He consulted her frequently with regard to literary help, once asking her to use all her cleverness in writing out fully her ideas on the subject of the Deux Rencontres, about which she had told him, for he wished to insert them in the Femme de trente Ans.  As early as 1822 she received a similar request asking her to prepare for him a manuscript of the Vicaire des Ardennes; she was to prepare the first volume and he would finish it.  And many years later (1842), Balzac asked his sister to furnish him with ideas for a story for young people.  After the name of this story had been changed a few times, it was published under the title of Un Debut dans la Vie.  This explains why Balzac used the following words in dedicating it to her:  “To Laure.  May the brilliant and modest intellect that gave me the subject of this scene have the honor of it!” This, however, was not the first time he had honored her by dedicating one of his works to her, for in 1835 he inscribed to “Almae Sorori” a short story, Les Proscrits.

Balzac was often depressed, and felt that even his own family was not in sympathy with his efforts; he told his sister that the universe would be startled at his works before his relations or friends would believe in their existence.  Yet he knew that they did appreciate him to a certain extent, for his sister wrote him that in reading the Recherche de l’Absolu, and thinking that her own brother was the author of it, she wept for joy.

In his youth, at all events, Balzac seems to have had no secrets from his sister, and it is to her that the much disputed letter of Saturday, October 12, 1833, was addressed.  Their friendship was sincere and devoted; and yet there were coolnesses, caused largely by the influence of their mother,—­and of M. Surville, whose jealous and tyrannical disposition prevented their seeing each other as frequently as they would have liked.  She once celebrated her birthday by visiting her brother, but she held her watch in her hand as she had only twenty minutes for the meeting.  For awhile, he could not visit her; later, this estrangement was overcome, and after the first presentation of his play Vautrin (1840), his sister cared for him in her home during his illness.

Madame Surville performed many duties for her brother but was not always skilful in allaying the demands of his creditors.  On Balzac’s return from a visit to Madame Hanska in Vienna, he found that his affairs were in great disorder, and that his sister, frightened at the conditions, had pawned his silverware.  In planning at a later date to leave France, however, he did not hesitate to entrust his treasures to his sister, saying that she would be a most faithful “dragon.”  He was also wisely thoughtful of her; on one occasion when she had gone to a masked ball contrary to her husband’s wishes, Balzac went after her and took her home without giving her time to go round the room.