Stendhal

Stendhal

Stendhal was born in Grenoble, France in 1783. His real name was Marie-Henri Beyle. Stendhal is a French author who wrote many books about realism. This was criticized by many other authors of his time, because romanticism was the most commonly favored genre of his time period. Few of Stendhal’s books feature long paragraphs of description, but instead many more on plot development and action. While he was living, he received very little recognition for his work, and was regarded poorly; however, like Van Gogh, his books became some of the most widely known in Europe after his death in Paris in 1842.

Stendhal was most known in the 19th century for his books Le Rouge et le noir (1830; The Red and the Black), and //La Chartreuse de Parme// (1839; The Charterhouse of Parma). //La Chartreuse de Parme// (1839; The Charterhouse of Parma) Is about a young aristocrat named Fabrice del Dongo, and follows his life as a fan boy of Napoleon. The book is called //The Charterhouse of Parma// because after influential points in his life, he retires to a charterhouse in Parma. His most Famous novel, //Le Rouge et le noir// (1830; The Red and the Black), is about a young man named Julien Sorel, and was published in 1830. The young man lacks Fabrice del Dongo’s willingness to go to war, and quickly starts out as a tutor in the church. This is similar to The Charterhouse in Parma, because both character eventually find themselves in a church setting and under the church’s influence, although for different reasons. Julien Sorel is perceived as an extremely careless individual, because after seducing a young aristocrat in Paris, he then tries to kill another woman who gets in the way of his marriage. The novel ends with his beheading after he is caught.

Stendhal is most famous because he is thought to be the father of realism in novels. The 19th century was all about romanticism, or heavy descriptions of little details that would otherwise be seen as insignificant. One of the best examples of this genre is Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier. As mentioned earlier, Stendhal can be easily compared to Van Gogh, becoming famous for his novels only after his death, due to his culture’s love of romanticism. He later inspired other realism novels after his death, because of his culture’s change.

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