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''Z. Marcas'' is a novelette by French author Honoré de Balzac first published in 1840. Set in contemporary Paris, it describes the rise and fall of a brilliant political strategist who is abandoned by the politicians he helps into power. Destitute and forgotten, he befriends a pair of students who live next door to him in a boarding-house. The story follows their many discussions about the political situation in France. Balzac was inspired to write the story after he spotted the name "Z. Marcas" on a sign for a tailor's shop in Paris. It was published in July 1840, in the ''Revue Parisienne'', a magazine he had founded that year. One year later it appeared in a collection from various authors under the title ''La Mort d'un ambitieux'' ("The Death of an Ambitious Man"). Balzac later placed it in the ''Scènes de la vie politique'' section of his vast novel sequence ''La Comédie humaine''. Although ''Z. Marcas'' features characters from other Balzac stories and elements of literary realism – both hallmarks of Balzac's style – it is remembered primarily for its political themes. Balzac, a legitimist, believed that France's lack of bold leadership had led to mediocrity and ruin, and that men of quality were being ignored or worse. He maintained that the youth of France were in danger of being abandoned by the government, and predicted unrest in the years to come. The story also explores Balzac's conviction that a person's name is a powerful indicator of his or her destiny, an idea he drew from the work of Laurence Sterne. The title character, with his keen intellect, is based on Balzac's conception of himself: a visionary genius who fails to achieve his true potential because of less talented individuals with more social power. == Background == Honoré de Balzac was drawn to a diversity of interests throughout his life, from business to politics. After studying the law for three years, he wrote a number of potboiler novels under various pseudonyms. He also lost large sums of borrowed money in the publishing trade, attempting to capitalize on cheap editions of classical works. By 1828 he owed his mother 50,000 francs.〔Robb, pp. 27–53 and 138.〕 Although his views on politics were always changing, Balzac was primarily a legitimist who supported the House of Bourbon and believed that the July Revolution of 1830 had left France without strong leadership. In 1832 he declared his intent to run for the Chamber of Deputies in the French Parliament. A variety of problems prevented his actual candidacy, but he mounted a serious campaign which was met mostly with ridicule by the press. Referring to Balzac's breakthrough 1831 novel ''La Peau de chagrin'' ("The Wild Ass's Skin"), the newspaper ''Le Figaro'' mused: "This is the first time anyone has been seen caressing the voters with an ass's skin."〔Quoted in Robb, pp. 191–192.〕 Although he later showed renewed interest in public office, he mostly expressed his political views through writing.〔Robb, pp. 211 and 300.〕 In July 1840 he attempted to fuse his desire to make money with his politics by founding a magazine called the ''Revue Parisienne'', funded by his friend Armand Dutacq. Having already worked in the publishing industry, Balzac believed he had learned all there was to know about the trade. "()hat gigantic machine known as journalism", he wrote, "is as simple as a roasting spit turned by a poodle."〔Quoted in Robb, p. 326.〕 Balzac planned to publish his own fiction in the ''Revue Parisienne'', in part to challenge the popularity of the ''roman-feuilleton'' serial format.〔Maurois, p. 382.〕 Dutacq, however, stopped funding the project in September, after only three issues, and Balzac's final foray into the world of publishing came to an end.〔Robb, p. 328.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Z. Marcas」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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