Le Rouge et le Noir (
The Red and the Black), subtitled
Chronique du XIXe siécle ("Chronicle of the 19th century"), is an historical
psychological novelA psychological novel, also called psychological realism, is a work of prose fiction which places more than the usual amount of emphasis on interior characterization, and on the motives, circumstances, and internal action which springs from, and develops, external action...
in two volumes by
StendhalMarie-Henri Beyle , better known by his pen name Stendhal, was a 19th-century French writer. Known for his acute analysis of his characters' psychology, he is considered one of the earliest and foremost practitioners of realism in his two novels Le Rouge et le Noir and La Chartreuse de Parme...
, published in 1830. It is often cited as the first realist novel. The title has been translated into English variously as
Scarlet and Black,
Red and Black and
The Red and the Black. It is set in the period from the end of September,1826 to the end of July,1831, and relates a young man's attempts to rise above his plebeian birth through a combination of talent, hard work, deception and hypocrisy, only to find himself betrayed by his own passions.
Background
Like Stendhal's later novel
La Chartreuse de Parme (
The Charterhouse of ParmaThe Charterhouse of Parma is a novel published in 1839 by Stendhal. The novel, along with The Red and the Black, is considered Stendhal's finest work.-Plot summary:...
),
Le Rouge et le Noir is a
BildungsromanA bildungsroman is a coming-of-age kind of novel. It arose during the German Enlightenment, and in it, the author presents the psychological, moral and social shaping of the personality of a usually young main character...
. The protagonist, Julien Sorel, from a humble family, is a driven and intelligent man; yet he fails to understand much about the ways of the world that he sets out to conquer. He harbours many romantic illusions, and becomes little more than a pawn in the political machinations of the influential and ruthless people who surround him. Stendhal uses his flawed hero to satirize French society of the time, particularly the hypocrisy and
materialismThe philosophy of materialism holds that the only thing that exists is matter; that all things are composed of material and all phenomena are the result of material interactions. In other words, matter is the only substance. As a theory, materialism is a form of physicalism and belongs to the...
of its
aristocracyAristocracy is a form of government, in which a few of the most prominent citizens rule. This may be a hereditary elite, or it may be by a system of cooption where a council of prominent citizens add leading soldiers, merchants, land owners, priests, and lawyers to their number...
and the
Roman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
, and to foretell a radical change in French society that will remove both of those forces from their positions of power.
The first volume has as an epigraph this "quotation", attributed to Danton: "La vérité, l'âpre vérité" ("The truth, the harsh truth"); but like most of the epigraphs heading chapters it is an invention of Stendhal's. Before the first chapter of each volume the title is repeated, this time followed by the subtitle:
Chronique de 1830.The red and the black of the title are the contrasting colours of the uniform of the army and the robes of priests. Julien Sorel observes early on in the novel that, under the
Bourbon restorationThe Bourbon Restoration is the name given to the restored Bourbon Kingdom of France which existed from 1814 until the July Revolution of 1830, with the interval of the "Hundred Days" from Napoleon Bonaparte's return from Elba to the Battle of Waterloo in 1814–15. The regime was a constitutional...
it is impossible for a man of his class to distinguish himself in the army (as he might have done under Napoleon); now, only a career in the Church offers social advancement and glory.
The novel ends with Stendhal's standard closing quote, "To the Happy Few." This is often interpreted as a dedication to the few who could understand his writing, an allusion to
William ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's "
Henry VHenry V is a history play by William Shakespeare, written in 1599. It is based on the life of King Henry V of England, and focuses on events immediately before and after the Battle of Agincourt during the Hundred Years' War....
", or a sardonic reference to the happy few who are born into prosperity (the latter interpretation is supported by the likely source of the quotation, Canto 11 of Byron's
Don JuanDon Juan or Don Giovanni is a legendary, fictional libertine whose story has been told many times by many authors. El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra, by Tirso de Molina, is a play set in the fourteenth century that was published in Spain around 1630...
, a frequent reference in the novel, which refers to 'the thousand happy few' who enjoy high society). It is also interpreted as referring to the happy few who live according to Stendhal's ideals (Beylisme): The goal of existence is to reach your personal happiness. All actions undertaken to reach this are permissible, hence Julien's treatment of people. The most important virtue is "la force d'ame" or the force of the soul. This involves courage, resolution and moral energy.
Plot summary
The Red and the Black is the story of Julien Sorel, the ambitious son of a carpenter in the fictional French village of Verrières, in
Franche-ComtéFranche-Comté the former "Free County" of Burgundy, as distinct from the neighbouring Duchy, is an administrative region and a traditional province of eastern France...
.
The novel comprises two volumes, each of which contains two major stories. The first book introduces Julien Sorel, who would rather spend his time reading or daydreaming about the "glory days" of Napoleon's army (long-since disbanded) than work in his father's timber yard alongside his brothers, who beat him for his intellectual affectation. Julien Sorel ends up becoming an acolyte of the local Catholic prelate, the abbé Chénal, who later secures him a post as tutor for the children of the mayor of Verrières, Monsieur de Rênal.
Sorel, who appears to be a pious and austere cleric, in reality has little interest in the Bible beyond its literary value and the way he can use memorized passages to impress important people (passages which he has moreover learned in
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
).
Sorel begins an affair with the wife of Monsieur de Rênal, one that ends badly when the affair is exposed throughout the town by her chambermaid, Elisa, who had designs of her own on Sorel. The abbé Chénal orders Sorel to move on to a seminary in
BesançonBesançon , is the capital and principal city of the region of Franche-Comté in eastern France. It had a population of about 220,000 inhabitants in the metropolitan area in 1999...
, which he finds cliquish and stifling. Despite his initial cynicism, the director of the seminary, the abbé Pirard, (a
JansenistJansenism was a branch of Catholic thought that arose in the frame of the Counter-Reformation and the aftermath of the Council of Trent . It emphasized original sin, human depravity, the necessity of divine grace, and predestination...
and thus a hated figure for the more powerful Jesuit faction in the diocese), takes a liking to Sorel and becomes his protector. When the abbé Pirard leaves the seminary in disgust at the political machinations of the church hierarchy, he rescues Sorel from the persecution he would suffer in Pirard's absence, recommending him as private secretary to the diplomat and
aristocratThe aristocracy are people considered to be in the highest social class in society, who traditionally have land, money, and power. They are often members of a hereditary nobility that derives its stature from a lineage traceable to the original inhabitants or rulers of a region...
ic Roman Catholic legitimist, the
MarquisMarquis is a French title of nobility. The English equivalent is Marquess, while in German, it is Markgraf.It may also refer to:Persons:* André Marquis, Vichy French admiral responsible for the scuttling of the French fleet in Toulon in 1942...
de la Mole.
Book II, which begins at the time just before the
July RevolutionThe French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution, saw the overthrow of King
Charles X of France, the French
Bourbon monarch, and the ascent of his cousin
Louis-Philippe, the
Duc d'Orléans,...
, chronicles Sorel's life in Paris with the family of Monsieur de la Mole. Sorel finds himself caught up in the high society of Paris, but the friends of his employer's family, while noting his talents, look down on his lack of finesse and despise his plebian origins. Sorel, boundlessly ambitious to rise in the world, has the clear-sightedness to note the materialism and hypocrisy of the Parisian elite, though he sees also that the times make it impossible for well-born men with superior qualities to find an outlet in public affairs.
Monsieur de la Mole, who likes and appreciates Sorel, takes him to a secret meeting and sends him on a dangerous mission to England, where he is to relay to an unidentified addressee a political letter that he has learned by heart. Distracted by an unhappy love affair, Sorel learns the message by rote, but fails to appreciate its significance. It is in fact part of a legitimist plot, and the addressee is presumably an ally of the Duc d'Angouleme, then in exile in England. Sorel thus risks his life to serve that faction which he most opposes. Sorel justifies this to himself by thinking only in helping Monsieur de la Mole, his employer and a man he respects.
Mathilde de la Mole, the bored daughter of Sorel's employer, had over the preceding months come to be torn between her growing interest in Sorel for his admirable personal qualities and her repugnance at becoming involved with a man of his class. He finds her unattractive at first, but his interest is piqued by her attentions and the admiration she inspires in others. She seduces and rejects Sorel twice, leading him into a miasma of happiness, pride at having outdistanced her aristocratic suitors, despair, and self-doubt. It is only on the diplomatic mission that the inexperienced Sorel gains the key to her affections with a cynical game-plan offered him by a man-of-the-world, Russian prince Korasoff. Following these instructions at great emotional cost, he feigns uninterest in her and provokes her jealousy by using a sheaf of pre-written love-letters to woo Mme de Fervaques, a widow in the family's social circle.
Mathilde de la Mole falls sincerely in love with Sorel, and eventually reveals she is pregnant with his child. In the period immediately before Sorel's return to Paris from the mission, she had become officially engaged to one of her many suitors, Monsieur de Croisenois, an amiable young man, rich, and set to inherit a dukedom.
Monsieur de la Mole is livid at the news of the liaison, but begins to relent in the face of his daughter's determination and his real affection for Sorel. He grants Sorel a property that brings him an income and an aristocratic title, and a place in the army. He appears ready to bless a marriage between the two, but has a dramatic change of heart when he receives the answer to a letter of character inquiry at Sorel's last employer, in Verrières. The letter, written by Madame de Rênal at the urging of her confessor, warns him that Sorel is nothing but a cad and a social climber who preys on vulnerable women. The personal drama in these chapters is interwoven with a dissection of the role of money and class in contemporary French society.
Upon learning of Monsieur de la Mole's subsequent decision never to bless a marriage, Sorel rushes to Verrières and shoots his former lover during
MassThe Mass is the Eucharistic celebration in the Latin liturgical rites of the Catholic Church. The term is used also of similar celebrations in Old Catholic Churches, in the Anglo-Catholic tradition of Anglicanism, in many Lutheran Churches, and in a small amount of High Church Methodist parishes...
in the town church. She survives, but the final chapters of the book follow the path of his conviction and execution for the crime.
Despite the tireless efforts to save his life by Mademoiselle de la Mole, Madame de Rênal, and the ecclesiastics devoted to him since his early years, Sorel is determined to die; there is no place in contemporary French society for a superior man born without the advantages of money and social connections, and his bridges have been burned.
Monsieur de Croisenois, presented as the most appealing of the young men blessed by fortune, is killed in a duel over a slur on the honor of Mademoiselle de la Mole.
Mademoiselle de la Mole's affection for Sorel remains undiminished, but its intellectual and imperious nature, and its component of romantic exhibitionism, make her visits a duty for him.
Once Sorel learns that he has not killed Madame de Rênal, he returns to his unnuanced love for her, which had remained in the back of his mind throughout his time in Paris and his passion for Mademoiselle de la Mole. She comes to visit him regularly in his last days, and dies of grief after he is beheaded. Mademoiselle de la Mole reenacts the cherished tale of 16th-Century queen Margot of France's visiting the body of her dead lover,
Boniface de la MoleJoseph Boniface de La Môle was a French nobleman. He was the son of Jacques Boniface, seigneur de la Môle et de Colobrières, of Marseille....
, to kiss the lips of his severed head. The 19th-Century Mathilde de la Mole carries the head of Julien Sorel to its tomb and turns his burial site into a shrine after the Italian fashion.
Major themes and structure
Le Rouge et le Noir is in one sense a novel of its time. The plot unfolds against the historical background of the later years of the
Bourbon RestorationThe Bourbon Restoration is the name given to the restored Bourbon Kingdom of France which existed from 1814 until the July Revolution of 1830, with the interval of the "Hundred Days" from Napoleon Bonaparte's return from Elba to the Battle of Waterloo in 1814–15. The regime was a constitutional...
and the events of
27, 28 and 29 JulyThe French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution, saw the overthrow of King
Charles X of France, the French
Bourbon monarch, and the ascent of his cousin
Louis-Philippe, the
Duc d'Orléans,...
1830 which led to the
July MonarchyThe July Monarchy , officially the Kingdom of the French , was a period of liberal constitutional monarchy in France under King Louis-Philippe starting with the July Revolution of 1830 and ending with the Revolution of 1848...
. The plot is motivated by tensions between Julien Sorel's own Republican tendencies-in particular his nostalgic allegiance to Napoleon-and the schemes of the Catholic aristocrat legitimists, notably the Marquess de la Mole, and their Jesuit supporters, who represent the opposite political extreme, yet whose interests Julien ends up serving. While this historical context is treated highly allusively by Stendhal (who takes for granted his reader's familiarity with the politics of France at the time), he nevertheless considered it important enough to subtitle the novel "Chronique de 1830" ("Chronicle of 1830"; the subtitle is not reproduced in all editions). Readers who wish to read a less guarded treatment of these historical themes should see Stendhal's unfinished novel
Lucien LeuwenLucien Leuwen is an unfinished French novel written by Stendhal in 1834. It was published posthumously in 1894....
(published posthumously but written 1834-35), which offers a clearer expose of the political tensions of the time.
The major theme of the novel is, on the other hand, timeless.
Le Rouge repeatedly questions the possibility, and even the desirability, of sincerity: most of the characters and particularly Julien are acutely aware of the need to play a particular role in order to gain the approval of those around them (although they are not always successful). The word "hypocrisy" recurs in this context, and while the meaning of this term was more limited in nineteenth-century France than it is today (it referred specifically to the affectation of high religious sentiments, as any nineteenth-century dictionary will attest), it can nevertheless be understood as the key word in a novel where the characters' words and their inner thoughts are frequently at odds.
In his book
Deceit, Desire and the Novel (
Mensonge romantique et verite romanesque, 1961), the critic and philosopher
Rene Girard' is a French historian, literary critic, and philosopher of social science. His work belongs to the tradition of anthropological philosophy...
identifies another key thematic structure in
Le Rouge et le Noir, which he dubs triangular or "mimetic" desire. On Girard's showing, Stendhal's novel reveals how any individual's desire for another is always "mediated" by a third party - put crudely, that we desire something (or someone) because we see that someone else desires that thing. This theory attempts to account not only for the apparent perversity of Mathilde's and Julien's relationship, in particular the episode in which Julien begins a courtship of Mme de Fervaques to pique Mathilde's jealousy, but equally Julien's fascination with and aspirations to the high society he longs to despise.
Most of the chapters begin with epigraphs that appear to be quotes from literature,
poetryPoetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
, or notable historical individuals. In reality, Stendhal himself wrote the majority of these epigraphs, but attributed them to writers whom he thought capable of writing or saying such things. Stendhal left the last four chapters untitled; these are also the only four chapters that lack
epigraphAn epigraph is any one of the following:* an inscription, as studied in the archeological sub-discipline of Epigraphy * Epigraph * Epigraph...
s.
Literary significance and criticism
André GideAndré Paul Guillaume Gide was a French author and winner of the Nobel Prize in literature in 1947. Gide's career ranged from its beginnings in the symbolist movement, to the advent of anticolonialism between the two World Wars.Known for his fiction as well as his autobiographical works, Gide...
felt that
The Red and the Black was a novel far ahead of its time, and called it a novel for readers in the 20th century. At the time Stendhal wrote
The Red and the Black, the
proseProse is the ordinary form of written language. The word "prose" is derived from the Latin prosa, which literally translates to "straightforward". Prose is adopted for the discussion of facts and topical reading, as it is often articulated in free form writing style...
in novels included
dialogueA dialogue is a conversation between two or more people. It is also a literary form in which two or more parties engage in a discussion.-Literary and philosophical genre:...
or omniscient descriptions, but Stendhal's great contribution was to spend much of the novel inside the characters' heads, describing their feelings and emotions and even their inner conversations. As a result of this book, Stendhal is considered the inventor of the
psychological novelA psychological novel, also called psychological realism, is a work of prose fiction which places more than the usual amount of emphasis on interior characterization, and on the motives, circumstances, and internal action which springs from, and develops, external action...
.
In Jean-Paul Sartre's 1948 play
Les Mains SalesDirty Hands is a play by Jean-Paul Sartre. It was first performed on 2 April 1948 at the Theatre Antoine in Paris, starring François Périer, Marie Olivier and André Luguet...
, the protagonist Hugo suggests several pseudonyms for himself, including Julien Sorel, with whom he shares many similarities.
Translations
The novel was first translated into English around 1900, but the best known translation is that of Charles Kenneth Scott Moncrieff, the celebrated translator of Proust, done in the 1920s; his Stendhal translations have been characterized as: "fine, spirited renderings, not entirely accurate on minor points of meaning . . . Scott Moncrieff's versions have not really been superseded." The version by Robert M. Adams, for Norton Critical Editions is also highly regarded; it "is more colloquial; his edition includes an informative section on backgrounds and sources, and excerpts from critical studies." Of the 2006 Modern Library translation by Burton Raffel one anonymous Amazon reviewer wrote: "actually a vulgar, anachronistic retelling of Stendhal's novel. I recall abandoning it in disgust when the main character refers to his life as a total "blast". MTV was obviously very popular in 1838 [sic] France." Instead, the brilliant Moncrieff translation, as revised by Stendhal scholar Ann Jefferson, is highly recommended (Everyman paperback, ISBN 0460876430)."
Film adaptations
- Der geheime Kurier (The Secret Courier, English title), silent German film of Gennaro Righelli, 1928, with Ivan Mosjoukine, Lil Dagover
Lil Dagover was a German stage, film and television actress whose career spanned nearly six decades.-Early life:...
, and Valeria Blanka
- The Red and the Black (Il Corriere del re), a black-and-white Italian film directed by Gennaro Righelli, 1947, with Rossano Brazzi
Rossano Brazzi was an Italian actor.Brazzi was born in Bologna and attended San Marco University, in Florence, Italy, a city in which he lived since age 4...
, Valentina CorteseValentina Cortese, sometimes credited as Valentina Cortesa is an Italian actress.In her US career she starred in The House on Telegraph Hill directed by Robert Wise, and costarring Richard Basehart and William Lundigan...
, and Irasema Dilián.
- A film
Le rouge et le noir is a 1954 French drama film directed by Claude Autant-Lara, who co-wrote screenplay with Jean Aurenche and Pierre Bost, based on novel by Stendhal. It starred Gerard Philipe, Antonella Lualdi and Danielle Darrieux...
was made of the novel in 1954, directed by Claude Autant-LaraClaude Autant-Lara , was a French film director and later MEP.He was educated in France and at London's Mill Hill School during his mother's exile as a pacifist...
. It starred Gerard PhilipeGérard Philipe was a prominent French actor, who had appeared in 34 films between 1944 and 1959.-Career:...
, Antonella Lualdi and Danielle DarrieuxDanielle Yvonne Marie Antoinette Darrieux is a French actress and singer, who has appeared in more than 110 films since 1931...
. It won the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics award for the best film of the year.
- Le Rouge et le Noir is a French made-for-TV film version directed by Pierre Cardinal, 1961, with Robert Etcheverry, Micheline Presle
Micheline Presle is a French actress also known in English language films as Micheline Prelle.Born Micheline Nicole Julia Émilienne Chassagne in Paris, she wanted to be an actress from an early age. She took acting classes in her early teens and made her film debut at the age of fifteen in the...
, Marie LaforêtMarie Laforêt, born Maïténa Doumenach to Armenian parents on 5 October 1939 in Soulac-sur-Mer, is a French singer and actress.- Biography :The 1960s...
, and Jean-Roger CaussimonJean-Roger Caussimon was a French film actor. He appeared in 90 films between 1945 and 1985.-Selected filmography:* Que la fête commence * Juliette, or Key of Dreams -External links:...
.
- A BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
TV mini-series in five episodes The Scarlet and the Black, was made in 1965, starring John Stride, June Tobin, and Karin Fernald.
- Krasnoe i chyornoe is a Soviet film version directed by Sergei Gerasimov
Sergei Gerasimov may refer to:* Sergei Vasilyevich Gerasimov , Russian painter* Sergei Gerasimov , Russian actor, film director and screenwriter...
, 1976, with Nikolai Yeryomenko Ml, Natalya BondarchukNatalya Sergeyevna Bondarchuk is a Russian actress and film director, best known for her appearance in Andrei Tarkovsky's Solaris as "Hari". She is the daughter of the Ukrainian actor Sergei Bondarchuk and the Russian actress Inna Makarova...
, and Natalya BelokhvostikovaNatalya Nikolayevna Belokhvostikova is a Soviet/Russian actress.Graduated from VGIK classes of Sergei Gerasimov and Tamara Makarova in 1971...
.
- A BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
TV mini-series, The Scarlet and the Black, was made in 1993, starring Ewan McGregorEwan Gordon McGregor is a Scottish actor, singer, and adventurer who has had success in mainstream, indie and art house films...
, Rachel WeiszRachel Hannah Weisz is an English actress and model. She gained wide public recognition after her portrayal of Evelyn "Evy" Carnahan-O'Connell in the films The Mummy and The Mummy Returns. In 2001, she starred opposite Hugh Grant in the hit About a Boy and continued to garner leading roles in...
and Stratford JohnsStratford Johns, born Alan Edgar Stratford-Johns, was a popular British stage, film and television actor who is best remembered for his starring role as Detective Inspector Charlie Barlow in the innovative and long-running BBC police series Z-Cars, created by Troy Kennedy-Martin...
as the Abbe Pirard. A notable addition to the plot was the spirit of Napoleon (Christopher FulfordChristopher Fulford is a British actor who is best known for his supporting roles in many British TV shows.He has featured in the films D-Tox , Millions and Pierrepoint and the 1999 six part tv drama The Last Train...
) who advises Sorel (McGregor) through his rise and fall.
- A made-for-TV film version of the novel was made in 1997 by Koch Lorber Films, starring Kim Rossi Stuart
Kim Rossi Stuart is an Italian actor, director.-Career:Kim Rossi Stuart was born in Rome. His father, Giacomo, was also an actor. His mother was a former top model.He began acting at the age of 5...
, Carole BouquetCarole Bouquet is a French actress and fashion model, who has appeared in more than 40 films since 1977. Bouquet was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France....
and Judith GodrècheJudith Godrèche is a French actress and author, born in Paris. She has appeared in more than 30 films between 1985 and 2009.-Career:...
; it was directed by Jean-Daniel Verhaeghe.
See also
- Bildungsroman
A bildungsroman is a coming-of-age kind of novel. It arose during the German Enlightenment, and in it, the author presents the psychological, moral and social shaping of the personality of a usually young main character...
- Burt, Daniel S. The Novel 100. Checkmark Books, 2003. ISBN 0-8160-4558-5
External links
The Red and the Black, complete audio version