Balzac e o Livro de Esther

This article aims to contribute to the critical studies that deal with intertextuality between The Human Comedy, by Honoré de Balzac, and the Bible, especially between the novel The Splendors and Miseries of the Courtesans and The Book of Esther. It is proposed to analyze the novelistic fragments that shed light to the intertextual encounter between the tragic life of the Parisian courtesan Esther van Gobseck and the heroic and festive journey of the Hebrew queen Esther. Other researchers reinforce the idea that Balzac was inspired by the biblical heroine to create his marginal character. The aim here is to highlight some of these opinions and the excerpts of the work in which the novelist enriches his narrative, whether by ironizing, imitating, quoting or simply being inspired by the Holy Scriptures.