If Balzac was charmed with the stories of the daughter of the /femme de chambre/ of Marie Antoinette, was infatuated with a woman who had known Napoleon, and flattered by being invited to the home of one of the beautiful society ladies of the Faubourg Saint-Germain, what must have been his joy in learning that his new /Chatelaine/ belonged to one of the most aristocratic families of Poland, the grandniece of Queen Marie Leczinska, the daughter of the wise Comte de Rzewuska, and the wife of one of the richest men in Russia!
But Madame Hanska was a very different woman from the kind, self- sacrificing, romantic Madame de Berny; the witty, splendor-loving, indulgent, poverty-stricken Duchesse d'Abrantes; or the frail, dazzling, blond coquette, the Duchesse de Castries. With more strength physically and mentally than her rivals, she possessed a marked authoritativeness that was not found in Madame de Berny, a breadth of vision impossible to Madame Junot, and freedom from the frivolity and coquetry of Madame de Castries.
The Princess Radziwill feels that the Polish woman who has come down to posterity merely as the object of Balzac's adoration, should be known as the being to whom he was indebted for the development of his marvelous genius, and as his collaborator in many of his works. According to the Princess, /Modeste Mignon/ is almost entirely the work of Madame Hanska's pen. She gives this description of her aunt, which corresponds to Balzac's continual reference to her "analytical forehead":
"Madame de Balzac was perhaps not so brilliant in conversation as were her brothers and sisters. Her mind had something pedantic in it, and she was rather a good listener than a good talker, but whatever she said was to the point, and she was eloquent with her pen. She had that large glance only given to superior minds which allows them, according to the words of Catherine of Russia, 'to read the future in the history of the past.' She observed everything, was indulgent to every one. . . . Her family, who stood in more or less awe of her, treated her with great respect and consideration. . . . We all of us had a great opinion of the soundness of her judgments, and liked to consult her in any difficulty or embarrassment in our existence."
No sooner had Balzac returned from his visit to Neufchatel intoxicated with joy, than he began to plan his visit to Geneva. He would work day and night to be able to get away for a fortnight; he decided later to spend a month there, but he did not arrive until Christmas day. In the meantime, he referred to their promise (to marry) which was as holy and sacred to him as their mutual life, and he truly described his love as the most ardent, the most persistent of loves. /Adoremus in aeternum/ had become their device, and Madame Hanska, not having as yet become accustomed to his continual financial embarrassment, wished to provide him with money, an offer which is reproduced in /Eugenie Grandet/.
Upon his arrival at Geneva the novelist found a ring awaiting him; he considered it as a talisman, wore it working, and it inspired /Seraphita/. He became her /moujik/ and signed his name /Honoreski/. She became his "love," his "life," his "rose of the Occident," his "star of the North," his "fairy of the /tiyeuilles/," his "only thought," his "celestial angel," the end of all for him. "You shall be the young /dilecta/,—already I name you the /predilecta/."[*]
[*] Balzac was imitating Madame Hanska's pronunciation of /tilleuls/ in having Madame Vauquer (/Pere Goriot/) pronounce it /tieuilles/.
His adoration became such that he writes her: "My loved angel, I am almost mad for you . . . I cannot put two ideas together that you do not come between them. I can think of nothing but you. In spite of myself my imagination brings me back to you. . . ." It was during his stay in Geneva that Madame Hanska presented her chain to him, which he used later on his cane.
Balzac left Geneva February 8, 1834, having spent forty-four days with his /Predilecta/, but his work was not entirely neglected. While there, he wrote almost all of /La Duchesse de Langeais/, and a large part of /Seraphita/. This work, which she inspired, was dedicated:
"To Madame Eveline de Hanska, nee Countess Rzewuska.