Balzac said it would require a Raphael to create so many virgins; accordingly, from time to time the type of woman of the other extreme is also seen. She is portrayed in the /grande dame/ and in the /courtisane/, that is, at the top and the bottom of the social ladder. On the one side are the Princesse de Cadignan, the Comtesse de Seriby, etc., while on the other are Esther Gobseck, Valerie Marneffe, and others. Some of the novelist's most striking antitheses were attained by placing these horrible creatures by the side of his noblest and purest creations. In his /Avant-propos/, he criticized Walter Scott for having portrayed his women as Protestants, saying: "In Protestantism there is no possible future for the woman who has sinned; while, in the Catholic Church, the hope of forgiveness makes her sublime. Hence, for the Protestant writer there is but one woman, while the Catholic writer finds a new woman in each new situation." Naturally, most of the women of the /Comedie humaine/ are Catholic, but among the exceptions is Madame Jeanrenaud (/L'Interdiction/), who is a Protestant; Josepha Mirah and Esther Gobseck are of Jewish origin. In portraying various women as Catholics, convent life for the young girl is seen in /Memoires de deux jeunes mariees/, and for the woman weary of society, in /La Duchesse de Langeais/. Extreme piety is shown in Madame de Granville (/Une double Famille/), and Madame Graslin devoted herself to charity to atone for her crime. Various pictures are given of woman in the home. Ideal happiness is portrayed in the life of Madame Cesar Birotteau. Madame Grandet, Madame Hulot (/La Cousine Bette/), and Madame Claes (/La Recherche de l'Absolu/) were martyrs to their husbands, while Madame Serizy made a martyr of hers. Beautiful motherhood is often seen, as in Madame Sauviat (/Le Cure de Village/), yet some of the mothers in Balzac are most heartless. A few professions among women are represented, actresses, artists, musicians and dancers being prominent in some of the stories. It is quite possible and even probable that Balzac pictured many more women whom he knew in real life than have been mentioned here, and these may yet be traced. For obvious reasons, he avoided exact portraiture, yet in a few instances he indulged in it, notably in the sketch of George Sand as Mademoiselle des Touches. And lest one might not recognize the appearance of Madame Merlin as Madame Schontz (/Beatrix/), he boldly made her name public.