The Red and the Black by Stendhal

The Red and the Black (Le Rouge et le Noir), published in 1830 by the French writer Stendhal (the pen name of Marie-Henri Beyle), is a landmark psychological novel and "Bildungsroman" that chronicles the ambitious rise and tragic fall of Julien Sorel, a talented but impoverished young man from the provinces who seeks to climb the rigid social hierarchy of post-Napoleonic France. Set during the Bourbon Restoration (1814–1830), the novel satirizes the hypocrisy, materialism, and political intrigue of the aristocracy and Catholic clergy; its title alludes to the two main avenues of advancement available to a man of Julien’s era—the red of the military (evoking the Napoleonic glory he idolizes) and the black of the priesthood. Drawing partly on a real-life crime of passion, Stendhal combines acute psychological insight with sharp social analysis, creating both an intimate portrait of a passionate, conflicted anti-hero and a vivid “chronicle of the nineteenth century” that captures the tensions leading up to the July Revolution of 1830.

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The Red and the Black by Stendhal In the provincial town of Variers, in the Franccount region of France during the years of the Bourbon Restoration, lived Julian Sorrel, the youngest son of a rough carpenter who owned a sawmill. Julian was slight of build, sensitive, and gifted with a remarkable memory and intellect, while his coarser brothers labored at the mill and beat him for his bookish ways. Julian preferred to read accounts of Napoleon's victories and to dream of glory. In the changed times after Waterloo, however, the path of military advancement was closed to a man of his birth. He therefore resolved to rise through the church. Under the guidance of the local priest, Abe Shallan, he memorized large portions of the Latin Bible and cultivated an appearance of piety. Though his heart remained attached to the memory of the emperor, Monsieur de Renal, the ultra-royalist mayor of Ariers, hired the young man as tutor to his three sons. The appointment served a double purpose. It would improve the education of the boys and more importantly, display the mayor's superiority over his rival, the director of the poor house, Monsieur Vailnaude. Julian arrived at the Renal household determined to succeed by whatever means necessary. He played the role of the austere and devout cleric with care, yet he felt scorn for the mayor's vanity and the narrowness of provincial life. Madame de Renal, a gentle and sincerely religious woman, was at first merely kind to the new tutor. Gradually she came to love him. Julian, sensing her feeling, decided that seducing the wife of his employer would be both a victory over the man he despised and a necessary exercise of will. His early attempts were awkward, almost comical in their stiffness. Yet Madame de Renal's own passion overcame every obstacle. They became lovers. In unguarded moments, Julian's natural charm and intelligence shone. Madame de Renal taught him the manners of polite society and protected him in the small intrigues of the town. Their happiness was interrupted when one of the Renal children fell seriously ill. Madame De Renal took the illness as divine punishment for her adultery and suffered agonies of remorse. An anonymous letter accusing the pair soon reached the mayor. With cleverness and composure, Madame de Renal persuaded her husband that the letter was a work of Venod, who had once paid her unwelcome attentions. Scandal was temporarily averted. But the servant girl Elisa, who herself loved Julian and had been rejected by him, eventually revealed the truth to Abe Shallan. The old priest insisted that Julian leave varriers for the seminary at Bezanson. Before departing, Julian climbed one last time to Madame de Reno's window. At first she resisted, then, learning that he was going away forever, she yielded. They spent a final day together in secret happiness. At the seminary Julian found an atmosphere of mediocrity, jealousy, and rigid conformity. His superior intelligence and the traces of worldly elegance he had acquired made him suspect the other students. Only the director, Abe Peerard, a Jansen as a stern principal, recognized his gifts and took him under protection. When political pressures forced Peer to resign, the Abe recommended Julian to his powerful friend in Paris, the Marquis de la Mole, as private secretary. In the great house of the de La Mole family on the Faubourg Saint-Germain, Julian entered a new world of aristocratic formality, political intrigue, and carefully maintained boredom. The Marquis quickly valued the young man's intelligence, discretion, and capacity for hard work. Julian drafted letters, managed correspondence, and was entrusted with confidential missions. He accompanied the Marquis to a secret meeting of legitimate conspirators and later carried a memorized message to England, risking his life in the service of a cause he privately opposed. Yet the Parisian salons treated him with condescension. His provincial origin remained an indelible stain. Matilda La Mole, the Marquis's proud and restless daughter, observed Julian with growing interest, bore by the conventional young nobles who surrounded her. She was drawn to his energy, his secret fire, and the contrast he presented to her own sterile circle. She began to favor him. Julian, at first indifferent and even distrustful, soon found himself caught in a storm of passion and calculation. Matilde declared her love, then withdrew it in a fit of aristocratic pride. She summoned him to her room at night, became his mistress, and afterward repented bitterly of having given herself to a man of inferior birth. Julian, now deeply in love, suffered torment. Following the cynical advice of a Russian acquaintance, Prince Korosov, he feigned indifference and directed a calculated campaign of attentions toward the pious widow Madame de Fervax. Jealousy restored Matilde's passion. She returned to him with renewed intensity and soon announced that she was carrying his child. The Marquis, upon learning of the affair, was furious. Matilde's determination and the Marquis's genuine affection for Julian eventually softened him. He bestowed upon the young man a property that carried a title of nobility and arranged a commission in the army. Marriage seemed possible. Julian's long ambition appeared on the point of fulfillment. Then a letter arrived from Varriers. At the urging of her confessor, Madame de Reno had written to the Marquis, describing Julian as a calculating seducer who used women solely to advance his fortune. The Marquis, shaken, withdrew his consent to the marriage. Julian left Paris at once. He traveled to Verriers, obtained a pair of pistols, and entered the church during mass. There he fired at Madame de Reno. She fell wounded but alive. Julian was arrested and imprisoned in Besan to await trial. In the solitude of his cell, Julian recovered clarity he had long lost. He refused the efforts of Matilde, who arrived determined to save him by every means of influence and bribery. He refused also the appeals of the priests who had known him. When the trial came, he spoke only to declare that he was being judged not merely for the crime of attempted murder, but for having dared to rise above his class. The jury condemned him to death. During the final days, Madame de Reno, recovered from her wound and still loving him, visited the prison. Their meetings restored to Julian a pure and peaceful affection that the turbulence of Paris had obscured. Matilde continued her dramatic visits, yet Julian's heart had returned wholly to the woman of Ariers. He faced the guillotine with composure. After the execution, Mathilde claimed the severed head and, in imitation of the historical episode of Queen Margot and Boniface de Lamot, kissed it and arranged his burial with her own hands, erecting a shrine in the Italian manor. Madame de Reno, broken by grief, died in the arms of her children three days later.