Abstract: Peripheral to the main plot of Le Cousin Pons, Rémonencq’s poisoning of Cibot appears at first glance to be a concession to the romanesque as well as to contemporary concerns. However, this murder can be read as an allegory of the unpunished abuses committed throughout the novel out of greed. Balzac thus reviles the dissociation of justice and morality in a society where the most violent spoliations are perpetuated within the limits of legality.
