The ambitious young Eugène De Rastignac emerges as the protagonist of Père Goriot. The novel charts his desire to enter Parisian high society and his growing disillusionment regarding what this world is really like. At the beginning of the novel, Rastignac is a naïve youngster. He comes from the provinces of France, and his family members have gathered their money together to send him to university in the capital. On arrival, he is quickly seduced by the glamor of the Parisian elite, but his comparative poverty seemingly bars him from this world.

However, while Rastignac may be financially poor, he does come from an aristocratic family. They may not have the money they once had, but they have not entirely lost the benefits of their proximity to France’s elite. Rastignac is thus able to depend on his name and his connections to work his way into high society. Through his aunt, he is placed in contact with his cousin, Madame de Beauséant. Despite missteps that expose his unfamiliarity with Parisian social etiquette and his general naivete, Rastignac enjoys an unusual degree of social mobility, which comments on Wealth and Social Class in Restoration France.