Book details
Le rouge et le noir: chronique du XIXe siècle
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Metadata
- Gutenberg ID
- 798
- Title
- Le rouge et le noir: chronique du XIXe siècle
- Language
- fr
- Book source
- Project Gutenberg
- Description max 80 words
-
Set in the industrial town of Verrières, this novel follows Julien Sorel, a poor but ambitious clerk who rises through the ranks of French society. Blending social satire with intense romantic drama, the story explores themes of ambition, hypocrisy, and the destructive power of passion against a backdrop of post-Napoleonic France.
- Summary up to 500 words
-
Stendhal's *The Red and the Black* chronicles the tragic ascent and fall of Julien Sorel, a humble postmaster's son in the provincial town of Verrières. The narrative opens in a society rigidly stratified by wealth and birth, where the wealthy Mayor de Rênal dominates the local elite. Julien enters this world through an affair with the Mayor's wife, Madame de Rênal. Their relationship is intense and fraught with social danger, culminating in Julien's arrest after a duel with the Mayor's son. While imprisoned, Julien finds solace in a passionate correspondence with Mathilde de La Mole, the Mayor's daughter. Their love represents a different kind of redemption, offering Julien escape from his provincial obscurity. The novel explores the tension between ambition and morality. Julien, driven by a desire for power and social elevation, navigates the treacherous waters of post-Napoleonic France, where the Empire's ideals clash with the restored monarchy's conservatism. His journey from a small town to the heights of political power and back to ruin serves as a profound meditation on the human condition. As political tensions rise and personal betrayals mount, Julien's ambition leads to his downfall. The story concludes with a tragic end for both lovers: Julien is executed, and Madame de Rênal dies of a broken heart shortly after. Through Julien's rise and fall, Stendhal critiques the folly of unchecked ambition and the enduring, often destructive, nature of true love in a society obsessed with status and reputation.
- LLM editorial rating
- 4.2/5
- Download URL
- https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/798.epub.noimages
- Local file path
-
data/epubs/pg798.epub - Downloaded at
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People
Authors
- Stendhal
Classification
Categories
- Psychology
- Classics
- Religion
- Fiction
- Politics