Honore de Balzac 
Seraphita – The Alkahest 

The novel begins with two characters cross-country skiing up a mountain, surveying and passing unfathomable chasms. One of these characters is Minna Becker, daughter of a local pastor; the other is a young man named Seraphitus who guides Minna up the slopes and towards and Alpine meadow. Minna quickly falls in love with Seraphitus, whom she believes to be a man, and Seraphitus seemingly loves her in return. Enter Wilfrid, a young gentleman also taken with love for Seraphitus who believes that he is actually a ‘she’ named Seraphita. Ultimately is it revealed that Seraphitus is a perfect androgyne, being neither male nor female according to the labels of society, with an inherited ability to transcend gender passed down from each of his parents. Gender, therefore, becomes a mark of the labels of humanity, and by following the practices of Swedenborgen, one can rise above their gender and become pure and complete. (Goodreads)