 The novel begins with an overview of the main character's background. Louis Lambert, the only child of a tanner and his wife, is born in 1797 and begins reading at an early age. In 1811 he meets the real-life Swiss author Madame de Sta l (1766 1817), who   struck by his intellect   pays for him to enroll in the Coll ge de Vend me. There he meets the narrator, a classmate named "the Poet" who later identifies himself in the text as Balzac; they quickly become friends. Shunned by the other students and berated by teachers for not paying attention, the boys bond through discussions of philosophy and mysticism.
After completing an essay entitled Trait  de la Volont  ("Treatise on the Will"), Lambert is horrified when a teacher confiscates it, calls it "rubbish", and   the narrator speculates   sells it to a local grocer. Soon afterwards, a serious illness forces the narrator to leave the school. In 1815, Lambert graduates at the age of eighteen and lives for three years in Paris. After returning to his uncle's home in Blois, he meets a woman named Pauline de Villenoix and falls passionately in love with her. On the day before their wedding, however, he suffers a mental breakdown and attempts to castrate himself.
Declared "incurable" by doctors, Lambert is ordered into solitude and rest. Pauline takes him to her family's ch teau, where he lives in a near coma. The narrator, ignorant of these events, meets Lambert's uncle by chance, and is given a series of letters. Written by Lambert while in Paris and Blois, they continue his philosophical musings and describe his love for Pauline. The narrator visits his old friend at the Villenoix ch teau, where the decrepit Lambert says only: "The angels are white." Pauline shares a series of statements her lover had dictated, and Lambert dies on 25 September 1824 at the age of twenty-eight.
How many years did Louis live in Paris after he graduated? What did a teacher do with Lambert's Traite de la Volonte essay? Who paid for Louis Lambert to enroll in College de Vendome? How old is Lambert when he passes away? What did Lambert say about the angels while he was in the chateau? What is the "poet's" real name? Why did Balzac and Louis seem to get along so well?  To what city does Louis move to after leaving college? How did the other students treat Lambert and his friend Balzac during college? What year is Louis Lambert born in? What did Lambert try to do to himself a day before his wedding with Pauline? How many siblings does Louis Lambert have? What were the letter's received by Lambert's uncle toward the end of the story about? What does Louis attempt to do after having a mental breakdown? Where did Lambert live for three years immediately following his graduation? What is the title of the comprehensive essay Louis completes in college? Why did Madame de Stael pay for Louis Lambert to go to college? Who gives the narrator Louis' letters? What does Madame de Stael pay for Louis Lambert to do? What does Louis attempt to mutilate a day before marrying Pauline? Where is Louis' uncle's home located? What person pays for Louis' college education? With whom does Louis fall in love with? Why was Lambert ordered into solitude  and rest? How old is Louis when he dies? How old was Lambert when he graduated college? Where did Lambert meet his friend Balzac, also known as "The Poet"? What country is Madame de Stael originally from?