The Red and the Black

The people of Verrières, the narrator claims, are very materialistic, representing the ambitious bourgeoisie whose fortunes rose under Napoleon. M. de Rênal speaks to his wife, Madame de Rênal. He is angry because Monsieur Appert, a liberal advocate for prison reform, is visiting Verrières to inspect the poor house, the hospital, and the prison.

M. Appert’s visit has been arranged by an elderly local priest named Monsieur Chélan. M. de Rênal shares his fears with Monsieur de Valenod, the director of the poor house. They visit Chélan to lambast him for inviting the inspector. Later, M. de Rênal shares this conversation with his wife, mentioning to her his fear that they are “surrounded by liberals” (14). He also tells her about his plans to hire the intelligent son of Sorel, Julien, to teach their children Latin. M. de Rênal is less concerned with his sons’ education and more concerned with elevating his social status above his local rival, M. de Valenod. He wants to make sure that the people of Verrières see his children in the company of a tutor, as M. de Valenod has not hired anyone for his own children. Mme. de Rênal is 20 years younger than her husband. She is attractive and naïve, having never really experienced love. She is happy in her marriage, despite her husband’s dullness and vanity, because she cannot imagine anything better.

When M. de Rênal visits Sorel to hire Julien, Sorel is determined to strike a good bargain. At the sawmill, Julien keeps to himself, avoiding his less intellectual brothers. The scheming Sorel becomes annoyed when he sees Julien alone, reading a book. The book is one of Julien’s favorites and one of his most prized possessions: Napoleon’s Memorial of St. Helena, a memoir of the deposed Emperor’s time in exile. Julien is obsessed with Napoleon’s story and is upset when his father throws the book into a stream. Unlike his burly brothers, the 19-year-old Julien is “a small, frail-looking young man” (19). He is distant from his family but has struck up an unlikely friendship with the surgeon-major who served under Napoleon. From this old friend, Julien learned history and Latin. He inherited the old man’s library, including the now-ruined memoirs of Napoleon.

Sorel has driven a hard bargain for Julien’s job as tutor, but Julien asks about the living arrangements. He will live with the Rênal family, but he fears the “horror of eating with the servants” (22). He has acquired this class consciousness from his reading of Rousseau. Sorel is angry but understands that his son should not be seen as a mere servant. He drives a harder bargain with M. de Rênal, getting a higher wage and the agreement that Julien should dine with the family. Julien once harbored an ambition to join the army. The more he learned about politics, however, the more he realized that he needed to hide his love for Napoleon. Rather than the military, he realized, the priesthood seemed to be the best way in which to elevate himself. He sought to impress Chélan by memorizing the Bible in Latin. This is how he learned the language which he will teach to his new students. Learning that he has the job, he visits a church. While praying, he reads a scrap of a newspaper article about an execution and then mistakes spilled holy water for blood, having been deceived by the light from the window. Chastising himself for his fearful imagination, he exits.

Mme. de Rênal is worried that the newly-hired tutor will discipline her sons. When she sees the slim, anxious Julien at the door, however, her fears are allayed. She is also struck by his “extremely good-looking” (31) face as she approaches him, asking him directly whether he plans to strike her children. In turn, Julien notices her attractive features and launches into a speech about naivety and youth. Nervous and unsure of how to behave, Julien has the sudden idea to kiss Mme. de Rênal’s hand. The gesture is unexpected. Before the “astonished” (33) Mme. de Rênal can react, her husband arrives. As per his agreement with Sorel, M. de Rênal takes Julien away to be fitted for new, more respectable clothes. Returning, Julien feels awkward and unsure what to do. However, he immediately wins the respect of the family and the servants by showing off his ability to recite the entire Bible in Latin from memory.

Julien begins tutoring the Rênal boys. They love their new tutor and make good progress, though Julien feels no real attachment to them as he is preoccupied with social ambition and resentment. Amid the unfamiliar luxury of the Rênal household, Julien becomes newly angry to have been born into such a lowly family of peasants, and everything feels like a slight against his social position. When he is beaten by his brothers while walking in the wood, Mme. de Rênal treats his wounds. In spite of his intellectual aloofness, she feels increasingly tender toward him. He seems unlike any man she has ever known. Julien is pleased when he convinces M. de Rênal to subscribe to a local bookseller, even though the man has a “terrible reputation for liberal views” (43), giving Julien and his students access to many books. He remains awkward and distant, in spite of Mme. de Rênal’s attempts to know him better.

A maid named Élisa falls in love with Julien. When she receives a small inheritance, she wants to marry him. Julien rejects Élisa, insisting that he will become a priest. Chélan is less certain of Julien’s future, warning him that he may not like life in the church. At the same time, Mme. de Rênal realizes that she is falling in love with Julien and sees Élisa as a rival. The family moves to their château in Vergy for the spring; Julien goes with them, meaning that he spends more time with Mme. de Rênal as well as her cousin, Madame Derville, who visits the family.

One evening, Julien accidently touches the hand of Mme. de Rênal. She draws her hand away quickly, and he becomes obsessed with the idea of seducing her. He has no romantic interest in her, but he becomes fixated on winning her affections to demonstrate his status. After repeated efforts, he touches her hand again, and with some hesitation she allows him to take her hand in his. Rather than love, he feels as though “a fearful torture” (57) has ceased. The following day, Julien sleeps late. M. de Rênal criticizes Julien for not tutoring the children, then departs to supervise the servants in restuffing the mattresses of the house. Julien is struck by a sudden fear: He has a picture of Napoleon hidden in his mattress. If the conservative monarchist M. de Rênal finds it, he will be fired. He pleads with Mme. de Rênal to enter his bedroom and remove the box containing the picture but does not explain the details. She agrees, but she is heartbroken as she assumes it is “the portrait of the woman he loves” (62). She takes the box; Julien burns the picture; Mme. de Rênal fears that he loves someone else.

Julien is still bristling after M. de Rênal scolded him for sleeping late. He threatens to quit, voicing his anger in the hope of an apology. Instead of an apology, M. de Rênal gives him a raise. Julien is shocked; he does not know that M. de Rênal falsely believes Julien to have an offer of employment from a social rival. M. de Rênal allows himself to be bullied so as not to lose Julien to M. de Valenod. This confusing affair only deepens Julien’s dislike for M. de Rênal, though he feels that he has won a victory in the form of more money and the affections of Mme. de Rênal.

Julien becomes more forward in his attempts to win Mme. de Rênal’s affections. Sitting in the dark garden at night, he caresses her hand. He delights in thus mocking her husband, who sits nearby. Mme. de Rênal feels swept up in an unexpected romance, and she does not know what to do. Deciding to press his advantageous position (just like his hero, Napoleon), Julien asks for—and receives—a three-day holiday. At night, Mme. de Rênal is tortured by her conflicting affections for Julien. She loves him but fears committing adultery, and she is also convinced that he loves another woman. She decides to treat him with “exemplary coldness” (72).

Taking his three days of leave, Julien lingers just long enough to see Mme. de Rênal. Eventually, she appears in the garden, but the sleepless night of anxiety makes her act coldly toward him. Julien is aggrieved. He becomes distant and sharp, leaving without telling her. He goes to visit Fouqué, his friend who now works as a timber merchant. He stops briefly in a cave to write down his thoughts, only to burn everything. He arrives late at Fouqué’s house, whereupon his now-wealthy friend offers him a huge sum of money to join the timber business. Julien considers the offer but decides that his “heroic dreams” (79) do not lie in timber.

Julien is consoled by Fouqué’s offer, even though he rejected it. However, he still feels rebuked by Mme. de Rênal, convincing himself that her distance is because she still sees him as a “workman’s son” (80). He still plans to seduce her, but he increasingly resents her. Had she not been so naïve, the narrator observes, Mme. de Rênal could easily manipulate Julien by praising him. When he returns, she anxiously asks whether he plans to leave forever. Julien announces that he will certainly leave, as he will one day be a priest, but he later tells her that he is deeply in love with her. Mme. de Rênal feels her love increase, though she is convinced that she will “never yield” (84) to her feelings.

Mme. Derville knows that her cousin loves Julien. She, however, feels a “deep mistrust” (85) of the sly, deceitful tutor. Julien’s attempts at seduction become more overt, though Mme. de Rênal is able to hide his clumsy actions. Julien learns that Chélan has been fired for bringing the liberal reformer Appert to the town. Since the 80-year-old priest may now struggle financially, this “flagrant example of injustice” (88) makes Julien reconsider his plans to enter the priesthood.

Deciding to accelerate his seduction, Julien tells Mme. de Rênal that he will come to her room at 2:00 am. She responds indignantly, but he moves across the garden and does not give her a chance to tell him no. That night, he waits anxiously for the hour to arrive. He is unsure whether he will follow through on his plan. After making sure that her husband is asleep in a separate room, he enters Mme. de Rênal’s bedroom. She calls him a “wretch,” yet accepts his seduction. They have sex, then he leaves for his own room. After he exits, however, he is so obsessed with the symbolism of sleeping with his wealthy employer’s wife that he does not enjoy the physical pleasure of the moment. He begins “reviewing all the details” (92) of everything that happened.