In his various works, he has portrayed quite a number of young girls varying greatly in rank and temperament, among the most prominent being Marguerite Claes (/La Recherche de l'Absolu/), noted for her ability and her strength of character, headstrong and much petted Emilie de Fontaine (/Le Bal de Sceaux/), Laurence de Cinq-Cygne, the very zealous Royalist (/Une tenebreuse Affaire/), romantic Modeste Mignon, pitiable Pierrette Lorrain, dutiful and devout Ursule Mirouet, unfortunate Fosseuse (/Le Medecin de Campagne/), bold and unhappy Rosalie de Watteville (/Albert Savarus/), and the well-known Eugenie Grandet. The novelist has revealed to us that he modeled one of these heroines on a combination of the woman who later became his wife, and her cousin, a most charming woman. It is quite possible that some if not all of the other heroines would be found to have equally interesting sources, could they be discovered. Concerning the much discussed question as to whether Balzac portrayed young girls well, M. Marcel Barriere remarks: "There are critics stupid enough to say that Balzac knew nothing of the art of painting young girls; they make use of the inelegant, unpolished word /rate/ to qualify his portraits of this /genre/. To be sure, Balzac's triumph is, we admit, in his portraits of mothers or passionate women who know life. Certain authors, without counting George Sand, have given us sketches of young girls far superior to Balzac's, but that is no reason for scoffing in so impertinent a manner at the author of the /Comedie humaine/, when his unquestionable glory ought to silence similar pamphletistic criticisms. We advise those who reproach Balzac for not having understood the simplicity, modesty and graces so full of charm, or often the artifice of the young girl, to please reread in the /Scenes de la Vie privee/ the portraits of Louise de Chaulieu, Renee de Maucombe, Modeste Mignon, Julie de Chatillonest, Honorine de Beauvan, Mademoiselle Guillaume, Emilie de Fontaine, Mademoiselle Evangelista, Adelaide du Rouvre, Ginervra di Piombo, etc., without mentioning, in other /Scenes/, Eugenie Grandet, Eve Sechard, Pierrette Lorrain, Ursule Mirouet, Mesdemoiselles Birotteau, Hulot d'Ervy, de Cinq-Cygne, La Fosseuse, Marguerite Claes, Juana de Mancini, Pauline Gaudin, and I hope they will keep silence, otherwise they will cause us to question their good sense of criticism."