욱 알려진 작품이다.

1831년에 출간된 오노레 드 발자크의 장편소설.
도박에 빠져 돈을 다 잃고 회한(悔恨)에 빠진 주인공 ‘라파엘’은 수상한 골동품상 노인으로부터 원하는 것은 무엇이든 이루어 주지만, 욕망이 실현될 때마다 생명도 단축시키는 마법의 가죽을 얻게 되는데...

La Peau de chagrin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1897 illustration of La Peau de chagrin, drawn by Adrien Moreau and published by George Barrie & Son
La Peau de chagrin (French pronunciation: ?[la po d? ?a????], The Magic Skin or The Wild Ass's Skin) is an 1831 novel by French novelist and playwright Honore de Balzac (1799?1850). Set in early 19th-century Paris, it tells the story of a young man who finds a magic piece of shagreen that fulfills his every desire. For each wish granted, however, the skin shrinks and consumes a portion of his physical energy. La Peau de chagrin belongs to the Etudes philosophiques group of Balzac's sequence of novels, La Comedie humaine.
Before the book was completed, Balzac created excitement about it by publishing a series of articles and story fragments in several Parisian journals. Although he was five months late in delivering the manuscript, he succeeded in generating sufficient interest that the novel sold out instantly upon its publication. A second edition, which included a series of twelve other "philosophical tales", was released one month later.
Although the novel uses fantastic elements, its main focus is a realistic portrayal of the excesses of bourgeois materialism. Balzac's renowned attention to detail is used to describe a gambling house, an antique shop, a royal banquet, and other locales. He also includes details from his own life as a struggling writer, placing the main character in a home similar to the one he occupied at the start of his literary career. The central theme of La Peau de chagrin is the conflict between desire and longevity. The magic skin represents the owner's life-force, which is depleted through every expression of will, especially when it is employed for the acquisition of power

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THE MAGIC SKIN
Contents
I. THE TALISMAN
II. A WOMAN WITHOUT A HEART
III. THE AGONY
EPILOGUE
ADDENDUM
초판 Cover & story
저자 사진 및 프로필
원서로 읽는 세계 명작 시리즈
판권 페이지