Julien Sorel is the Last Romantic Hero of French Novel
Stendhal between Romanticism and Realism Stendhal is one of the major writers of the nineteenth century and an important innovator of the novel as a literary genre. His unique style has been many times redefined by the critics, in search of an appropriate tag. Nevertheless, Stendhal's originality springs precisely from the way in which the writer managed to blend entirely different and even contradictory attitudes and philosophies in his novels. His works are all characterized by a critical and even sarcastic view on his contemporary life. The author's deception with post-Napoleonic world is reflected in almost every novel. Stendhal was a writer who could not find his place in the country and the time he was forced to inhabit, and who looked with hostility on the political life and the ideologies of the time. His novels are thus deeply concerned with the connection between history and individual life: "History with the rumble of its cannons marches side by side with and at the same pace as the rhythm of the individual life."("The Charterhouse of Parma, 1982) Through his interest for the social and political context and his critical and discontent view on the world, Stendhal can be classified among the realist writer. However, th
Thus, instead of feeling hatred for Madame de Renal who denounces him and ruins his happiness, Sorel realizes his true feelings only when he is duly punished for his deeds: "Ambition was dead in his heart. Without this specific device he would hardly manage the complex effect that Julien produces on the audience. "(Stendhal, 36) Unknowingly, Sorel goads himself to betray his own Romantic instincts. According to Rexroth, Sorel is a comic Napoleon, inspiring the readers with a sense of ridicule and one of tragedy at the same time: "Julien Sorel is a comic Napoleon, a Bonaparte with frayed cuffs and patched shoes, mocked in Bartholomew Fair. So I have won a battle!' This word cast a rosy tint upon his whole situation, and rendered his soul some tranquility. He loved with passion; he was loved. Unlike the idyllic love with Madame de Renal, the relationship with Mathilde is based on a stereotypical passion. His ambition drives towards perfection were also Romantic, but his ideal was a false one. "(Moscovici, 145) Thus, Stendhal combines Realism and Romanticism in The Red and the Black, emphasizing at the same time a critical perspective on his contemporaries and a nostalgic view of the past. Mathilde de la Mole, the second woman in Sorel's life is the opposite of Madame de Renal. He found a singular joy when, left to himself and without fearing interruption, he could deliver himself completely to the memory of the happy days he had once passed at Verrieres or at Vergy. "(Stendhal, 30) From the very beginning thus, he is divided between his Romantic sensibility and his appreciation of social rank and stereotypes about nobility. Both of these aspects are represented in the hero's relationship with Madame de Renal. The Red and the Black is undoubtedly Stendhal's most famous and most read work, and Julien Sorel, its main character is one of the most unforgettable literary heroes.
Common topics in this essay:
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