France, 1815. After the Battle of Waterloo, the Napoleonic Empire collapsed completely and the Bourbon dynasty was restored.
Napoleon, the founder of the Empire, announced his abdication and was exiled to the Atlantic island of St. Helena.
In 1824, the Bourbon "Charles X" Count Artois succeeded to the throne, trying to restore the absolute monarchy, restore the privileges of the nobility and the church, and finally in July 1830, it provoked a popular uprising, known as the July Revolution.
In the same year, a founding work of French critical realist literature was published, which was Stendhal's The Red and the Black.
At the beginning of the advent of "The Red and the Black", because of its naked criticism, it did not cause much of a sensation. But Stendhal predicted its eventual success with extraordinary foresight. "I will be understood in 1880", "All I value is that it was reprinted in 1900." ”
Half a century later, the prophecy came true.
The reason why "The Red and the Black" is great is because it profoundly exposes the social situation in France at that time, the aristocratic class pursuing fame and profit, drunkenly indulging in various banquets all day long, talking about it without being pragmatic, and no matter how hard the petty bourgeoisie tries, it is still inevitably the fate of being ostracized and despised.
The protagonist of the novel, Jullien, is the representative of middle-class youth, who are under the strict hierarchy, but in the depths of their hearts they have long broken the shackles of the system, eager to obtain a higher social status by personal effort and intelligence like the Napoleonic era, so as to realize their self-worth, and have the ambition of "driving a long car and stepping through the lack of Helan Mountain".
Compared with those aristocratic young people who grew up in honeypots, they were not inferior in terms of intelligence, perseverance, ability, etc., but because of their humble origins, they could only be in the position of servants and despised.
The low status of society aroused their dissatisfaction and resentment against the aristocracy, but their own pride, self-esteem, pursuit and desire for wealth and status made them desperate to throw themselves into high society.
Under the conflict between such social contradictions and personal inner contradictions, the protagonist Yu Lian shows a very complex character personality, which makes Yu Lian a very attractive character in the history of literature.
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The reason why Yu Lian's image is prominent is because in him, he integrates the two opposing personalities of red and black, and on his growth path, there are unscrupulous means for promotion, there is a play with feelings, there is the ambition and desire to conquer by borrowing aristocratic women to ascend to the throne, there is hesitation and hesitation, but also there is a wisdom beyond ordinary people, the investment in feelings and sincere remorse, there is courage, there is the unremitting pursuit of personal value, and there is also the final adherence to the original heart and the spirit of resistance.
And Stendhal, through his wonderful psychological description, nakedly presents the subtle mentality behind all of Lian's actions, giving the reader a wonderful experience, as if he is in dialogue with Jullien's heart, and in the process, he seems to read his own heart.
As Merime, the author of Carmen, wrote to Stendhal: "Your sin is to expose the wounds of the human heart to the world, and it is unbearable to look at them. ”
Because of this, Jullien became a controversial figure.
The most pronounced character of Jullien is pride and a strong sense of self-esteem and a sense of inferiority perceived by satisfaction, which gives him a sensitive and suspicious heart, always doubting and speculating on the intentions of others, while using this way to deny others' feelings for him, and then desperately moving forward.
This kind of behavior is inseparable from its origin and the clear class concepts of the time. On the one hand, because of the low birth, expecting the affirmation of others, hoping to obtain sincere feelings and respect, on the other hand, under the strict hierarchical system, the inferiority complex created by the low birth makes it always do not believe in the feelings given by the aristocratic class, although the other party is a good intention, under the repeated consideration of lian, it may become pity, charity and even ulterior motives, thus causing resentment in the arrogant heart.
The arrogant heart makes Jullien a seemingly ruthless person, so much so that the early acts against Madame de Reyna are full of elements of revenge, which makes the reader resentful.
In any case, Jullien's heart was still soft, and he had not lost his true light, and after clearly understanding Madame de Reina's feelings, he also repaid them with the most sincere return, so much so that before going to Paris, he risked to see Madame.
All his behaviors are under the contradiction and conflict between ideals and reality, in the entanglement of inferiority and pride, in the wandering patrol that is not willing to be mediocre but content with the status quo, a subconscious self-preservation behavior, which can place his sensitive and inferior heart.
In addition, Jullien has a strong dramatic component in his personality, which is not inferior to that of Mathilde, the daughter of the Marquis, who fanatically admires the heroism of the Napoleonic period, and Mathilde is full of yearning for the noble love displayed by his predecessors when they parted.
This kind of dramatic element often has a tragic element, so Jullien's final death and Mathilde's desperate prayers for Yulian's defiance of his identity are inextricably linked to their dramatic personality. They want to be the one they admire, even if they lose their lives and reputations.
However, Yu Lian's active death is not limited to the worship of heroes, but also the inheritance of the heroic spirit, which reflects a spirit of resistance. His speech in court fully exposed the suppression of the bottom by the aristocratic class in society at that time, as well as the falsity of the law, which was deafening and deafening, and this remark was also a thorough and naked criticism of the author after the long article was laid, which can be described as a direct blow to the sore spot and a good breath!
But even if I don't deserve to die, I see people who don't think I'm young enough to deserve sympathy, but who want to kill a hundred people, and by punishing me to scare such young people, who come from the lower classes, suffer from poverty, but who are fortunate enough to be well educated and dare to hang out in the upper class of which the rich are proud. Gentlemen, this is my crime, and it is therefore punishable even more severely, not to mention the fact that I am not judged by a man of the same class as me. In the jury seat, I couldn't see any countrymen who had made their mark, just the resentful propertied class...
This brings me to think of Camus's famous "The Outsider", one is a judgment under class oppression, the other is a moral judgment, and the result is so similar! The shock to people's hearts is equally strong!
In any case, Jullien is still a character I like very much, because Stendhal's portrayal of its multi-faceted nature makes him a three-dimensional real person, and the multiple colors in his personality are more or less common to you and me.
It's just that the author reveals the mentality behind this color one by one, so that we can see and recognize the dark part, and this kind of inner examination is difficult to accept, in this regard, in fact, we are more willing to see the light in our own personality.
The spirit of continuous reflection and progress embodied in Yu Lian still has strong practical significance today. In order to accomplish his goals, he has persecuted himself to the point of being harsh, and if that is all, Jullien can only become a tyrant who does not give up until he reaches his goal, or a new nobleman who has hated to support the interests of the nobility.
It is precisely the reflection on his own behavior in the end, and the spirit of resistance shown in the act of seeking death, that realizes the sublimation of his personality.
It can be said that the previous Yu Lian was a child who only had a goal and no faith, after all, at that time, he was only nineteen years old, but after infinitely approaching the goal but falling into the abyss, he really grew into a person with faith and courage to fight, which is also the most touching place for him.
Who can refuse to have an aunt who makes herself no longer struggle, intellectually gentle and key to beautifulness?
Jullien did, in the present parlance, he did not become the so-called "licking dog", whether in front of Madame de Reyner or Miss Mathilde, maintained a proud heart, although he was abused by Mathilde to death, but still achieved absolute restraint.
How many people can stick to their hearts when they have a chance to soar?
Jullien barely did it, but a deliberate persecution made him realize and do it.
Yu Lian's reflection in prison is deeply touching.
"Once upon a time," said Jullien to her, "I could have felt the same happiness when we were walking in the Vercky Forest, but unfortunately I was ambitious at that time, always wandering in the illusory realm, not holding your jade arm so close to my lips, but leaving you in your mind to consider the future, and to fight endlessly for the accumulation of great wealth... Alas, if you don't come to see me in prison, I won't know what happiness is even if I die. ”
On the road of pursuing ideals and wealth, he missed the scenery on the side of the road, and when he looked back, he found that the so-called beauty and happiness were originally within reach of the unreachable that he had neglected again and again...