) The social content of the times reflected in "Red and Black"
The subtitle of "Red and Black" is "Notes of 1830". In this regard, Stendhal said this Explanation: "What the author wants to write about is the social atmosphere brought to France by the governments of Louis XVIII and Charles X." It describes "the serious and moral respect brought to us by the Bourbon dynasty from 1814 to 1830." , France with a gloomy face. "When "The Red and the Black" was published, on the cover of the first volume, the author quoted Danton's words: "Truth, sharp truth." The author also said humorously in the book through the publisher. If your characters don't talk about politics, they are no longer French in 1830. "These all indicate the political stance of "The Red and the Black".
Through the tragedy of Julien's personal struggle, the novel comprehensively and profoundly exposes the darkness of the French Restoration society under the rule of Charles The panic of the aristocracy and the right-wing thoughts and emotions of the petty and middle-class bourgeois intellectuals under the impact of the people's revolutionary wave thus revealed certain essential aspects of social life at that time and became the earliest outstanding work of critical realism in European literature.
1. Comprehensively and profoundly exposes all the darkness of French Restoration society
Julian was born during the alternation of the two periods of "red" and "black". In his childhood, he was very fond of Napoleon. The impression of the empire was a series of moving pictures composed of "mighty cavalry" "clad in white robes and silver helmets" who returned triumphantly from fighting against the European feudal monarchs. And the Restoration he lived in as an adult The period was one of darkness and decay. In "The Red and the Black", we can see that the "king" of the Bourbon dynasty came to France again, flaunting his power, inciting religious fanaticism, and setting off a dark tide of restoration. Exiled nobles like the Marquis of Muir came back and became "Ministers of France." His desperate accomplices were also promoted to noble positions. They use their political power to be domineering, exploit and plunder, and prey on the people. In order to build his own big garden, Mayor De Reina can even change the course of the river in the park. The power of the Marquis of Mur is even more intense. He sells his official position, forms cliques for personal gain, and plots conspiracies. The people who come in and out of his mansion are all "beautiful bad guys" and "bad guys with medals." This reactionary class lived a life of arrogance and luxury. The king arrived in Villiers with extravagant ostentation and huge expenses. Just a few minutes of speech ceremony in the church "spent 3,800 francs", Paris Saint-Germain The dignitaries in the Germanic district receive huge annual salaries, and the balls and dinners at the Marquis of Muir's house last all night long. The lower class of society is in dire straits. The working people in rural areas "can't find a piece of bread at home when they return to their huts from the fields at dusk in winter, not even chestnuts or potatoes."
During the Restoration period, the most rampant forces were social reaction. In the author's writing, the seminary is simply a "hell on earth". When Julien first arrived here, he was so frightened that his "legs went weak and he couldn't help himself." The strange faces of those wearing black robes formed a terrifying image. The gloom and horror of those large rooms, the corpse-pale faces of the priests, made one feel as if one were living in airless, rotting tombs. The seminary treats young students as prisoners and does not allow them any freedom of thought and action. They are not allowed to talk about politics and are not allowed to read other books except religious classics. Books by Rousseau and Voltaire have become taboo. Even mentioning the names of ancient Roman poets was considered unhealthy. Julien was often frightened when he secretly hid a portrait of Napoleon, and his correspondence in the seminary was strictly inspected and detained. The vice-president publicly taught the students: "The holiness and obedience of your life are worthy of the Pope's grace. Be a stick in his hand: you will be given the most appropriate position and reward, and you can give orders without being influenced by others." Control. The priest is the best job. . . . The money alone is a lot, not to mention fat capons, lots of eggs, fresh cream, and hundreds of delicious things. "That's how they use it. Use material luxury to seduce, use the pain of hell to intimidate, use the joy of heaven to deceive, and use decadent thoughts to poison the poor children recruited from the countryside.
When the mayor pretended to be an aristocratic gentleman to him, he used fierce words more than once to defend his personal dignity, and always cared about whether the aristocratic master treated him as an equal.
The more direct impact on the Restoration Dynasty is the society's nostalgia and admiration for the bourgeois emperor Napoleon. "The Red and the Black" profoundly reflects this storm-like hostility to the restoration of the Bourbon Dynasty. social emotions. On the coach in which Julien was riding, someone publicly praised Napoleon's era, "France has never been more respected by all nations than during the thirteen years of his reign." Although Napoleon was already in power in 1821, Although he died, his memoirs circulated secretly in France and are the most cherished books of the young generation, even a guide to action. Julien in "The Red and the Black" is a typical representative of the social trend of worshiping Napoleon during the Restoration period. His first appearance is a sneak peek at the banned memoir. He also treasured Napoleon's portraits and enthusiastically looked forward to the reappearance of a Napoleonic bourgeois empire. And he was full of rebellious thoughts towards the restoration society. Whenever he had the opportunity to travel to a deserted mountaintop, he would write down thoughts that would "bring him danger" into articles, and then quietly burn them when he went down the mountain. Young people like Julien hope for social changes. In his words, "There are 300,000 25-year-old young people in France who are eager for war." And war meant revolution at that time. In this way, "Red and Black" points out from both the economic life and ideological fields through the description of social contradictions: The social phenomenon caused by the bourgeois revolution has objectively become the restoration of the aristocratic class that cannot be consolidated and cannot be maintained for a long time. conditions.
3. Reflects the panic of the aristocratic class before the July Revolution
The novel highlights the politics before the July Revolution of 1830 against the background that the existing order of the Restoration Dynasty is facing a profound crisis. The struggle vividly displays the fierce competition between the bourgeoisie and the aristocracy.
The first volume of the novel presents a tense atmosphere in the provinces. A Parisian bourgeois liberal went to other provinces to visit prisons, poor foster homes and charitable institutions, preparing to collect materials to expose in a liberal newspaper. This made the ruling authorities nervous and immediately activated the state machinery to obstruct it. In Chapter 17 of Volume 1, a battle between two classes also started for the position of first deputy mayor of Verrier City. The government authorities and the church supported the appointment of a "pious figure in the region", a very wealthy industrialist came out to compete with him, and the local aristocrats tried every means to defeat the Liberals. In the eyes of the aristocratic mayor, "there are Liberals everywhere now." Facing the battle for the position of deputy mayor, he expressed surprise: "In this city, only industrialists are lucky. These Liberals are all They became millionaires, eager to seize power.