La Paix du ménage
| Author | Honoré de Balzac |
|---|---|
| Original title | La Paix du ménage |
| Cover artist | David Murray Smith |
| Language | French |
| Series | La Comédie humaine |
| Genre | Scènes de la vie privée |
| Publisher | Mame et Delaunay-Vallée |
Publication date | 1830 |
| Publication place | France |
| Preceded by | Une double famille |
| Followed by | Madame Firmiani |
La Paix du ménage (Domestic Bliss) is a French short story by Honoré de Balzac, which was first published by Mame et Delaunay-Vallée in 1830 as one of the author's Scènes de la vie privée (Scenes from Private Life). It was republished in 1842 as part of Furne's edition of Balzac's La Comédie humaine.
Dedicated to the author's dear niece, Valentine Surville, this vivid and incisive novella is constructed like a classical French play, observing the three unities of time (an hour), place (a ball) and subject (the seduction of a young woman). Contrary to what the title might lead one to expect, the work is not concerned with the married life of the French bourgeoisie; it is, rather, a scintillating depiction of high society under the First Empire.