Stendhal's novel "Red and Black": a summary

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

A summary of Stendhal's novel "Red and Black" will be useful to anyone who wants to get acquainted with the work, but does not want to spend a lot of time on it. The retelling will mention the main plot events so that readers can get a complete picture of the work.

Start

Literary critics have been talking about Stendhal's novel Red and Black for many years. And opinions are often conflicting. Consider the summary of "Red and Black" by Stendhal. It is worth starting with the fact that the events take place in the city of Verrières. The local mayor de Renal is a rich man. He constantly competes with another oligarch who recently acquired two fine horses. To compete with him further, he decides to hire a tutor. The son of the carpenter Sorel Julien, who was eighteen years old, was chosen for this post. All thanks to a good recommendation, knowledge of Latin and theology. He is thin in appearance, with thin features and large black eyes. Since childhood, he dreamed of becoming a military man, he is grateful for his knowledge to the regimental doctor who participated in Napoleon's wars. Because ofthat times have changed, Julien's only path is to become a priest, which the ambitious hero does not like.

Continuation of the tie

In the summary of Stendhal's Red and Black, it is worth noting that in the new house of the we althy de Renal Julien family, they quickly began to be respected. Knowledge of Latin and recitation of the pages of the New Testament contributed to this, although at first the mayor's wife did not like the idea of letting someone unfamiliar to the children. The maid Eliza fell in love with the main character, she wanted to connect her life with him, because she had an impressive inheritance, but he refused. Julien wanted great fame for himself, although he skillfully concealed his secret desires. In the summer, the family moved to the family castle near the village of Verzhi. Surrounded by children and a tutor, Madame de Renal realizes that she has feelings for Julien. The main character likes her, but he decides to win her only for the sake of self-affirmation and revenge on the impudent mayor, who talks inappropriately with an educated guy. So it was at first, but already on the first night spent, he simply dissolves in a beautiful woman.

New events

In Stendhal's novel "Red and Black" the happiness of lovers lasted until the moment of illness of the lady's son. In this she saw the punishment of God for betrayal and pushed the tutor away. Meanwhile, the servants are already spreading rumors about their romance, Eliza tells Valno about it, and the mayor receives an anonymous letter in the evening. Madame de Renal manages to calm her husband down, convince her of his innocence, butvariety of stories. To save Julien, the abbe Chelan, who is his mentor, insists on leaving. The guy agrees, but three days later he returns to say goodbye to his beloved. In the seminary of Bezason, on the way, thanks to a three-hour exam and his knowledge, the main character receives a separate cell and a scholarship. For his talent, other students sincerely hate the guy; he chooses Rector Pirard as his confessor. He becomes attached to the student, but his position in the post is too precarious.

Continuation of the story

In Stendhal's Red and Black, Pirard is deposed by the Jesuits, but a court friend, the Marquis of La Mole, secures a transfer to Paris. For past merits, he is guaranteed one of the largest parishes. Julien gives the confessor all his savings, as he understands his need. Pirard remembered this event and soon responded kindly. It happened when La Mole received a comrade in a mansion and asked who he would take for the post of person in charge of correspondence. The abbot immediately recommended Julien, describing him from the best side. Before going to Paris, at the invitation of the Marquis, the protagonist looks into Verrieres to see his beloved de Renal. From there he has to run away, because the mayor began to suspect something was wrong. In the capital of France, the central character of the story from the very beginning inspects the sights that are associated with Napoleon, and then goes to Pirard. In the evening, he was already invited to a joint table at the La Mole estate.

New acquaintance

In Stendhal's "Red and Black", acquaintance with Mademoiselle Mathilde de La Mole was at first extremely cold. Julien did not like her, and for a long time he behaved with her with the utmost restraint. For his labors for three months, the Marquis presents him with a medal. He sees in him the right person, and the reward calms the hero down a bit. Now the guy behaves more relaxedly and does not consider himself constantly offended. Julien draws attention to the fact that once a year Matilda wears mourning clothes. The girl does this in honor of the ancestor of Boniface, whom Queen Margaret of Navarre herself loved. He was beheaded at the Place de Greve in Paris in 1574. He begins to have conversations with the marquise, which bring him pleasure, the main character even wishes that she fell in love with him. And so it happened soon, the girl’s feelings seem heroic to her, because because of the social status, nothing can happen between them.

Love twists and turns

In Stendhal's masterpiece Red and Black, Julien continues to be in high spirits because of his fantasies. The real triumph happened at the moment when the young marquise confessed her love to him in a letter. His vanity was comforted by the thought that the lady preferred the son of a carpenter, and not the noble de Croisenois. When invited to the bedroom, the guy suspected a trap and took a weapon with him, but there was only a marquise. The next day, the thought that they are lovers begins to frighten and even anger her. At the first conversation, Julien understood everything andbecause of offended pride decided to end everything. Only now he has already fallen in love with Matilda, and in order to win her heart again, he decides to follow the advice of the Russian prince Korazov. The hero begins to court one of the society ladies, which helped, to his surprise, with the help of jealousy to return the love of the marquise. A turning point in the plot occurs at the moment when the Marquise is pregnant.

Decoupling

To avoid shame, the Marquis of La Mole in the book "Red and Black" by Stendhal decides to create a worthy position in society for Julien. At his daughter's persuasion, he agrees to the marriage and knocks out a patent for a lieutenant of the hussars in the name of Sorel for the young son of a carpenter. The main character is beside himself with happiness, because soon he will have a brilliant career and a son from his girlfriend. He goes to the regiment, but soon receives news from Matilda from Paris that he needs to return. Upon arrival, he learns that the Marquis of La Mole sent a letter to Madame de Renal in order to find out more about the future husband of his daughter. When Julien saw his description, without further ado, he rushed to Verrières in a mail coach. On the pages of the sheet, the main character was described as a careerist, ruthless and dishonest person. In his hometown, he buys a gun, enters the church where his ex-lover was, and shoots her twice.

End

At the end of Stendhal's Red and Black, Julien was imprisoned, and his victim survived his wounds. This state of affairs made him happy, and now he believes that he can safely die. In VerrieresMatilda is trying in every possible way to use connections and money in order to save her beloved son of a carpenter. The decision of the court is impartial, and the commoner should be hanged. The protagonist does not ask for mercy, because his main fault is that he rebelled against his social status. In recent days, de Renal herself comes to him in prison and says that the letter was written by her confessor. Julien was incredibly happy to hear this and realized that he had always loved her alone. After the execution of the sentence, Matilde La Mole buries Julien's head, and Madame de Renal lived exactly three more days from that moment.