The Ambiguity of César Birotteau

How can a comic bourgeois character become a "martyr?" Birotteau's rehabilitation is consistent with his character as portrayed earlier – a creature of instinct, not virtue, unable to understand the implications of the world he finds himself in. The only stumbling block is the word "martyr," which does not quite fit the facts. There is a regrettable absence of irony in the last part of the novel. The elements of Birotteau's character all recur as motifs in the presentation of other characters. The echoes and parallels suggest Balzac's insight that the corruption of bourgeois values was always inherent in those values. (ARP)