The function of gift exchange in Stendhal and Balzac

"In this book, a selection of writings by Stendhal and Balzac is studied to see how gift exchange functions in these authors' representations of France in the early nineteenth century, a period during which money emerged as a universal social mediator. The gift is studied from two main perspectives: true gift as a means of establishing a positive relationship and gift as a facade masking and facilitating commercial transactions."--BOOK JACKET.