Gobseck (1806-30)
The story of some financial dealings
undertaken by the money-lender Gobseck,
a self-made man who worked his way up
from cabin-boy working in various trades
at the far reaches of the world including
India and the Americas, developing a
passion for money all the while.
Besides being a miser Gobseck has a rather
harsh philosophy of life
that includes not helping people because
"adversity is the greatest of all teachers."
He also believes that all the
different peoples and countries of
the world are in the end quite alike,
money being the greatest common denominator.
(Short, Gobseck, gbsek10.txt)