In this paper the author presents a formulation of Balzac's character based on Abraham's theory of the development of melancholia from the conflicts surrounding orality. She feels that Balzac's personality is especially amenable to such an analysis because of his identification with the characters in his novels. However, she adduces Balzac's 'oral character' from historical facts: he suffered an early oral frustration and was rejected by his mother at the age of four when she shipped him off to school and saw him there but seldom until he was fourteen. He was demanding, hostile and overdependent. He drank and ate excessively, and exhibited a marked loquacity and a thirst for knowledge. According to the author, an anal trend was also indicated by his love of collecting and his occasional avarice.