The Theory of Walking, both theory and commentary, is a bold penetration by Honoré de Balzac into the questions and psychology of science, as well as a mocking record of what characterizes the spirit and morals of Paris in the 1830s.

This ironic manual addresses many of the thoughts that have always occupied Balzac and which we find scattered throughout his philosophical works: thoughts concerning movement, the consumption of vital energy, the relationships between the inner nature of man and his external reactions, longevity, and the philosophy of his daily movements.