At the Sign of the Cat and Racket - The first story of the "Scenes from Private Life" section of Balzac's Human Comedy, At the Sign of the Cat and Racket examines the class, social, and economic divisions of 19th century France through the love story of a famous artist and the working class daughter of a drapery shop owner. Great attention is paid to the details of how these worlds interact and overlap. The cultural examination also delves into the "battle of the sexes" through the different marriages and relationships - all with their own flaws and highlights - between the characters in the story. Balzac's approach to the concept of love is complex and unflattering, providing a sober appraisal of typically romanticized situations.

The Ball at Sceaux - The second short story in the Scenes from Private Life section of Balzac's La Comedie Humaine, this is a rather straightforward cautionary tale about a spoiled girl who frustrates her family's attempts to find her a husband by finding faults with all of her potential suitors. Demanding of physical perfection and noble aristocracy in a husband, she eventually falls in love with a mysterious young man at the ball, only to reject him when she discovers him working as a cloth merchant. He leaves town, she marries her uncle, and years later he's a wealthy peer of France. Womp womp.

Letters of Two Brides - The third book of Balzac's La Comédie Humaine, Letters of Two Brides is an epistolary tale told in the letters between two young women after leaving their convent. The correspondence between the two women details their diverging attitude and philosophies towards marriage and love, with one seeking passion and romance, and the other devoting herself to selfless familial servitude. Things don't end well for one of them. This third story in the Scenes From a Private Life section of La Comédie Humaine, like the previous two, focuses on women seeking happiness in love and marriage. While these stories have the flavor of a morality play, Balzac doesn't feel as if he is preaching a specific virtue or moral as much as he is characterizing how life often plays out in spite of our best laid plans, and how obtaining happiness can be more complicated than most perceive.

The Purse - Another entry from the Scenes From Private Life section of Balzac's Human Comedy, The Purse follows the emotional struggles of a young artist who falls (literally, it seems) for a young attractive neighbor, but finds himself torn by guilt and suspicion. Elements of class bias and the presumptive judging of people's appearances cloud the mind of the up-and-coming painter as he puzzles over why the target of his affection and her mother live in what appears to be thinly-disguised poverty. A pseudo-detective fable reminiscent of O. Henry's Gift of the Magi, The Purse also contains other common themes present throughout Balzac's Human Comedy, including love, emotion, artists, and historical context - in this case, the aftermath of Napoleon's reign.

Christ in Flanders - A rather unremarkable morality tale about Jesus Christ taking a ferry then deciding who lives and dies when the boat sinks. Later, somebody has a dream in a church built in the same area. Little more than a Sunday School parable.

The Exiles - A theological work by Balzac that involves a French Seargent who fears that the two borders living in his house, an old man and young man, are sorcerers. Mainly a set piece to feature the teachings of Christian theologian and philosopher Emanuel Swedenborg. Heavy on the theology, if you like that sort of thing.