Balzac’s Old Goriot paints an astonishingly detailed and living portrait of life at the fringe of Paris society in the early 19th century. The very human characters are prone to all sorts of folly, and as in life, comedy and tragedy both make an appearance. Father Goriot has given all to his daughters, but they still want more; young, penniless law student Rastignac would dearly love to make his mark on Paris Society, and the criminal-in-disguise Vautrin tries to hatch a plot to escape the