 Rastignac , Vautrin , and Goriot represent individuals corrupted by their desires . In his thirst for advancement , Rastignac has been compared to Faust , with Vautrin as Mephistopheles . Critic Pierre <unk> calls Vautrin 's lecture to Rastignac " one of the great moments of the Comédie humaine , and no doubt of all world literature " . France 's social upheaval provides Vautrin with a playground for an ideology based solely on personal advancement ; he encourages Rastignac to follow suit . 
