 Balzac himself was extremely proud of the work , declaring even before the final installment was published : " Le Père Goriot is a raging success ; my fiercest enemies have had to bend the knee . I have triumphed over everything , over friends as well as the envious . " As was his custom , he revised the novel between editions ; compared to other novels , however , Le Père Goriot remained largely unchanged from its initial version . 
