Father Goriot, who has come into a decent amount of money through speculation, has a destructive vice: he loves his spoiled daughters with a devotion that borders on self-denial. A misguided Christian of fatherhood, he dies alone in his attic room, literally stripped down to his last shirt. Balzac knows: our passions are the engine of our lives and our ruin. With a contribution from Kindler's Literary Encyclopedia. Includes information on life and work, exclusively written by the editorial team of the literary journal TEXT + KRITIK.