Perception and construction of animal bodies in Balzac Comédie humaine and animal Scènes

The analogy made in the “Avant-propos” between “social species” and “zoological species” has decisive consequences for the Balzacian conception of bodies, both human and animal. This article examines the visibility and materiality of animal bodies in Balzac’s work, both his realist novels and his anthropomorphic apologues, to see if they are subject to any particular perception, reading, or interpretation.