Poor man wanna be rich, rich man wanna be king, and a kind ain't satisfied til he rules everything

It is interesting to see the development of a passion in the miser. Money, to me, is a medium of exchange. It is not the object of the desire, but merely a way of obtaining what I desire. If I desire a grand piano, I have to work hard to earn money to pay for it. So in a sense, I don't work for the paycheck, but I work for the piano. In Grandet's case, he does not use his money and gold as a medium of exchange. He actually desires the money, which has no other commodity value. He sits for hours locked in his vault, just staring at and admiring his gold. When he is dying, he asks Eugenie to show him some gold. His passion for money seems misguided, because he uses his money very little. In fact, for all real world purposes, he has very few material desires. It could be said that his only desire is to diminish his desires.
Although people in the world today still have a passion for money, a lot of them really have a passion for desire. Yes they love money, but they love money because it lets them buy a fancy car, and a big house, and join the country club, etc... Money is a means to achieve certain desires. Money also becomes a way to achieve sexual desires. Women are attracted to a man with a big wallet. But Grandet again seems very disinterested in sex, and shows very little compassion towards his wife. "All engrossing passions increase in strength with time: and all who devote their lives to one overruling idea, so observers note, whether they be misers or simply ambitious men, cling with the whole force of their imagination to one symbol of their passion (208)." So the way I see it, Grander is obsessed with the symbol of his passion or money. But the ironic thing, is that the symbol is this case represents nothing else. With his money, Grandet still lives in a small house, and gives very small allowances to his wife and daughter. The symbol becomes the object of his passsions.