The Wild Ass's Skin

Interesting Facts

• The title of the book is linked to a mythical object—the wild ass's skin, which possesses magical properties and fulfills its owner's wishes, but in doing so, shortens their life.
• The main character, Raphael de Valentin, acquires the wild ass's skin in an antique shop when he is on the verge of suicide due to financial and personal troubles.
• The wild ass's skin symbolizes human desires and their destructive impact on a person's life.
• The book explores themes of vanity, ambition, love, and death, as well as questions the price of success and happiness.
• The work is part of the series La Comédie Humaine, in which Balzac aimed to create a panorama of French society of his time.
• The book contains autobiographical elements, as Balzac himself experienced financial difficulties and knew the struggle for success.
• The wild ass's skin gradually shrinks with each fulfilled wish, symbolizing the inevitable depletion of life's forces.