Grade 5 out of 5 stars by Dominic 07/03/2017 18:51
Varto begins with the fact that the whole life of Julien Sorel was played at roulette: he bet on red and black. Finally, having sorted everything out and transferred everything. Alas, it’s a pity, the hero had mercy. He forgot about himself. The roulette didn't play like that. This is the irrevocable and most precise sense of the novel.
Julien Sorel is one of those guys, young and ambitious, who is trying to earn a career in a cruel, bewitching marriage. To achieve this goal, he has no talents and abilities, except hypocrisy, claim”, in case of any confusion, proceed in order to comply with He feels that he is in sharp control, so he carefully controls his skin, all the time he speaks in front of his interpretations and moral nature.
In the image of Julien Sorel, realistic figures meet romantic ones. Stendhal boldly breaks with the power of the romantics the straightforwardness of the portrayal of the hero, and even Julien has a super-cheerful peculiarity, although he wants to endow him with dominant rice-ambition, and he himself calls for changes in the plot of the novel.
However, in certain fragments there are extremely realistic signs, as if romanticism is “shone through.” In fact, romantics have “two lights”: the light of the ideal, the world and the light of reality. The main character, just before his death, informs those that he lives in an illusion, and not in real life. Likewise, the romantics envisioned a proud character of his own, who refused to get bogged down in high fantasy and escape from routine. The hero of “Chervony and Black” experiences the same feeling: “Julien stood on a high rock and marveled at the sky, baked by the sickle sun. You can take in the sight of the locality that stretches twenty leagues around you. Hour after hour, a hawk flew from the rocks above his head and silently chaired a majestic stake in the sky. Julien mechanically stitches his eyes behind the slender bird. He was opposed by the calm, heavy hands, the strength of the hawk, the self-confidence of the hut. This was Napoleon's share; Won and You didn’t have a trial? "
We can also trace the manifestations of romanticism in such examples: the romantic burning eyes of Julien Sorel; the place is fatal in a romantic way (he shoots at his colossus not just in God's temple, but in God's temple). The relationship between Stendhal and romanticism in the novel “Chervone and Black” cannot be felt. Julien, the main character of the novel, had the opportunity to meet rich people of different ages, different incomes, and different social backgrounds in his short life. But only two women, without a doubt, played the most important role in the life of the young man - the provincial Madame De Renal and the aristocratic Marquise Mathilde de La Mole.
Given his character, Julien is included in a number of romantic images. This is particularly striking at the end of Julien’s short life. Those who meet with the hero in a relationship, if he finds himself guilty of committing evil, can understand how he has turned to himself, to his human essence. Under illusion, he radically overestimates his life values, realizes the needlessness of everything to which he has so trampled. With his proclamation before the jury, Sorel is actually making a death penalty for himself. The same details are romantic. For example, Matilda’s worship of Julien’s head is a romantic attribute. Just like the death of Mr. I de Renal.Vona described romantic and somewhat sentimental: “the woman quietly fades away in grief, hugging her children.” However, at the same time, posing the problem of a woman being in love is an insane merit of the most realistic literature of the 19th century.
However, the tragic conflict between proud and self-centered people and prosperity, as they are, and the conflict between rebellion and death, which are absolute signs of romanticism, are expressed in realistic ways. Due to the fact that there are two currents: realism and romanticism, this novel has gained fame and become worth reading.
Grade 5 out of 5 stars from Arzu 11/20/2016 17:53
It was ok to read when I was a kid
Grade 4 out of 5 stars from martyn.anna 15.05.2016 20:15
Grade 5 out of 5 stars from natochka8800 13.03.2015 15:23
Grade 5 out of 5 stars from Nastya 08/13/2013 15:10
A little about the literary features of the novel:
1. The intrigue lies in the very title of the novel. At that time in Europe it was customary to name a novel either by the name of the main character (for example, “Manon Lescaut”) or to reflect the essence of the work in the title (for example, “Dangerous Liaisons”). Stendhal acted differently - he called his novel “Red and Black”. Literary scholars have not yet come to a clear opinion regarding the etymology of the name. The author's opinion on this issue is unknown.
2.Unlike the title of the novel, the titles of individual chapters clearly reflect the events taking place in them. Moreover, all chapters (with the exception of the last four) are equipped with epigraphs (some of which are fictitious by the author), which directly warn the reader of what awaits him in this chapter. The absence of titles and epigraphs in the last four chapters increases the intrigue (how will it all end).
3. The author repeatedly addresses readers in direct speech, involving them in some kind of dialogue, expresses his opinion regarding the characters he has fictionalized, and even informs about what disputes he had with the publisher regarding individual episodes.
4. The author ends many of his thoughts with the words “etc.” etc." (apparently so that the reader himself can figure out the ending of phrases and actions).
Now about the plot:
Sorel Julien - younger son in a peasant family, and therefore he has only two career options: military service or priesthood. To earn money to study at the seminary, he gets a job as a tutor in the family of de Renal, the mayor of a provincial French town. Julien is a 19-year-old boy with the appearance of a 17-year-old girl and not superior to her in knowledge of life, the mayor's wife is a 30-year-old woman (14 years of marriage, three children, an elderly husband). He only knows about love what he read about it in the Bible. She married an old man at the age of 16 and knows no more about love than Pithecanthropus knows about the theory of relativity. A feeling arises between them: grabbing hands, sneaking a kiss... The romance is gaining momentum. After some time, the cuckold mayor begins to receive anonymous letters. Julien is forced to leave his family and enter the seminary. A year later he gets a job in Paris. On the way to the capital, he secretly visits Madame de Renal, who has almost resigned herself to separation. He then goes to Paris to become the secretary of the Marquis de La Mole, who has a 19-year-old daughter...
The novel is written with a certain amount of humor. It is hilarious to read how Julien, dying of fear, sneaks down the corridor at night to his mistress de Renal, hoping that her husband is not sleeping, and there is a plausible reason to refuse a night date. Or how Julien draws up a written plan to seduce his next victim, so as not to forget what he told her and what he did. And the story with the rewriting of letters will make Nesmeyana laugh: Julien’s friend provided him with a set of letters written by his acquaintance to his beloved, Julien numbered them, copied them word for word and sent them to his victim (of course, there were some incidents).
Julien Sorel is the most ordinary peasant. But at the same time, he is very smart, and his memory is very good. Thanks to this, he will end up in the house of the mayor of their town, where he becomes a teacher for the children of the mayor. But that's also where he finds love. It was from that moment that all his adventures began, where education, good jobs, and also promotions began.
Stendhal's novel teaches that sometimes a person knows no boundaries and sees only the goal, and it is then that he, forgetting about everything in the world, can stumble. But at the same time, the novel also teaches that anything can be achieved if you just want to.
Julien Sorel is the most ordinary peasant, but this is only so if you look at it from the side of the rich, for whom everything simple people- brat. But Sorel is exactly the kind of person who does no good at home when it comes to business physical activity. He is thin, with a waist, he has a refined appearance, his face is pale and beautiful. He doesn't look much like a peasant. And besides, he is smart, because he sometimes goes to the priest to study.
Because I decided to become a priest, because it is very profitable in a village, where you can either work as a peasant or make your way into the people this way. He has read the entire Bible and knows it by heart, as his memory is excellent. In addition, he read some books that are very important in education, and therefore it helps him to know the basis of education - Latin, the Bible, and some other important books that help him in the future.
But Julien’s father, as well as his brothers, are very angry and rude. They don’t understand their brother, and therefore they simply beat him, and especially the father, who regrets that nothing will come of his skinny son. And that’s why he simply rips up his books and throws them out. Everything irritates Julien very much, because he is very proud, and at the same time ambitious.
It all starts with the fact that one rich man in their area wants a tutor for his children, but this is more of a lordly whim. But the manager finds out, and therefore Julien is hired as a tutor. He is a little surprised, but only glad. The children immediately fell in love with him, as they immediately felt unprecedented respect for him.
Madame de Renal herself is very beautiful and still young, she likes Sorel, but just as a person, and the fact that he is smart surprises and pleases her. In a word, Julien is not very simple, and therefore he decides to kill several birds with one stone. All the people who visit the mayor’s house are amazed by his intelligence and beauty, as well as his youth. But, in addition, he behaves for a simple peasant - very arrogantly and arrogantly, which greatly angers the mayor himself. After all, besides, Julien brazenly takes advantage of the fact that others can hire him, because everyone wants to have such a popular fad in their home. And therefore the mer is forced to pay him much more than at the beginning. In addition, Julien decides to make Madame da Renal fall in love with him, since it is beneficial for him, and he likes to tame.
But then it happens that Sorel himself falls in love with the lady. Things get tight between them love relationship, which the woman’s husband begins to suspect. And soon, in order to avoid humiliation, he flees to another city, where he begins to study to become a priest in a larger and more enormous institution.
There he meets many ignorant people who want to gain a position for themselves through meanness and cunning. In a word, Julien tries to keep quiet. And so, having studied for some time, he gets very a good place, where he begins to work as a secretary for a noble man who is also rich. In addition, he is an aristocrat, which makes Julien both a little happy that he has achieved so much for the peasant, and at the same time insignificant and humiliated, since so many treat him with contempt.
Trying to forget Madame de Renal, he sees that his aristocratic owner has a daughter, beautiful, smart, and also very arrogant. At first she despises Julien, but then, seeing that he is also arrogant with him, she begins, as it were, to recognize him again. Her pride and vanity are wounded, because she is neglected by some secretary who came from the peasantry, that is, eats the lower strata. The girl tries to win the stony heart of such a young and handsome man, who at first remains adamant and just as proud.
In general, this is the secret strategy of Julien, who wants to show these stupid and arrogant aristocrats that he, too, is worth something. That is why he behaves this way, not only because, but also in order to tame this girl, the daughter of his master. And therefore she gradually seems to become dependent on him. But it’s not simple either. As soon as she sees manifestations of weakness about her, she becomes cruel and indomitable. She uses Julien, and laughs at him, since there is already another one who has been tamed. But Sorel also decides to hide his feelings, and therefore again become the same as he was, and begins to care for another woman. And in the end, they decided to get married, but it all ends with Sorel’s death on the chopping block.
Gregory has long been in love with Martha, who is the daughter of a Novgorod merchant. But he just can’t decide to tell her about it. And when he suddenly decided, he was refused, because she had already been married to the rich boyar Lykov
Two Frost brothers decided to have fun and freeze people. Just then they saw that on one side a gentleman was riding, wearing a bear’s fur coat, and on the other side was riding a peasant, in a torn sheepskin coat.
The events of the work take place in an unknown city, which is located outside of space and time. The inhabitants of the city were transferred to it from different countries and eras for voluntary participation in a mysterious experiment.
Stendhal's novel The Red and the Black is the pinnacle of French realism. There is amazing detail here, and the political, social and psychological realities of the time are described in detail. However, the hero of the novel, Julien Sorel, belongs to romantic heroes, therefore, his existence in circumstances typical of the era turns into a tragedy.
“Red and Black” is a book whose title has been making readers think and analyze what is behind it for many years. When reading the work, the answer to this question does not become obvious and assumes multiple options, which everyone resolves for themselves. Direct associations appear primarily with the internal state of Julien Sorel, which combined the desire to find oneself, accomplish a feat, become an educated person, but at the same time self-interest, vanity, and the goal of achieving success by any means. The title also indicates the general theme of the work. These two colors: red and black, in their combination symbolize a certain anxiety, a struggle that occurs within people and around them. Red is blood, love, desire, black is base motives, betrayal. In their mixture, these colors give rise to the drama that occurs in the lives of the heroes.
Red and black are the colors of roulette, a symbol of excitement that has become vitality Main character. He alternately bet on the red (on the help of his mistresses, on his charm, etc.) and on the black (on deceit, meanness, etc.). This idea is prompted by the fatal hobby of the author himself: he was a passionate gambler.
Another interpretation: red is a military uniform, black is a priest’s cassock. The hero rushed between dreams and reality, and this conflict between the desired and the actual destroyed him.
Also, the combination of these colors forms tragic ending an aspiring hero: blood on the ground, red and black. The unfortunate young man could do so much, but he could only stain the earth with the blood of his mistress.
In addition, many researchers suggest that the contrasting combination of colors means the main conflict of the novel - the choice between honor and death: either shed blood or allow oneself to be denigrated.
Stendhal tells readers about the life of a young man, Julien Sorel, who gets a job as a tutor in the house of Mr. de Renal and his wife. Throughout the book, the reader observes the internal struggle of this purposeful person, his emotions, actions, mistakes, managing to be indignant and empathize at the same time. The most important line of the novel is the theme of love and jealousy, complex relationships and people's feelings different ages and different positions.
The young man’s career took him to the very top and promised many joys, among which he was looking for only one - respect. Ambition pushed him forward, but it also drove him into a dead end, because the opinion of society turned out to be more valuable to him than life.
Julien Sorel is the son of a carpenter, fluent in Latin, a smart, purposeful and handsome young man. This is a young man who knows what he wants and who is ready to make any sacrifice to achieve his goals. The young man is ambitious and smart, he craves fame and success, dreaming first of a military career and then of a career as a priest. Many of Julien’s actions are dictated by base motives, a thirst for revenge, a thirst for recognition and worship, but he is not a negative character, but rather a contradictory and complex character placed in difficult life conditions. The image of Sorel contains the character traits of a revolutionary, a gifted commoner who is not ready to put up with his position in society.
The plebeian complex makes the hero ashamed of his origin and look for a way to another social reality. It is this painful conceit that explains his assertiveness: he is sure that he deserves more. It is no coincidence that Napoleon, a native of the people who managed to subjugate dignitaries and nobles, becomes his idol. Sorel firmly believes in his star, and that’s all, and therefore loses faith in God, in love, in people. His unscrupulousness leads to tragedy: trampling on the foundations of society, he, like his idol, finds himself rejected and expelled by it.
The novel raises many issues. This is a choice life path, and the formation of character, and the conflict of a person with society. To consider any of them, it is important to understand the historical context: the Great French revolution, Napoleon, the mindset of an entire generation of youth, Restoration. Stendhal thought in these categories; he was one of those people who personally saw the breakdown of society and were impressed by this spectacle. Besides global problems who wear social character and are associated with the events of the era, the work also describes the complexities of relationships between people, love, jealousy, betrayal - that is, what exists outside of time and is always perceived by readers close to the heart.
The main problem in the novel "Red and Black" is, of course, social injustice. A talented commoner cannot make his way into the ranks, even though he is smarter than the nobility and more capable. This person also does not find himself in his own environment: he is hated even in his family. Inequality is felt by everyone, so a gifted young man is envied and in every possible way prevented from realizing his skills. Such hopelessness pushes him to desperate steps, and the ostentatious virtue of priests and dignitaries only confirms the hero’s intention to go against the moral principles of society. This idea is confirmed by the history of the creation of the novel “Red and Black”: the author found a note in the newspaper about the execution young man. It was this brief account of someone else’s grief that inspired him to fill in the missing details and create a realistic novel dedicated to the problem of social inequality. He suggests that the conflict between personality and environment should not be assessed so unambiguously: people do not have the right to take Sorel’s life, because it was they who made him this way.
The story itself contained in the novel is not fiction, but real events that greatly impressed Standhal. That is why the author chose Danton’s phrase “Truth. Bitter truth". It so happened that one day, while reading a newspaper, the writer read about the court case of Antoine Berthe, from whom the image of Sorel was copied. In this regard, the social problems of the work become even more obvious, which characterizes a difficult era and makes us think about it. Then a person was faced with a very acute question of choice: to preserve his spiritual purity in poverty or to go straight ahead and head over heels to success. Although Julien chooses the second, he is also deprived of the opportunity to achieve something, because immorality will never become the basis of happiness. A hypocritical society will willingly close its eyes to her, but only for a certain time, and when it opens, it will immediately isolate itself from the criminal taken by surprise. This means that Sorel’s tragedy is a verdict on unprincipledness and ambition. The real victory of the individual is self-respect, and not the endless search for this respect from the outside. Julien lost because he could not accept himself for who he is.
Psychologism is characteristic feature Stendhal's creativity. It manifests itself in the fact that, along with the story about the actions and deeds of the character and the big picture of the events described, the author, at a higher level of analysis, describes the reasons and motives for the hero’s actions. Thus, the writer balances on the brink between boiling passions and the mind analyzing them, creating the feeling that at the same time when the hero commits an act, he is being continuously monitored. For example, this all-seeing eye shows the reader how Julien carefully hides his sentence from view: little Napoleon, whose veneration has already left its mark on the actions of the hero from the very beginning of his journey. This expressive detail points us to the soul of Sorel - a trembling moth striving for fire. He repeated the fate of Napoleon, winning the desired world, but failing to keep it.
The novel combines the features of romanticism and realism. This is evidenced by the vital basis of the story, filled with deep and varied feelings and ideas. This is a feature of realism. But the hero is romantic, endowed with specific features. He is in conflict with society, but at the same time he is outstanding, educated and handsome. His loneliness is a proud desire to rise above the crowd; he despises his environment. His intelligence and abilities tragically remain unneeded and unfulfilled. Nature follows in his footsteps, framing the feelings and events in his life with its colors.
The work is often characterized as psychological and social, and it is difficult to disagree with this, since it unusually mixes the events of reality and a detailed assessment of the internal motives of the characters. Throughout the entire novel, the reader can observe a constant correlation between the external world as a whole and the inner world of a person, and it remains unclear which of these worlds is the most complex and contradictory.
Interesting? Save it on your wall!
The novel “Red and Black” is often called a harbinger of psychological realism. Its author is Marie-Henri Bayle, better known as Stendhal.
"Red and black": summary
The events of the novel take place in France in the 1820s. Since the novel touches on social and political issues, a summary of The Red and the Black should begin with a description of the historical background. Thus, Stendhal’s work tells about the times of the reign of Charles X, who tried to restore the order that existed before 1789.
The mayor of the city of Veviers, Mister de Renal, decides to hire a tutor. The old curé recommended to him Julien Sorel, the 18-year-old son of a carpenter with rare abilities. Julien is very ambitious and is ready to do anything to succeed. It is worth noting that throughout the novel the main character faces a choice between church career(the clothes of the clergy also had a role in military service (the officer’s uniform was red), which is why Stendhal called the novel “Red and Black.”
The summary tells that soon the wife of Mr. de Renal realizes that she loves her tutor. Julien also finds his mistress charming and decides to win her for the sake of self-affirmation and revenge on Mr. de Renal. They soon become lovers. But when Madame de Renal's son becomes seriously ill, it seems to her that this is punishment for her sin. Further, the novel “Red and Black,” a brief summary of which omits details, tells of an anonymous letter that reveals to Mr. de Renal the truth about But she convinces her husband that she is innocent, and Julien is forced to leave Veviers.
The main character moves to Besançon and enters the seminary. Here he makes friends with Abbot Pirard. The latter has a powerful patron, the Marquis de La Mole. Through the efforts of Pirard, the named aristocrat accepts Julien as his secretary. Further, “The Red and the Black,” a summary of which would be incomplete without social issues, describes the adaptation of Julien in Paris, and in particular, in the aristocratic world. Julien turns into a real dandy. Even Matilda, the daughter of the marquis, falls in love with him. But after Matilda spends the night with Julien, she decides to break off the relationship.
An acquaintance of Julien advises him to start courting someone else in order to make Matilda jealous. Thus, the proud aristocrat again falls into the arms of the protagonist. Having become pregnant, Mathilde decides to marry Julien. Upon learning of this, her father becomes furious, but still submits to his daughter. In order to somehow rectify the situation, the Marquis decides to create an appropriate position in society for his future son-in-law. But suddenly a letter appears from Madame Renal, describing Julien as a hypocritical careerist. Because of this, he is forced to leave Matilda
Further, “Red and Black,” a brief summary of which cannot convey the entire psychologism of the novel, tells about the events that took place in Verrieres. Julien enters the local church and shoots his ex-lover. While in prison, he learns that his former lover has survived. Now he understands that he can die in peace. But Matilda does her best to help him. Despite receiving a death sentence. In prison, Madame de Renal visits him and admits that the ill-fated letter was composed by her confessor. After this, Julien realizes that he loves only her, but on the same day he is executed. Matilda buries her ex-fiancé's head with her own hands.
The fate of the main character of the novel "Red and Black" reflects the peculiarities of social life in France at that time. This work is a kind of encyclopedia of the Restoration era.
Mayor of a small French city Verrier Monsieur de Renal takes into the house a tutor - a young man named Julien Sorel. Ambitious and ambitious, Julien studies theology, knows Latin perfectly and reads pages from the Bible by heart. Since childhood, he has dreamed of fame and recognition, and also admires Napoleon. He believes that the path of the priest is the right way make a career. His politeness and intelligence contrast sharply with the manners and character of Monsieur de Renal, whose wife gradually warms to Julien and then falls in love with him. They become lovers, but Madame de Renal is pious, she is constantly tormented by pangs of conscience, and the deceived husband receives an anonymous letter warning about his wife’s betrayal. Julien, by prior agreement with Madame de Renal, writes a similar letter, as if it had come to her. But rumors spread around the city, and Julien has to leave. He gets a job at the theological seminary in Besançon, impressing the rector Abbot Pirard with his knowledge. When the time comes to choose his confessor, he chooses Pirard, who, as it later turned out, was suspected of Jansenism.
They want to force Pirard to resign. His friend, the rich and influential Marquis de La Mole, invites the abbot to move to Paris and allocates him a parish four leagues from the capital. When the Marquis mentioned that he was looking for a secretary, Pirard suggested Julien as a man who “has both energy and intelligence.” He is very glad to have the opportunity to be in Paris. The Marquis, in turn, welcomes Julien for his hard work and abilities and trusts him with the most difficult matters. He also meets the marquis's daughter Matilda, who is frankly bored in secular society. Matilda is spoiled and selfish, but not stupid and very beautiful. The proud woman's pride is offended by Julien's indifference, and unexpectedly she falls in love with him. Julien does not experience reciprocal passion, but the attention of the aristocrat flatters him. After a night spent together, Matilda is horrified and breaks off relations with Julien, who is also tormented by unrequited love. His friend, Prince Korazov, advises him to make Matilda jealous by flirting with other women, and the plan unexpectedly succeeds. Mathilde falls in love with Julien again, and then announces that she is expecting a child and wants to marry him. However, Sorel's rosy plans are upset by a sudden letter from Madame de Renal. The woman writes:
Poverty and greed prompted this man, capable of incredible hypocrisy, to seduce a weak and unhappy woman and in this way create a certain position for himself and become one of the people... [He] does not recognize any laws of religion. To be honest, I have to think that one of the ways to achieve success is for him to seduce the woman who enjoys the greatest influence in the house.
The Marquis de La Mole does not want to see Julien. The same one goes to Madame de Renal, buys a pistol on the way and shoots ex-lover. Madame Renal does not die from her wounds, but Julien is still taken into custody and sentenced to death. In prison, he again makes peace with Madame de Renal and repents of attempting to commit murder. He realizes that he has always been in love only with her. Madame de Renal comes to him in prison and tells him that the letter was written by her confessor, and she only rewrote it. After Julien is sentenced to death, he refuses to appeal, reinforcing this by the fact that he has achieved everything in life, and death will only end this path. Madame de Renal dies three days after Julien's execution.
Julien Sorel - main character novel. He wants to be a military man, but only nobles are accepted there. Therefore, he wants to wear a black cassock, since the path there is open to him. But he only craves the privileges of this garment. He doesn't believe in God himself. Smart, prudent, does not disdain his means, an ardent admirer of Napoleon, wants to repeat his fate. He thinks that if he had been born during the time of Napoleon, he would have achieved a lot, but now he has to be a hypocrite. Understands that for the sake of your goals you need to treat people you don’t like well. He tries to be a hypocrite, but it doesn’t always work out. Very emotional, vain, chasing position in society. Hot-tempered. Brave. Sometimes his feelings prevail over his mind.
Madame de Renal is the wife of the mayor of the city of Verrieres, Mr. de Renal. 30 years. Sincere, simple-minded and naive.
Mathilde de La Mole - 20 years old; harsh, emotional, ironic towards her acquaintances, not hypocritical with her father’s friends. Acts like a child. Slowly reads his father's books (Voltaire, Rousseau). And the more modern protest there is, the more interesting it seems.
Abbot Pirard - Sorel meets him at the seminary. The abbot has sympathy for the smart student, but tries not to show it. They are similar to Sorel. Most do not like them for their intelligence, erudition, and opposition to other seminarians. Everyone is ready to report them at the first opportunity. As a result, the abbot survives from the seminary. Mr. de La Mole helps him move to another place.
Mr. de La Mole - participates in secret meetings, looks like an ultra-royalist in the 1820s. It has large library. Treats Sorel well from the very beginning, does not despise his origins. Appreciates him for his work and help in business. I immediately believed Sorel’s negative characterization. I am grateful to the abbot for his help.
Count de Thaler is the son of a Jew, simple-minded, which is why he succumbs to the influence of society and does not have his own opinion. He killed Croisenois in a duel, who defended Matilda's honor, refuting rumors about the reason for her disappearance, not believing anonymous letters. Croisenois was her admirer.
Mr. de Renal is the Mayor of Verrieres. Invites the tutor to show off to Valno. Valno himself later becomes mayor. Both worry about what others will think of them. Vain, rich in dishonest money. They talk to each other in a friendly manner, but they plot behind their backs.
Stendhal's novel "Red and Black" is varied in theme, interesting and instructive. The fates of his heroes are also instructive. I would like to tell you what two heroines taught me - Madame Where Renal and Mathilde de La Mole. To make it clear to us inner world These heroines, Stendhal subjects them to the test of love, since, in his opinion, love is a subjective feeling and depends more on the one who loves than on the object of love itself. And only love can tear off the masks behind which people usually hide their true nature.
At the beginning of the novel, Madame Renal appears. She looked about thirty years old, but she was still very pretty. A tall, stately woman, she was once the first beauty in the entire district. The wealthy heiress of a God-fearing aunt, she was raised in a Jesuit school convent, but managed to soon forget the nonsense that she was taught in this institution. She was married at the age of sixteen to an already elderly gentleman, Renal. Smart, quick-witted, emotional, she was at the same time timid and bashful, simple-minded and a little naive. Her heart was free from coquetry. She loved solitude, loved to walk around her wonderful garden, shied away from what was called entertainment, so in society Madame Renal began to be called proud and said that she was very proud of her origins. She had never even thought about it, but she was very satisfied when the residents of the town began to visit them less often.
The young woman could not deceive, conduct, politics regarding her man, so among the local ladies she was considered “stupid”. The courtship of Mr. Valno, who liked her, only frightened her. The life of the lady where Renal was dedicated to a man and children. And then a new feeling arose in her soul - love. It's like she woke up from long sleep, I began to get caught up in everything, I couldn’t remember myself from emotions. The feelings that Mrs. Where is Renal ignited made her energetic and decisive. Here she is, as if condemned to death, in order to save her lover, she goes to Julien’s room to pull out a portrait of Napoleon from the mattress. This, by hook or by crook, introduces Julien, a man of low birth, into the honor guard. This is thinking through an anonymous letter.
Madame de Renal is constantly in mental tension, two forces are fighting in her - a natural feeling, the desire for happiness and a sense of duty towards family, men, imposed by society, civilization, religion. When her son gets sick, she perceives the illness as God's punishment for adultery. And almost immediately after the threat to the boy’s health has passed, he again surrenders to his love. Then she returned to her beloved again, this time finally. She can no longer go against herself, her nature, her nature. She says, “My duty first and foremost is to be with you.” From that time on, she completely stopped taking moral condemnation into account. Now he simply did not exist for her. Last days she was next to Julien. Life without her loved one became meaningless for her. And three days after Julien's death, Madame Renal dies hugging her children. She lived quietly, unnoticed, sacrificing herself for the sake of her children and her beloved, and died just as quietly.
Mathilde de La Mole is a completely different type of female character. A proud and cold beauty who reigns at the balls, where the entire brilliant Parisian world gathers, she is extravagant, witty, and superior to her surroundings. She reads Voltaire, Rousseau, is interested in the history of France, the heroic eras of the country - her active nature forces her to treat with contempt all high-born admirers who claim her hand and heart. From them, and in particular from the Marquis of Croisnois, whose marriage would have brought Matilda the ducal title about which her father appears, boredom emanates from her. “What in the world could be trivial from such a gathering?” - expresses the look of her “blue as the sky” eyes. Modern reality does not arouse any interest in Matilda. She is everyday, gray and not at all heroic. Everything is bought and sold - “the title of baron, the title of viscount - all this can be bought... end after all, to get wealth, a man can marry Rothschild’s daughter.” Matilda is living the past that appears in her imagination, entwined with romance strong feelings. She regrets that there is no longer a court similar to the court of Catherine or Louis XIII. On April 30, Matilda always wears a mourning dress, since this is the day of the death penalty of her ancestor La Mole, who died in 1574, making an attempt to free his friends captured by Catherine, among whom was the King of Navarre, the future Henry IV, the man of his mistress - the queen Margaritas. Matilda bows before the power of passion of Margarita, who received the head of her lover from the executioner and buried it with her own hands. A supporter of the throne and the church, Matilda feels capable of great feats for the sake of restoring old times.
Matilda pays attention to Julien because she senses an extraordinary nature in him. Just like the Count with his romantic fate (“obviously, only a death sentence distinguishes a person... this is the one thing that cannot be bought”), Julien arouses her interest and respect as someone who “... was not born to crawl.” Matilda is struck by the cloudy fire that glows in his eyes, his proud look. “Or is he not Danton?” - Matildaa thinks, feeling that this real man with a strong will, worthy of her. “Nowadays, when all determination is lost, his determination frightens them,” thinks Matilda, contrasting Julien with all the young nobles who show off in her mother’s salon.
The disguise of Tartuffe, the appearance of a saint that Julien puts on himself, cannot deceive her. Despite his black suit, which he does not take off, “the priestly face with which the poor fellow has to walk around so as not to die of hunger,” His Highness scares them, Matilda understands. To dare to love Julien, someone who is lower than her on social levels, corresponds to her character, the secret of which is the need to take risks. But her love is hard. She, too, like Mrs. Where Renal, is in constant mental tension. She also has a struggle between the natural desire for happiness and “civilization,” those views that society imposed on them from her very birth. Hesitating between love and hatred for Julien, contempt for herself, she either pushes him away, or surrenders with all the power of passion. She would have saved Julien from the death penalty if he had wanted it. After the death of her lover, she fulfilled his last request - she buried him in a cave at high mountain, which rises above Verrieres. “Thanks to Matilda’s efforts, this wild cave was decorated with marble statues, which she ordered from Italy at great expense.”
Both heroines are wonderful, each in their own way. Both of them evoke, on the one hand, sympathy and pity, on the other hand, their altruistic, sacrificial love evokes surprise and honor. With their love they teach us to love unselfishly and selflessly. It is a pity that their happiness did not last long, but it is not so much they who are to blame as society with its unjust laws.
.jpg)
