# Honorine — Shorts from Scenes from Private Life character guide

> Honorine in Shorts from Scenes from Private Life by Honoré de Balzac.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** the absent Honorine, the Comtesse Honorine, Comtesse Honorine

**First appearance:** 0017-honorine

## Snapshot

A mysterious young woman in blue who sits walled off in a corner at a grand ball, her fresh beauty shadowed by a sorrow no one can name.

## Who they are

At the Comtesse de Gondreville's party, Honorine becomes the silent victim of a quiet coalition of society ladies who bury her in darkness rather than let a dangerous beauty compete for attention. Montcornet and the lawyer Martial study her across the room, debating whether she is wife or widow, struck by flesh-tints like a white rosebud and an expression like an elegy. Her passivity and isolation make her the evening's most tantalizing puzzle — a woman whose tears and withdrawal will draw the curious into the mystery of her hidden life.

## In the story

### [Honorine](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/shorts_from_scenes_from_private_life_se/chapters/honorine)

The Comtesse Honorine, a celebrated woman discussed by the guests; she lived in seclusion with a painter.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/shorts_from_scenes_from_private_life_se/characters/honorine
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/shorts_from_scenes_from_private_life_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/shorts_from_scenes_from_private_life_se/characters