Cousin BetteCousin Bette

Born plain and poor, Bette Fischer endures her lot, until her wealthy cousin's family steals her only treasure--the young sculptor she has taken under her wing. Joining forces with ambitious, greedy, and alluring Valerie Marneffe, Bette vows to have her revenge and sets out to ruin the family by exploiting the sexual appetites of the men and the naiveté of the women. This dramatization of Balzac's great work, part of the "Scènes de la vie parisienne" section of the novel sequence "La Comédie humaine," explores themes of vice and virtue, the influence of money on French society, and the effect of gender roles on human relationships.