The Red and the Black

The Red and the Black (in French, Le Rouge et le Noir: Chronique du XIX siècle) is an 1830 historical novel by Marie-Henri Beyle, better known by the pen name Stendhal. The Red and the Black follows the rise and fall of Julien Sorel, a bright and ambitious, but in many ways naïve, young man of lowly birth, who resolves to work his way up in the highly stratified French society during the Bourbon Restoration (1815-1830). 

This guide uses the 2009 Oxford World’s Classics edition of the novel, translated by Catherine Slater.

Plot Summary

Book One of The Red and the Black charts the rise of Julien Sorel. He is the son of a peasant carpenter, and he lives in the small provincial town of Verrières in Franche-Comté. He is an unrepentant devotee of Napoleon Bonaparte, upon whom he patterns his own behavior; Bonaparte’s biography, Memorial of St. Helena, is his favorite book. His brothers are cruel to him because of his intellectual pretensions, so entering into his father’s business alongside them is out of the question. Nonetheless, Julien is an ambitious young man. In the wake of Napoleon’s downfall, however, French social class is not as fluid as it was in previous decades. Julien regrets that he lacks the ability to advance socially through the once-glorious military, so he resolves to enter the Catholic Church. There, he becomes an acolyte of the local prelate, Abbé Chélan, and distinguishes himself by learning the entire Bible in Latin. This skill and his connection with the priest help Julien to receive his first job, as a tutor to the children of the local mayor. Even at this early stage in the novel and in his career, Julien is a self-satisfied cynic: He plays the role of a devout clergyman because he knows he must and not from any true dedication to the work.

The mayor, Monsieur de Rênal, is a venal and jealous figure. He worries so much about public appearances that Julien’s father, and later Julien, are able to cajole him into hiring Julien at a high rate. M. de Rênal hopes that the townspeople will see his children being tutored by the intelligent young Julien, as his social and political rivals have not been able to hire private tutors for their own children. While living in the family house, Julien develops a close friendship with Madame de Rênal. Julien realizes that she is in love with him, so he decides to seduce her as a symbolic victory over her husband. He has an affair with Mme. de Rênal, his employer’s wife, which threatens to scandalize the town and could lead to Julien being dismissed. Their awkward, stuttering affair is rife with misunderstanding and poor communication, with Julien flitting back and forth on the subject of whether he truly loves Mme. de Rênal. At the same time, she is able to teach him about intricacies of social etiquette that he—as the son of a peasant—does not know.

When one of the de Rênal children falls sick, Mme. de Rênal blames her affair. Thanks to the conspiring efforts of a jilted chambermaid and a social rival, a series of anonymous letters threaten to alert M. de Rênal to the affair happening under his own roof. Mme. de Rênal convinces her husband that the accusations are false. Abbé Chélan seeks to protect Julien from himself, so he arranges for Julien to enter a seminary and pursue his career in the Church. Julien struggles to fit in at the seminary. Though he is intelligent, he is not a likeable person. He fails to endear himself to his fellow pupils and he struggles to navigate the tense political situation inside the seminary. Julien befriends the head of the seminary, Abbé Pirard, who becomes an advocate for Julien’s career. Yet Pirard is gradually pushed out of the seminary by rivals. To protect his protégé, he recommends Julien to a friend and associate who is looking for a secretary. Julien sets out for Paris, but pays one final visit to Mme. de Rênal. He sneaks into her bedroom, only to be chased away from the house after nearly getting caught.

In Book Two of The Red and the Black, Julien travels to Paris to work for the Marquis de la Mole. In Paris, his provincial naiveté leads to mockery, but his direct and honest approach endears him to his new employer and the de la Mole family. He becomes a vital part of the marquis’s life, drafting letters on his behalf and helping to run the marquis’s estates. Julien inwardly sneers at the hypocrisy and materialism of the Parisian elite. He finds much to dislike about the stultifying and oppressive social environment effected by the Restoration regime. The marquis’s son Norbert helps Julien to learn to ride, while the marquis’s daughter, Mathilde, becomes interested in Julien as a fresh alternative to the dull aristocrats who surround her.

As Julien becomes indispensable to the marquis, who begins to treat him almost like a son, he also grows closer to Mathilde. She is fascinated by his character, yet Julien seems more interested in figures such as the Count Altamira, an exile who has been condemned to death for his political beliefs. As someone who is devoted to the romance of the past, Mathilde begins to fall in love with Julien. She casts him as a romantic hero in her mind. Julien realizes that she is affectionate toward him; he cannot decide whether he truly loves her but decides to pursue a relationship with her anyway. When she sends him a letter, inviting him to her room, he wonders whether this may be an elaborate trap set for him by the aristocrats. Yet when he goes to her, she declares her love for him, and he declares his love for her. They spend the night together, only for Mathilde to realize that she may not be able to love a man who now sees himself as her master. She immediately grows distant from Julien, confusing and angering him.

Mathilde and Julien veer wildly back and forth between loving and despising one another. Julien is recruited by the marquis for a secret mission: to convey a message, by memory, to an exiled duke. Julien does so, even though the ultimate effect of his action is to aid the regime he despises. While he is on his mission, however, he gains the key to Mathilde’s heart from an old friend, the Russian Prince Korasov. The prince advises Julien that he should make Mathilde jealous by courting another woman. Julien returns to Paris, where he is praised by the marquis for his successful mission. He begins to act indifferently toward Mathilde while courting the wealthy widow, Madame de Fervaques. Mathilde falls for the ploy, falling desperately in love with Julien. She discloses, as well, that she is pregnant with his child.

The marquis is infuriated when he learns of Julien’s affair with his daughter, but in the light of her affections, and his own attachment to Julien, he is unsure of how to act. He deliberates as to whether he should condone the marriage, send the couple away, forbid their love, or even have Julien killed. Eventually, he seems to settle on the idea of gifting Julien with income, property, and a title. This will make him fit to marry Mathilde. This plan, however, is interrupted by a letter from Mme. de Rênal which changes the Marquis’ mind. In the letter, Mme. de Rênal paints Julien as a heartless social climber, who seduces women only to get ahead and then tosses them aside.

When Julien learns that the Marquis has rescinded his marriage blessing because of Mme. de Rênal’s letter, he returns to Verrières and shoots Mme. de Rênal. He is soon imprisoned and admits to premeditated murder, though Mme. de Rênal survives. Both of his former lovers try to secure his release: Mathilde through bribery, and Mme. de Rênal by refusing to testify against him. The latter’s enduring love for Julien, despite his attempt to kill her, makes him realize that he loves her over Mathilde. In the end, he is sentenced to the guillotine anyway. Mathilde, reenacting the romantic past, kisses his severed head, and later builds a shrine at his burial place. Madame de Rênal dies of heartbreak only days after his death.