The Red and the Black

Le Rouge et le Noir (The Red and the Black) is a novel by Stendhal, published in 1831. The title has been translated into English variously as Scarlet and Black, Red and Black, and The Red and the Black. It is set in 1830s France relating a young man's attempts to rise above his plebeian birth through deception and hypocrisy, only to find himself betrayed by his own passions.

Literary significance

A "writer's writer," Stendhal is known more in literary circles than to the public at large. Many writers have acknowledged his influence on their work and used his technique of detailed psychological description in their own stories. Leo Tolstoy considered Stendhal an enormous influence. André Gide felt that The Red and the Black was a novel far ahead of its time, and called it a novel for the readers in the 20th century. Emile Zola and his fellow French realists considered Stendhal the founder of their movement.

Related Topics:
Leo Tolstoy - André Gide - 20th century - Emile Zola - Realists

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At the time Stendhal wrote The Red and the Black, the prose in novels included dialogue or omniscient descriptions, but Stendhal's great contribution was to spend much of the novel inside the characters' heads, describing their feelings and emotions and even their inner conversations. As a result of this book, Stendhal is considered the inventor of the psychological novel.

Related Topics:
Prose - Dialogue - Psychological novel

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Stendhal's style was highly allusive, with copious references to the works of Voltaire, Friedrich Schiller, and William Shakespeare; quotes from Racine's play Phèdre and Don Juan de Marco; and to philosophers and thinkers who influenced Stendhal, such as John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

Related Topics:
Allusive - Voltaire - Friedrich Schiller - William Shakespeare - Racine's - Phèdre - Don Juan de Marco - John Locke - Jean-Jacques Rousseau

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