Final answer:
The referenced author comes from an aristocratic lineage renowned for its exterior charm and interior vices, epitomized by gambling, romantic intrigues, and a culture of excess that contrasts with the common people's lives. This hereditary struggle underscores the powerful but ultimately detrimental influence of one’s forebears.
Step-by-step explanation:
This author's background is depicted as stemming from a lineage of aristocracy characterized by external charm but internal vice, suggesting a tension between the allure of inherited status and the burden of inherited flaws. This struggle with hereditary evil and the inability to escape the cycle of familial vices is a common theme in literature that explores the depths of character and the inevitability of fate. The narratives mentioned demonstrate men of noble birth given to excessive gambling, swayed by romantic intrigues, drowning in the luxuries and vices of their time, and bound to an existence that starkly contrasts with the majority's during that period, as seen in the prelude to the French Revolution.
The lifestyle of the aristocracy during the referenced period was one of great wealth and political power, often leading to lives of leisure, romantic affairs, and pursuit of excess. The culture of the aristocracy formed a stark contrast to the lives of the common people, as depicted in the texts, which contributed to the growing unrest that led to significant historical events, such as political revolutions. These literary examples serve to illustrate the complexities and consequences of a life led in such a manner.