Honore de Balzac 
Deserted Woman 

Some of Honore de Balzac’s best writing focuses on the frustrations and passions of women trapped in unhappy marriages. In the novella "The Deserted Woman, " the Vicomtesse de Beauseant is trapped, but it is partially a trap of her own making. Abandoned by her lover and estranged from her husband, she contemplates her limited options.