 The relations between family members follow two patterns : the bonds of marriage serve mostly as Machiavellian means to financial ends , while the obligations of the older generation to the young take the form of sacrifice and deprivation . Delphine is trapped in a loveless marriage to Baron de Nucingen , a money @-@ savvy banker . He is aware of her extramarital affairs , and uses them as a means to extort money from her . Anastasie , meanwhile , is married to the comte de <unk> , who cares less about the illegitimate children she has than the jewels she sells to provide for her lover – who is conning her in a scheme that Rastignac has heard was popular in Paris . This depiction of marriage as a tool of power reflects the harsh reality of the unstable social structures of the time . 
