Résumé
In Stendhal's Le Rouge et le Noir: Chronique du XIXe Siècle, Julien Sorel, a cunning and ambitious young man from a modest background, navigates the rigid class structure of post-Napoleonic France, torn between his aspirations for power and his passionate romantic entanglements. Employed as a tutor in the provincial de Rênal household, he seduces Madame de Rênal, then pursues the aristocratic Mathilde de La Mole in Paris, leading to a web of political intrigue, betrayal, and personal tragedy.
His relentless drive for social ascent clashes with societal hypocrisy and his own volatile emotions, culminating in a dramatic trial and downfall.
This psychological novel incisively critiques ambition, love, and the social order of 19th-century France.