"Red and Black" is the famous novel of the great French author Stendhal. He went to print in 1820. This book gained great fame both in the author’s homeland and abroad, and became the forerunner of novels in the genre of psychological realism. Translated into Russian, authored by Alexey Plescheev, the novel first appeared in the journal "Domestic Notes" in 1874.
"Red and Black" Stendhal, contents
The plot of the novel is based on real events. The author took as a basis the story read in the newspaper: the teacher Antoine Berthe shot his wards into the mother, for which he was executed. The author perceived this situation as the tragedy of a whole generation.
The action takes place in the 20s of the XIX century in the city of Verriere, which in reality did not exist - it was invented by the author.
So, the mayor of the city takes in his family a tutor - an ambitious young man Julien Sorel. He is very erudite, wants to achieve recognition. The idol of the youth is Napoleon. Gradually, the mayor's wife, Madame de Renal, became interested in Julien and became his mistress. When their connection is in danger of being exposed, Julien is forced to leave the city.
Sorel goes to the abbey, where he chooses Pirar as his confessor, but he is soon asked to resign. A friend of the confessor - the Marquis de la Molle - invites him to Paris and says that he is looking for a secretary. Pirard advises Julien without hesitation. Sorel acts as a secretary and seduces La Mola's daughter Matilda. Everything would have gone according to Sorel’s plans - the beauty was nearby, position, respect, money, but the Marquis received a revelatory letter from Mrs. Renal, where she accused Julien of hypocrisy, meanness, seduction of women.
The Marquis in anger drives Sorel. He buys a gun, comes to Renal and shoots her. Julien is imprisoned and sentenced to death, despite the fact that the woman remains alive. Mrs. Renal comes to him in prison, where the use of heroes takes place. Despite everything, the heroes find out that they always loved each other, and the woman’s confessor wrote the letter. Renal herself and many citizens come to the defense of Julien, but he is still sentenced to death. Three days after his death, Mrs. Renal herself dies.
The main characters of the novel
Among them are the following:
- The central character is Julien Sorel. He is preparing to become a bishop in order to derive concrete benefits from this, while he himself does not believe in God. He is very smart and erudite, dreams of repeating the fate of Napoleon. For the sake of achieving my goals I’m ready to go for hypocrisy. At the same time, it is quite quick-tempered and can not always control its emotions.
- Mrs. Louise Renal. The wife of the mayor and lover Julien. Very naive and easily amenable to other people's influence.
- Matilda. The daughter of the Marquis de la Mola. Cheeky, open and emotional. He reads the books of Voltaire and Russo. Falls in love with Julien.
- Pirar is the abbot of the seminary. Looks like Julien erudition and well-read, sympathizes with him. Exiled from the abbey.
- Monsieur de la Molle. Marquis, participant in various secret meetings. He appreciates Julien and his knowledge, but immediately believes the denunciation of the confessor of Madame de Renal.
- Monsieur de Renal. Louise’s husband and mayor. Rich, conceited, at the same time hypocritical.
The meaning of the name
In reviews and reviews of Stendhal's Red and Black, you can read many versions regarding the title of the work. One of the most popular interpretations - the name symbolizes the choice between the career of a priest (black - the color of the cassock) and the career of the general (red - the color of the uniform). According to another version, Stendhal called the work just like that because he wanted to show the struggle in the heart of the hero: he wanted to prove himself, achieve success, become great, but for this he was ready for vile, low deeds.
If you turn to the author’s biography, you can find out that he was a gambler. This fact leads to such an interpretation of the name: red and black are the colors of playing roulette, they symbolize the excitement that often engulfed the hero.
He himself set both the “red” (seduction of women) and the “black” (betrayal and hypocrisy).
Even contemporaries of Stendhal in reviews of "Red and Black" emphasized the originality and mystery of the name:
The title of this book contains a vice or, if you like, a peculiar dignity: it leaves the reader completely ignorant of what awaits him.
Stendhal's novel "Red and Black", an analysis of the problems
So, what did the author want to say with his work?
Of course, there is more than one problem. The author touches on topics such as the choice of ways to achieve goals, the choice of the path along which one has to go through life, the conflict between the individual and society. For a complete perception of the chapters of the "Red and Black" Stendhal, the historical context should be taken into account. Events such as the rise to power of Napoleon, the revolution, explain the mentality of the hero.
One of the main issues raised in the novel is social injustice. The author himself called the novel a chronicle of the century and showed on the example of his heroes the social situation and customs of the century. Julien Sorel though smart, but commoner, which prevents him from occupying a high position in society honestly. Another important issue that Stendhal raised was the ignorance of the ruling circles.
Finally, the author tells us about the conflict between man and society. Julien is not accepted either in his own family - for his brothers he is too smart, nor in the upper classes, because he is a simple son of a carpenter. Such misunderstanding and rejection make Sorel the way he appears to us in the pages of the novel.
"Red and black" as a psychological novel
This work is called the founder of a psychological novel. Why? The fact is that the author, speaking about the actions of the hero, also describes his psychological state at that time, causes and motivation. For example, the veneration of Sorel Napoleon left its mark on many actions of the hero and on his character as a whole.
Stendhal not only depicts any events, but also gives an assessment of the behavior and motives of the heroes, describing the internal struggle, character traits and the formation of personality.
The author constantly correlates events from the outside world with the complex world of the inner experiences of his characters.
A large role is played by various non-verbal signs. The gestures and facial expressions of the heroes, with seeming external calm, can betray their true emotional state.
The attitude of contemporaries to the novel
The work was perceived ambiguously. Contemporaries of Stendhal in their reviews of "Red and Black" talked about the flaws of the language, and about the depraved and vulgar behavior of the main characters. In the Vatican, the book was perceived as a love affair and banned in 1864. In Russia, it was banned earlier, in 1850, by Emperor Nicholas I. In Spain, the novel was banned in 1939 by the dictator Francisco Franco.
Literary critics perceived the hero of the novel ambiguously. Julien was considered a noble person who opposes the society of ignoramuses and hypocrites, a character who first falls in love with himself for the sake of self-interest, but then he begins to love sincerely, as well as a cynic and a person with a double life.
What they say about the novel now
Reviews of Stendhal's book Red and Black are mostly positive. Modern readers perceive it as a masterpiece of world literature, admire the psychology of the novel, and how beautifully and accurately the author describes the emotions and experiences of her characters. They also note how Stendhal accurately depicted the train of thought of people against the background of specific historical events.
There are a lot of interpretations of the name of the novel: readers both agree with the existing ones and try to come up with their own.
They also note the fact that the novel will be difficult to understand without knowing historical events (the Great French Revolution, the rule of Napoleon) and concepts (abbot, Jesuit and others).
There are also negative reviews: they mostly complain about a large number of sentimental experiences and a long story, while someone seems to be bored with a description of the life of that time.
Films abroad
The first film based on the book was released back in 1920. It was the work of Italian director Mario Bonnard. Several times the novel was filmed in France, in 1954, 1961 and 1997, directors Claude Otan-Laura, Pierre Cardinal and Jean Verrazh, respectively.
In the film adaptation of 54 years, the main role was played by the actor Gerard Philip, who had previously starred in the film adaptation of Stendhal’s work “Parma Monastery”.
In addition, in 1993, a series of director Ben Bolt was released in England, the plot of which is based on the book. It is called "Scarlet and Black."
Soviet film adaptation
Soviet film adaptation was released in 1976. Director - Sergey Gerasimov. The film consists of five episodes. The role of Julien Sorel was played by actor Nikolai Eremenko, Jr., whose career then rapidly went up.
They shot the film not only in the Soviet Union, but also in France. Engraving and canvases of 19th-century French artists were used as decorations. The director himself stated that his main goal was to convey the idea of Stendhal. The Soviet adaptation of Stendhal’s novel Red and Black was largely positive.