Honore De Balzac 
Recruit 

The Recruit is a novel by the French novelist and writer Honore de Balzac. It was first published in 1831 in the Revue de Paris to become later part of The Human Comedy. The story is set in late eighteenth-century France and centers around the character of the Countess de Dey, a respectable lady who runs a cultural and literary salon in her house. When one day she decides not to open the salon, her assembly, composed mainly of intellectuals and friends, find her decision unexpected and start to question about the reason behind it. The readers later learn that Madame de Dey has received a letter from her only son telling her that if he does not show up within three days this will mean that he was shot dead. A large part of the novel follows the Countess as she is waiting for her son’s arrival. On the last of the three days, she decides to reopen her salon and receive her guests while expecting the coming of her son the same night. She is informed that he is on his way to her. However, to her great misfortune, when the young man arrives she discovers that he is not her son. She is shocked and dies at the same moment her son is shot.