What battle did Stendhal witness? Biography of Stendhal

On January 23, 1783, Henri Marie Bayle was born in the French city of Grenoble. His father, Chérubin Bayle, served as a lawyer and was a very callous and stern man. His mother, Henriette Bayle, died when Henri was only seven years old, and the boy was raised by his father and aunt, who were unable to give him enough love and attention, but who constantly lectured him. For Henri, a very wayward child, this only caused irritation. Henri's grandfather, Henri Gagnon, a doctor and big fan Voltaire. Another mentor of the future writer was Abbot Ralyan, who lived in the Bayley house, but with him common language Henri did not find it, and distrust of priests and unproven theories remained in his soul forever.

At the age of thirteen, the boy was sent to study at the Central School of Grenoble. Schools such as this were established after the revolution in many cities of the province to replace the former religious and private education with public and secular ones. Henri studied at the Central School for three years and, by his own admission, mastered only Latin, although he was also interested in other subjects, especially mathematics. These abilities of his were noticed, and after graduating from school, the talented young man was sent to Paris to enter the Polytechnic School, which trained artillery officers and military engineers. But Henri did not have the chance to study there - he arrived in the capital a few days after the coup, when Napoleon, who declared himself first consul, seized power. Inspired by these events, the young man immediately decided to join the army. With the help of a distant relative, he received a church position at the military headquarters, but such work turned out to be too boring, and a year later Henri was assigned as a sub-lieutenant of a dragoon regiment heading to Italy.

Henri Beyle served in the army for about two years, fortunately not getting into a single battle. Garrison boredom quickly grew into aversion to service, and in 1802 Henri, having resigned, came to Paris. By this time, he had finally confirmed his desire to become a writer, and therefore in the capital he began to persistently study literature, philosophy and English. French philosophy of that time was exclusively materialistic and made Henri Bayle an enemy of the church and mysticism, and along the way, the monarchy. The coronation of Napoleon in 1804, for which the Pope arrived in Paris, was considered by the aspiring writer to be “an alliance of deceivers.”

But in addition to politics and philosophy, Henri also had to think about money. His father sent him an extremely small pension, considering his son a slacker, and there was not enough money. Henri began writing comedies, but did not finish any and decided to make money through commerce. At that time, he was in love with the young tragic actress Melanie Gilbert, who was leaving to play in the theater of Marseille. Following his beloved, Henri whole year He served in a Marseilles trading company, but this profession did not bring him either money or pleasure, and his love for the actress faded away. Henri realized that he had no talent for trading, got bored and returned to the army. The year was 1805, Napoleon was at war with European countries, and Henri, as an intendant, visited Germany, Italy, and Austria. During military campaigns, he filled several thick notebooks with notes on music, painting and literature (some of these notes were lost during the crossing of the Berezina).

In 1811, Henri was given a vacation, which he spent in Italy, where he decided to write a book about history Italian painting. A year later, Henri voluntarily left for Napoleon’s army, already in Russia, and saw the fire of Moscow, and then fled with the defeated army to France, forever preserving the memories of Russian valor. In 1814, after Russian troops entered Paris, he received his resignation. Henri accepted the restoration of the monarchy in France very negatively, and therefore left for Milan, having, however, managed to publish his first book in Paris - “Lettres sur Haydn”.

Henri lived in Italy for seven years, receiving a very small pension from a retired Napoleonic officer. Here, in Milan, he published books on the history of art - in 1815, essays on Haydn and Mozart, and two years later - on the activities of the Italian playwright Metastasio. In 1817 he also published a book entitled Rome, Naples and Florence, in which he attempted to characterize the politics of Italy, its culture and morals. IN this essay His brilliant narrative talent is already clearly visible - in scenes of modern Italian life and retelling of historical episodes. He signed this work for the first time with the pseudonym “Stendhal”. In addition, in Italy, the aspiring writer made acquaintance with Byron and the Carbonari and experienced an unrequited and serious feeling for Matilda Viscontini Dembowski, a sympathizer of the Italian revolutionaries. In 1820, the Carbonari began to be persecuted, terror broke out in Italy, and in the summer of 1821 Henri returned to France.

The treatise “On Love,” which he wrote back in Italy, was published in 1822 in Paris, but the book never sold out, gaining enormous popularity only after the death of its author. At that time, the French reactionary government caused deep indignation among liberals, and in addition to the political struggle, there was also a literary struggle between classicism and romanticism. Stendhal took the side of the romantics, who argued that literature should speak the same language as they speak in life, and that ideals and art change over time. In 1823, he wrote a pamphlet entitled “Racine and Shakespeare,” where he outlined his views on literature, and then its continuation. These works brought some fame, but literary earnings, even coupled with a pension, were only enough for the most modest existence. He also had no luck with his personal life - in 1826 he broke up with Countess Clementine Curial and was repeatedly planning to commit suicide. In the margins of his manuscripts from those years there are many drawings of pistols, and Henri wrote a lot of wills then. True, at the same sad time for himself, he began to compose his first novel, mainly to escape hypochondria through creativity.

The title of Stendhal's first novel was the name of his heroine - Armans. The book was published in 1927 and did not gain success not only among readers, but even among the author’s close friends. Of course, this fact did not add joyful emotions to the writer. But then unexpected luck turned up - Stendhal's publisher invited him to write a large guide to Rome, doing it in the form of an entertaining narrative. The promised fee brought the writer out of the financial crisis, and he created “Walks in Rome” - quite piece of art about the art of Baroque and Renaissance, Roman antiquities, morals and customs.

Stendhal again spent the winter of 1928 in Italy, and way back I went to Grenoble to visit my sister. There he learned about the trial of a certain Berthe, who shot his former mistress out of jealousy. This is how the idea of ​​the novel “Red and Black” arose - a book that glorified Stendhal throughout the centuries. The novel was published in the year of the next revolution in France - 1830.

The bourgeoisie had now gained power in the country, and the tricolor banner that appeared on the streets of Paris initially delighted Stendhal. But Louis Philippe new king, turned out to be a liar and a strangler of freedom, and the liberals who joined the July Monarchy were renegades in the eyes of Stendhal. And yet he tried to get a job in the civil service, because the Napoleonic past no longer harmed, but helped. Having received the post of consul in the Austrian possessions in Italy, Stendhal was very happy, but the Austrian government made inquiries and was not happy - the new consul was the author of many liberal books about Italy. Stendhal was transferred to the port of Civita Vecchia, near Rome, where he served until the end of his days.

It was a very boring place - no society, no traces of antiquity, and Stendhal tried to travel to Rome more often. However, the Roman salons did not have the same interests, wit and education that the French shone with. Without the possibility of full communication, Stendhal could not write - in Italy he did not finish a single work he began. Creativity was saved only by long vacations, which the writer spent in Paris, where he wrote a lot and very fruitfully. In 1832, he began writing memoirs called Memoirs of an Egoist, but gave up after the first hundred pages. Only three years later he returned to this idea again and began his autobiography, “The Life of Henri Brulard,” which, however, he also only brought up to the events of his youth.

Around 1833, Stendhal discovered old manuscripts in the attic of one of the Roman palazzos, which contained stories of a criminal nature - love stories high-ranking clergy, crimes of princes, cases of robbery and murder. Having reached Paris, the writer decided to process and publish these testimonies about the morals of three hundred years ago, and the “Italian Chronicles” appeared, practically devoid of reasoning and full of exciting action, - best samples European short stories.

In 1834, Stendhal began a novel for which he came up with almost a dozen titles. The most recognized of them is "Lucine Levien". However, the last part of the novel remained unwritten - perhaps because it was supposed to talk about the French embassy and Rome, and being a consul, the writer could not afford to talk freely about Italy.

His last novel, “The Parma Monastery,” was published in 1839. It was created with great enthusiasm, during a Parisian vacation, and covered the entire panorama of the historical development of Italy from 1800 to 1838. “The Parma Monastery” was written in just a month, mainly by dictating to a scribe, because the writer’s hand could not keep up with the one rushing to paper thought. After the release of the novel, Stendhal read an article about himself by Balzac, who spoke about “The Parma Monastery” with great enthusiasm, but did not fail to give a lot of advice on correcting the book. Having tried to use these tips and remake the book, Stendhal quickly realized that by accepting Balzac's criticism, he would be going against his own beliefs and the entire intent of the book. His reply letter to Balzac, apparently, did not reach the addressee, but represents considerable literary interest.

At the time of this failed correspondence, Stendhal was already fifty-seven years old, and he had long suffered from gout, but did not want to succumb to the disease. I took care of my appearance and worked very hard on a new novel. In 1841 he again received leave and went to Paris. There, on the evening of March 22 next year, Stendhal passed out on the street. This event turned out to be the second apoplexy, and the writer no longer survived it.

Stendhal died the next morning, March 23, 1842. His funeral took place at the Montmartre cemetery, in the presence of only a few friends. Then his death was not perceived as a serious loss for literature - fame came to Stendhal later. Only a few years later his works were published in full, along with correspondence and articles for magazines, after which this French writer became one of largest representatives European literature.

An outstanding master of psychological realism. The originality of his work lies primarily in his desire to comprehensively and deeply reproduce the process of intense and contradictory life human heart. In his short stories and

In his novels, Stendhal truthfully depicted the inner world of man, the dialectic of her feelings, formed under the influence of the environment, upbringing and social conditions. The writer’s works are characterized by laconicism in the presentation of facts and descriptions, sharpness of dialogue, artistic expression and consistent development of ideas and images.

Main works: Novels "Red and Black" (1830), "Perm Monastery" (1839).

Marie-Henri Bayle, who entered the world literature under the pseudonym Stendhal, born on January 23, 1783 in Grenoble in the family of a lawyer. The families of the future writer, especially his maternal grandfather, a doctor by profession and an admirer of Voltaire, were close to educational ideas. In 1799, Henri Bayle tried to enter the École Polytechnique in Paris, but failed and accepted the offer of his influential relative Pierre Daru to choose military career. Thus, the first student in mathematics at the Grenoble Central School and a passionate lover of art, the young philosopher Henri Bayle, with the rank of sub-lieutenant, went to his duty station in Milan. Impressions from the first stay in Italy (1800-1801) were great importance to shape the personality of the future author of "The Perm Monastery" and "Red and Black".

At the end of 1801, Bayle resigned and settled in Paris to devote himself entirely to literary pursuits. He was convinced that he had to master a wide range of knowledge and develop his own philosophical vision of man, the world, and art. The writer worked a lot, tried to comprehend the craft of writing, but the tragedies, comedies, epic poems, and poems he created during this period were just attempts at writing. After 1806 there came a creative pause that lasted eight years. Together with Napoleon's army, Henri Beyle traveled throughout Europe, took part in the campaign in Russia, and survived the retreat and collapse of the great army.

First books. New stage creative activity The writer begins in 1814. After the fall of Napoleon, he left for Italy, where he wrote and prepared for publication his first books: “The Lives of Haydn, Mozart and Metastasio” (1814), subsequently “The History of Painting in Italy” (1817), where Stendhal’s signature appears for the first time. In these works, the writer was able to express his views on art, politics, and history in a free, emotional form. Together, Stendhal is working on a book devoted to the analysis of human feelings (“On Love”).

Returning to 1821 p. to France, the writer was actively involved in literary controversy. Stendhal outlined his interpretation of romanticism as literature that met the needs of the reality of that time in his treatise “Racine and Shakespeare”: “Romanticism is the art of giving people such literary works, which at current state their customs and beliefs can bring them the greatest pleasure." The treatise "Racine and Shakespeare" became, in fact, a program for a new literary school, which denied the principle of classicism and demanded that literature meet the requirements of modernity.

Stendhal the novelist. In August 1827, the novel "Armans" was published, in which, according to the writer, he tried to "depict the 19th century in a story about the fate of two unfortunate people from the high aristocracy." Thus began the career of Stendhal as a novelist. The next stage of his work was a series of short stories published in the late 20s - until the appearance of "Red and Black", which began in 1829. The most famous of the writer's short stories, included in the collection "Italian Chronicles", is "Vanina Vanini".

In 1830, Stendhal completed work on one of his novels, The Red and the Black. The impetus for its writing was a real event: the murder of his beloved by a young ambitious man. Under the pen of a master, a separate human destiny synthesized into the tragedy of the century, symbolized by the image of the talented plebeian Julien Sorel. Destiny young man- the writer continues to develop his contemporary in subsequent novels - “Lucien Leuven” (1834), “Perm Monastery” (1839), autobiographical works x - “Memoirs of an Egoist” (1832), “The Life of Henri Brulard” (1836).

Between Rome and Paris. On September 25, 1830, Stendhal received an official letter appointing him French consul in Trieste, a region that belonged to Austria, and soon left for his destination. However, he had to serve in Civita Vecchia, a small port near Rome. For four years the writer performed consular duties in this town, occasionally coming to France. “The only thing I regret,” he wrote in his biography in 1835, “is living in Paris, but I would have been tired of Paris in 1836, just as I was tired of my loneliness among the savages of Civita Vecchiu.” The writer’s life was cut short by an apoplexy on a Parisian boulevard on March 23, 1842.

Biography and episodes of life Stendhal. When born and died Stendhal, memorable places and dates important events his life. Writer quotes, images and videos.

Years of Stendhal's life:

born January 23, 1783, died March 23, 1842

Epitaph

"Arrigo Bayle.
Milanese.
Wrote. I loved. Lived."
The inscription embossed on gravestone Stendhal, according to his will

Biography

Once upon a time in small talk one gentleman asked Stendhal about his profession. “I am an observer of the human heart,” the writer responded ironically, breaking into a smile. But there was a lot of truth in that joke: Stendhal had no greater passion than “looking into people’s brains.” He was called “the new Copernicus of the astronomy of the heart,” and the novels he wrote were “letters to the future.” Stendhal was too ahead of his time to be understood and appreciated during his lifetime. “I will be understood around 1900,” the writer predicted. And his prophecy came true.

Henri Bayle, better known as creative pseudonym Stendhal was born in the provincial town of Grenoble in the south of France into the family of a lawyer. Henri's mother died very early, and the boy's relationship with his father did not work out. Therefore, the child’s upbringing was mostly done by the grandfather, an enlightened humanist and connoisseur of theatrical art. Henri adopted his love for theater back in early childhood, persistently deciding to one day replace Moliere himself. However, the life of the talented young man turned out somewhat differently.


At the age of seventeen, Henri Beyle went to Paris to enter the Ecole Polytechnique. Surprisingly, it is on the day the young man arrives in the capital that a coup occurs in the country, and Napoleon Bonaparte comes to power. Inspired by revolutionary sentiments, Henri entered the dragoon regiment of the active French army, completely forgetting about his previous desire to receive higher education. With Napoleon's headquarters, Stendhal went to Italy, where he served over the next few years, and then to Russia as part of the great campaign to the east. Upon returning to Paris, Bayle finally realizes that pulling the army strap is not his dream at all. He resigns and moves to Milan, where he devotes himself entirely to literary activity.

From the writer’s pen, one after another, works on the history of music and painting and essays on travel in Italy begin to appear. After some time, Bayle returned to his native France, already as a famous publicist and critic. But the true genius of Stendhal is still dormant, languishing in introspection. Meanwhile, the writer’s personal life suffers: the years go by, but he is still single. However, Stendhal fell in love very often, but always unrequitedly. But he didn’t want to get married at all: he was afraid that marriage would interfere with his work.


Most fruitful period in Stendhal's work comes after forty years, when Bayle again moves to Italy and takes a job as a French consul. And everything would be fine, but the writer’s health began to deteriorate. He increasingly needs rest, and doctors do not even recommend taking up a pen. Stendhal is busy taking long vacations and going to Paris, of course, without giving up writing. One of these trips became fatal for Bayle.

One day, while walking around Paris, Henri became ill. He fell right on the street and never regained consciousness, and died the next day. The cause of Stendhal's death was a stroke, by the way, his second. A day later, Bayle was buried in the Montmartre cemetery in northern Paris. Newspapers wrote about Stendhal's death, honoring the deceased with a six-line obituary.


Forty-six years later, during the construction of a new transport line to Montmartre, Stendhal's abandoned grave was found and identified. A hastily assembled committee decided to install a new marble tablet on it with the same inscription “Arrigo Beyle. Milanese. Visse, scrisse, amo,” once coined by the writer himself. Surprisingly, in the same year, Polish researcher Stanislaw Strienski, escaping boredom in the library of Grenoble, accidentally stumbles upon Stendhal's unfinished manuscripts and begins to study them. And only then, “around 1900,” the name of Stendhal is resurrected, and the star of the brilliant Frenchman lights up on the literary horizon.

Life line

January 23, 1783 Date of birth of Stendhal (Marie-Henri Beyle).
1796 The young man enters the Central School of Grenoble.
1799 Henri goes to Paris and enlists in the army.
1812 Stendhal participates in Napoleon's Russian campaign as a military official.
1815 Henri moves to Italy and publishes his first book, “The Lives of Haydn, Mozart and Metastasio.”
1822 Stendhal returned to France and continued his active literary activity.
1830 The writer enters public service in Civitavecchia as the French consul. In the same year the most famous work Stendhal's novel "Red and Black".
March 22, 1842 Henri experiences a severe apoplexy.
March 23, 1842 Date of death of Stendhal.
March 24, 1842 Stendhal's funeral.

Memorable places

1. Stendhal's house in Grenoble, where he was born and lived until he was 7 years old.
2. The house of Stendhal’s grandfather in the suburbs of Grenoble, where the writer spent his childhood and youth.
3. The Polytechnic School in Paris, where Stendhal was going to enroll.
4. The building of the Moscow Medical and Surgical Academy on Rozhdestvenka, where Stendhal stayed during the Napoleonic army’s campaign against Moscow.
5. The city of Milan, where Stendhal moved after retirement.
6. The city of Civitavecchia, where Stendhal served as the French consul.
7. The Paris Stock Exchange, near which Stendhal had a stroke.
8. Montmartre cemetery in Paris, where Stendhal is buried in the fourth row, in grave number eleven.

Episodes of life

Henri Bayle never signed his real name. Even entries in personal diary the writer ended with the laconic signature of Dominique. Beyle's main pseudonym comes from the name of the German city of Stendal - the birthplace of Johann Winckelmann, whose work Henri was fond of.

After his first visit to Florence, Stendhal would write: “When I left the Church of the Holy Cross, my heart began to beat, it seemed to me that the source of life had dried up, I walked, afraid of collapsing to the ground... I saw masterpieces of art generated by the energy of passion, after which everything became meaningless, small, limited...” The author described an acute emotional delight, bordering on insanity, that arises as a result of the contemplation of beauty. Later in medical terminology, such a psychological affect will be called Stendhal syndrome.

Covenant

“The only thing in life is pleasure.”

A story about Stendhal from the series “Project Encyclopedia”

Condolences

“I owe him more than anyone: I owe him that I understood war... in everything that I know about war, my first teacher is Stendhal...”
Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy, writer

“It attracts, repels, occupies, enrages; in short, you can’t tear yourself away from it.”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, writer

“He is one of the most remarkable minds of our time, but he did not care enough about form; he wrote how birds sing..."
Honore de Balzac, writer

“One of the most remarkable psychologists... no one has ever studied the human brain so painstakingly.”
Emile Zola, writer

“It took two generations to catch up with him, to follow him to solve some of the mysteries that constituted his torment and his pleasure.”
Friedrich Nietzsche, philosopher

Stendhal (Henri Marie Bayle)

"Red and black"

The French consul in Trieste, and then in the papal province of Civitta-Vecchia, Henri Marie Bayle (1783–1842), under the pseudonym Stendhal, published in 1831 the novel “Le Rouge et le Noir” - “The Red and the Black”, which became the pinnacle French realism 1830 – 1840s, the period of the so-called. July Monarchy. Stendhal, who took part in Napoleon's military campaigns and idolized the emperor, dedicated many of his works to him. The main character of the novel, Julien Sorel, also owes his birth to Napoleon. And not only by birth, but also life tragedy and death. The fact is that Sorel, with his immense ambition and fierce search for social justice, was late to be born - her heroic era of the Great french revolution and the Empire, but in the “timelessness” of the Restoration, when ambition alone could no longer bridge the gap between wealth and poverty, and any revolutionary spirit was extinguished in the bud. “Red and Black” has the epigraph “The Truth, the Bitter Truth” and the subtitle “Chronicle of the 19th Century,” which can reasonably be extended to the 20th century.

There are many hypotheses about why the author gave this name to the biographical novel - initially he wanted to call it “Julien.” From the simple ones that he liked these two colors in contrast and that red means blood and black death, to allegories of Sorel’s choice of a military career (red) or a priest (black) or the will of chance in the hero’s life - like the color of the roulette fields. They point to the red color of the revolution and the black color - reactions to it, and to the prophecies in the novel, fulfilled in red and black colors... It’s impossible to keep up with all the critics’ guesses.

The prototype of Julien Sorel was the young provincial from Grenoble Antoine Berthe, peasant son, not according to his “rank”, an educated ambitious man, executed for the murder of his mistress. Stendhal based his novel on the crime chronicle episode, presenting it not only as a tragedy “ extra person era, but as a passport of the era itself, in which all plebeians are a priori “superfluous”, worthy only of the yoke of a slave. At the same time, a slave who encroaches on the inviolability of the foundations of society (including by his attempt to get into the “light”) is worthy of one thing - destruction. But the writer made the hero not the petty ambitious Berthe, but the heroic, tragic personality Sorel, whose spiritual formation and at the same time, moral decline became the core of the work. It is for this reason that “Red and Black” is considered one of the brightest examples of a socio-psychological novel in the world realistic literature. XIX literature V.

Gerard Philippe as Julien Sorel in the film "Red and Black". 1954

The novel actually represents all of France at that time: the court aristocracy, provincial nobility, the upper and middle layers of the clergy, the bourgeoisie, small entrepreneurs and peasants. The chronicle takes four years (1826–1830). The outline of events repeats Berthe's story. Julien Sorel, the son of a carpenter, got a job as a tutor in the house of Mayor de Renal. The ambitious Julien had one god - Napoleon, and not without reason - he was distinguished by his extraordinary character, excellent external characteristics, excellent memory and the ability to see the essence of things. Since the era of the great emperor had passed, Sorel decided to pursue a career as a priest. In the mayor's house, he became close to his wife Louise, captivated by his intelligence and manners. Soon, due to city rumors and an anonymous letter about Madame de Renal's betrayal, Sorel left the town.

At the theological seminary in Besançon, a young man amazed the rector, Abbot Pirrard, with his knowledge. Pierrard became his confessor, and when he later moved to the suburbs of Paris, he recommended Sorel to his friend the Marquis de La Mole as a secretary. Julien's intelligence and abilities were not wasted. The Marquis began to trust him with the most important matters. The marquise’s daughter, the eccentric Matilda, drew attention to the “servant,” but Sorel did not notice the proud woman, which deeply wounded her pride. Having fallen in love with the young man, the aristocrat seduced Sorel and immediately broke up with him. Julien, on the advice of a friend, began to flirt with other women. Matilda, unable to bear this, brought him closer to her again, and then announced that she would have a child. Sorel achieved what he wanted, there was a step left to become a viscount and son-in-law of the marquis, but suddenly de La Mole received a letter from Madame de Renal, in which she accused Sorel of hypocrisy and dishonesty. “One of the ways to achieve success is for him to seduce the woman who has the greatest influence in the house.”

Career dreams were dashed. Julien bought a pistol and shot him in the church. ex-lover. Louise survived, but Julien was still sentenced to death, mainly for his encroachment on the prerogatives of the “elected”. Sorel to his the last word at the trial he revealed the essence of the class conflict: “I by no means have the honor of belonging to your class, gentlemen: you see before you a commoner who has rebelled against his low lot... I don’t see a single rich peasant here in the jury benches, but only indignant bourgeois.” . Stendhal's hero was doomed to death also because he was absolutely indifferent to money, which also opposed the bourgeoisie, mired in self-interest and profit.

In prison, Sorel made peace with Madame de Renal, repented of what he had done and realized that he loved only her. Louise admitted to him that the letter was written by her confessor, and she only rewrote it. Matilda bought the executioner’s head of the executed Sorel and performed the funeral rites. What about Madame de Renal? “Three days after Julien’s execution, she just died quietly, hugging her children.”

In the first two-volume edition of the novel there were two illustrations made at the direction of the author. On the cover of the first volume, Julien shoots Madame de Renal, on the cover of the second, Mathilde in black kisses Sorel’s severed head by candlelight.

The affair went unnoticed. The public did not react in any way to the work, which half a century later took its place on the “golden” shelf greatest novels humanity. Criticism sparingly and lazily reproached the author for immorality and slander against the young French generation, noted “in the character of Julien ... monstrous features, which everyone recognizes as typical, but which inspire disgust,” and fell silent for many years. The writer, apparently, did not expect anything different, because he despised the reading crowd and recognized only the opinion of writers. During his lifetime, “Red and Black” was admired by O. Balzac, I. Goethe, P. Mérimée, C. Sainte-Beuve, V. Hugo, A.S. Pushkin, P.A. Vyazemsky. The theme of Napoleon was reflected in the works of many Russian writers: A.S. Pushkin in “The Queen of Spades”, F.M. Dostoevsky in “Crime and Punishment”, L.N. Tolstoy in "War and Peace". Sorel's image was especially popular among philosophers. F. Nietzsche stated, for example: “He stole from me best phrase, which only an atheist can invent: “The only pretext for thinking about God is to realize that he does not exist.” J.P. Sartre made Sorel the hero of his play Dirty Hands.

In the 20th century The novel was translated into all languages ​​of the world. It was first published in Russian in 1874, translated by A.N. Pleshcheeva.

An attentive reader, having seen Julien Sorel’s futility to become “in the public eye,” can easily extrapolate his condition to today, since essentially nothing has changed. What then, what now there are two layers of unmixed people - the “cream” of society and the people. The former hypocritically talk about a “society of equal opportunities,” while the latter spend their lives internalizing this lie. After we ourselves turned halfway towards this society 30 years ago, talking about it is like remembering a dead person. However, thousands of pitiful imitations of Julien Sorel, not understanding that it is a priori impossible to break into the “elite”, because the top do not want it, the bottom cannot, and they themselves do not have the main thing for this - money, with ant persistence they continue to climb up, breaking own necks and fates. This topic is seriously occupied by writers and artists today, but the results of their activities, alas, are more reminiscent of soap and swamp bubbles.

There are several film adaptations of the novel. The two most famous were filmed in the writer’s homeland: in 1954, directed by C. Otana-Lara with J. Philip in leading role and in 1998 J.-D. We believe. The television adaptation was first carried out by P. Cardinal in 1961. In the USSR in 1976, S.A. Gerasimov made an extremely weak television film.

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We invite you to get acquainted with the life and work of the great writer. He signed his creations “Stendhal”. The biography of this writer, as well as his works, interests many today. However, not everyone knows that his real name was The writer sometimes tried to appropriate it to himself noble title, sometimes signing as "Henri de Bayle". Probably Julien Sorel would have done the same, famous hero his novel.

Origin of Stendhal

Stendhal came from a family of respectable bourgeois, whose biography was reflected in the works he created. His father worked in a law office in Grenoble. In 1783 he was born future writer. His mother died 7 years later, leaving her son to be raised by his father and aunt Seraphi. Stendhal hated both. His father was a suspicious, stern and callous man. Stendhal owed his early education priests. It has become main reason his anticlericalism. The writer's character was formed in confrontation with his father and spiritual mentors.

Character and personality of Stendhal

Stendhal was very narcissistic, impulsive, sensual, critical and undisciplined. His biography is interesting not only for the events in his life, but also inner world this writer. People who knew him closely said that he was secretive and loved loneliness and solitude. Stendhal had a subtle and vulnerable soul. Hatred of tyranny was one of the main traits of his character. At the same time, Stendhal doubted the liberation movements. He sympathized with the Carbonari and even helped them, but did not believe that their activities would lead to positive results. There was no unity among the coal miners: some dreamed of a republic, others dreamed of seeing a monarchy in their country.

Studying at the Central School and time spent in Paris

His maternal grandfather, a doctor by profession, encouraged his passion for literature. This was a man with good artistic taste. When Stendhal was 13 years old, he was sent to study at the Central School, located in Grenoble. Here he distinguished himself greatly in mathematics. He was even predicted to study as an engineer at the Paris Polytechnic School. In 1799, Stendhal arrived there the day after the coup d'etat, after which Napoleon became ruler of France. Bayle, forgetting about his intention to become an engineer, rushed headlong into the imperial adventure that was sweeping the country. Daryu, a distant relative of the future writer, who later became Secretary of State, was in great favor with Napoleon. He secured a church position for Stendhal, which he took at the military headquarters. However, this work turned out to be too boring for him. Young Henri, who had just turned 17 years old, received the knowledge of sub-lieutenant the very next year. He was sent to Italy. At that time the French army was stationed there.

Life in Italy

Bayle knew nothing about this country, which later became his second homeland, as well as the setting for one of his most famous and major novels. The young man was fascinated by everything here: Correggio’s paintings, Cimarosa’s music, Italian opera. Italian temperament he also found attractive. It seemed to him more decisive, passionate and less civilized than the French. Italy, especially Milan and Rome, fell in love with Bayle so much that he even wanted to carve the following words on his gravestone: “Enrico Bayle, Milanese.” Bayle fell in love with local women. From now on private life it became a chronicle of mainly love adventures.

Civil service

The following years were very active. Stendhal, whose biography and work interests us, again entered service in 1806, taking up an administrative post in French-occupied Brunswick. Here he began to teach German. Stendhal was included in good society. The respect that surrounded him flattered him, but he was quite bored. Beyle subsequently traveled extensively in Austria and Germany. He was sent to Vienna on a government mission. He also went to Russia following the emperor. In Russia, Bayle witnessed the battles of Borodino and Smolensk. He was also present during the fire in Moscow. Then he retreated to Western Europe along with the French army. Napoleon's power collapsed, and Bayle left France when Paris fell. He realized that his career in power circles was over.

Return to literary activity

The state was now ruled by the Bourbons. Bayle returned to literary activity. From that moment on he became known as Frederic Stendhal. His brief biography of these years is marked by the creation of many works. His works written in the 1820s were quite diverse. Among them were biographies of great composers (in 1817 - the book “The Life of Haydn, Mozart and Metastasio”, in 1824 - “The Life of Rossini”); and the 1812 treatise “On Love”; and "History of Painting in Italy", written in 1817; and "Walks in Rome" of 1829.

In addition, he published various articles in magazines in London and Paris. This is an abbreviated biography of Stendhal from these years. His life in France, England and Italy depended on odd jobs.

Transfer to Civitavecchia

A bourgeois monarch was installed on the throne in 1830. Now Stendhal had the opportunity to take up again public service. Then, in 1830, he became consul in Trieste. Here the Austrian authorities did not like his reputation as a radical. Stendhal was transferred to the papal state, to Civitavecchia. He was given a more modest salary than before. But from here it was a stone's throw to my beloved Rome.

Declining health and further biography of Stendhal

We briefly talked about why Stendhal had to be content with the post of consul, being far from his homeland. He remained in this position until the end of his life, although he often had to leave for for a long time due to poor health. Because of him, he often took long vacations and returned to his homeland. One of them lasted three whole years (from 1836 to 1839). The last years of this writer’s life were especially difficult. In his youth he contracted syphilis. This disease made itself felt by weakness and the inability to work fully.

Novels "Red and Black" and "Red and White"

In the last year of the reign of Charles X, the novel "Red and Black" was created. In 1831, by the time this book was published, it was already out of date, at least as regards criticism of the Bourbons. However, the name of Stendhal today is associated primarily with this novel. It was created based on real events in 1830. For a long time, literary scholars could not answer the question of why the author gave such a title to his work. Both of these colors are reminiscent of death, bloodshed and tragedy. And the combination of black and classy is also associated with the upholstery of the coffin. On tragic ending The very title of the work sets readers up.

5 years after the creation of this novel, Stendhal wrote “Red and White”. It is no coincidence that the names of the two works are similar. In addition, the content and title of the new novel explain to some extent the title of the previous one. Most likely, by black the author did not mean death at all, but the low origin of Julien Sorel, the main character. White pointed to the elite, whose representative was the main character of the 2nd novel, Lucien Levene. And red is a symbol of the troubled times in which these two characters lived.

New works

Over the next ten years, Stendhal created 2 autobiographical works: in 1832 - “Memoirs of an Egoist”, in 1835-36 - “The Life of Henri Brular”, in 1834-35. - the novel "Lucien Levene", which remained unfinished. Not wanting to risk his consular post again, he did not dare to publish his writings during his lifetime. In 1839, Stendhal's second masterpiece (after "The Red and the Black"), "The Parma Monastery", was published. This is a story of intrigue and adventure set in Italy.

Return to Paris and death

The writer came to Paris again in 1841, where he suffered a stroke. However, he continued to compose until his death, dictating his works. Stendhal could no longer write them down on his own. His biography ends in March 1842, when he died of a stroke after a long illness. Stendhal died in Paris.

Which movement in literature does the writer Frederic Stendhal belong to?

The biography you just read gives general idea about the life of Stendhal. What are the features of his work? Let's answer this question too. This writer's path to fame was long. Stendhal said that he wrote his works “for the lucky few.” He predicted that fame would come to him no earlier than 1880. And Stendhal was right. Perhaps his greatest failure was that he did not fit into one or another literary stereotype that existed in his time. What separated Stendhal from 18th-century authors was his love for selfish heroes such as Napoleon. However, he could not be called a romantic writer. This author lacked both the sentimentality of Lamartine and the epic scope of Hugo. Only when these figures left the literary pedestal did it become clear where the true greatness of the writer we are interested in lies - in psychological realism. Thanks to him, Stendhal became famous throughout the world.

Biography, summary the works of this author, critical articles about him - all this still interests many connoisseurs of his work today. Of course, Stendhal is one of the classics French literature. In order to better acquaint the reader with him, we created the above biography of Stendhal. Chronological table life and creativity, which in some textbooks is limited to information about him, does not give an idea of ​​his personality, misses many significant details. The biography you have just met is free from these shortcomings.