Parenting in Pere Goriot

After reading the first section of Père Goriot, I was quite upset after seeing the terrible way the Goriot’s daughters treat him, after he has given so much to them. The blame is partially put on the two son-in-laws, but that in no way makes up for the behavior of the daughters. Their relationship makes me think of my own with my parents, especially after working on my presentation about the self-made man. My parents, not much unlike Goriot, have given me everything they have worked for. Not only would I reject their relationship because I am very close with them and could not imagine severing that, but also because I sympathize with the Rule of Money that money cannot be received as gift. I feel burdened by the amount of money (among other things like time, emotions, etc) that my parents have sacrificed for me that there is no way I could ever break off my relationship with them, because I want to repay them in whatever way I can.

The passage describing the relationship between in-laws also peaked my interest. I subscribe to the fact that, no matter who I marry, that relationship will not damage my relationship with my parents in any way. So, to read that passage which essentially states that any relationship with an in-law will be a negative one and take away from a parent-child relationship was odd. I do understand how money can become a problem in these situations, and how there would be calls to cut people off in order to not have to pay for them in the future, but, like I said earlier, money cannot be received as a gift and many people owe their parents more than they know.

Joe Witt 2

Comments

  1. jdoutMarch 4, 2018 at 5:41 PM

    Good for you, Joe. Your feelings are honorable and most people probably do share them. However, you have only to read a "Dear Annie" or any advice column to realize that many people do not enjoy the kind of loving relationship you have with your parents. Evil stepmothers and heartless fathers are legendary (think of "Cinderella" and "Hansel and Gretel") as are ungrateful children (King Lear, for starters). Try to read it more as witty entertainment and less as historical truth, and you'll likely enjoy it more.

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