When a crime story becomes one of the saddest and more beautiful stories the world has ever known under the pen of Balzac
!
Implacable presence of the characters, passionate description of the human heart, dynamic style: you''ve got it all in Colonel Chabert, one of the most
famous classics of French litterature !
A young
lawyer receives a visit from an elderly man claiming to be the Colonel Chabert that everyone thought had died in the Battle of Eylau, ten years ago, after having contributed to the victory with a famous cavalry charge.
Actually, he was only wounded and was rescued by peasants who took care of him. Coming back to France after a long road, he vainly tries to assert his rights.
His wife, who had inherited from his property and rebuilt her life with a count, refuses to recognize him.
A lawyer believes Chabert''s story and pleads his case. But his wife begs Chabert to disappear in order not to jeopardize her new happiness.
Colonel Chabert is about to sacrifice everything for his wife before he realizes the attitude of his "widow" is not dictated by love but the greed and selfishness.
He withdraws however, and waives its claims, returning to the misery which will lead him to asylum.