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The excerpt represents the core issue or deciding factor on which you must meditate, and is drawn from Father Goriot by Honore de Balzac: Eugene sat absorbed in thought for a few moments before plunging
into his law books. He had just become aware of the fact that the
Vicomtesse de Beauseant was one of the queens of fashion, that
her house was thought to be the pleasantest in the Faubourg
Saint-Germain. And not only so, she was, by right of her fortune,
and the name she bore, one of the most conspicuous figures in
that aristocratic world. Thanks to the aunt, thanks to Mme. de
Marcillac's letter of introduction, the poor student had been
kindly received in that house before he knew the extent of the
favor thus shown to him. It was almost like a patent of nobility
to be admitted to those gilded salons; he had appeared in the
 Father Goriot |