|
The excerpt represents the core issue or deciding factor on which you must meditate, and is drawn from Unconscious Comedians by Honore de Balzac: course of his self-laudation, "we are coming to hats with round
headpieces. It is to that I tend!"
"What obstacle is there?" asked Gazonal.
"Cheapness, monsieur. In the first place, very handsome silk hats can
be built for fifteen francs, which kills our business; for in Paris no
one ever has fifteen francs in his pocket to spend on a hat. If a
beaver hat costs thirty, it is still the same thing-- When I say
beaver, I ought to state that there are not ten pounds of beaver skins
left in France. That article is worth three hundred and fifty francs a
pound, and it takes an ounce for a hat. Besides, a beaver hat isn't
really worth anything; the skin takes a wretched dye; gets rusty in
|
