The Red and the Black: A Chronicle of the Nineteenth Century (Oxford World's Classics)

923 Pages·2009·2.37 MB·English

by  Stendhal

THE RED AND THE BLACK
STENDHAL (Henri Beyle) was born on 23 January 1783 in Grenoble, where his
father was a lawyer and his maternal grandfather a doctor. He lost his mother at
the age of 7. After distinguishing himself in mathematics at the Ecole Centrale in
Grenoble, he moved to Paris in 1799 intending to study for admission to the
Ecole Polytechnique, but preferred to make his début in the world of art and
literature. He was employed at the Ministry of War, and took part in the
Napoleonic campaigns in Italy, Germany, Austria, and Russia from 1800 to
1814. At the fall of the Empire he settled in Milan, where he began to write on
painting and music. Returning to Paris in 1821, he lived as a dandy in high
society, publishing a treatise on love in 1822, his first novel Armance in 1827,
followed by Le Rouge et le Noir in 1830.
The last phase of his career was spent as a diplomat in Italy, with postings as
Consul in Trieste and then Civitavecchia. He was awarded the Légion d'honneur
in 1835. The Chartreuse de Parme, a novel of military and romantic adventure
set in Italy, appeared in 1839. Stendhal died of a stroke in 1842 during a period
of leave in Paris. His remaining fictional and autobiographical works were
published posthumously. His literary achievement went largely unrecognized
during his lifetime, and it was left to later generations to appreciate his
penetrating psychological and social insights and his ironical humour.
CATHERINE SLATER was Fellow and Tutor in French Language and
Linguistics at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford from 1971 to 1987, and is now an
Honorary Research Fellow. She works in Bristol at HewlettPackard's European
research laboratories.
ROGER PEARSON is a Fellow and Praelector in French at The Queen's
College, Oxford, and the author of Stendhal's Violin: a Novelist and his Reader (
Clarendon Press, 1988). He has also edited Stendhal The Charterhouse of Parma
for Oxford World's Classics.
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STENDHAL
The Red and the Black
A Chronicle of the Nineteenth Century
Edited and Translated with Notes by CATHERINE SLATER
With an Introduction by ROGER PEARSON
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
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OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
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Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in
certain other countries Published in the United States by Oxford University Press
Inc., New York Translation and Notes © Catherine Slater 1991 Introduction,
Further reading, and Chronology © Roger Pearson 1991
The moral rights of the author have been asserted Database right Oxford
University Press (maker) First published as a World's Classics paperback 1991
Reissued as an Oxford World's Classics paperback 1998
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior
permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by
law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights
organizations. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above
should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address
above
You must not circulate this book in any other binding or cover and you must
impose this same condition on any acquirer British Library Cataloguing in
Publication Data
Data available
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Stendhal, 1783-1842.
[Rouge et le noir. English]
The red and black: a chronicle of the nineteenth century / Stendhal; translated by
Catherine Slater, with an introduction by Roger Pearson.
Catherine Slater, with an introduction by Roger Pearson.
p. cm.--(Oxford world's classics)
Translation of: Le rouge et le noir
Includes bibliographical references.
I. Slater, Catherine. II. Pearson, Roger III. Title. IV. Series. [PQ2435.R7E5
1991] 843′.7 dc20 90-47949
ISBN 0-19-283871 7
5 7 9 10 8 6 4
Printed in Great Britain by Cox & Wyman Ltd. Reading, Berkshire -iv-
CONTENTS
Introduction ix
Note on the text xxiv
Further reading xxv
A chronology of Stendhal xxvii
The Red and the Black
BOOK ONE
1 A small town 3
2 A mayor 7
3 Care of the poor 11
4 Father and son 17
5 Striking a bargain 21
6 Boredom 29
7 Elective affinities 37
8 Minor events 48
9 An evening in the country 56
10 A generous heart and a meagre fortune 64
11 In the evening 68
12 A journey 73
13 Openwork stockings 80
14 A pair of English scissors 85
15 The crowing of the cock 89
16 The day after 93
17 First deputy 98
18 A king in Verrières 103
19 Thinking brings suffering 116
20 Anonymous letters 125
21 Dialogue with a master 129
22 Modes of behaviour in 1830 143
23 The woes of high office 156
24 A capital city 170
25 The seminary 177
26 The world 185
27 First experience of life 195
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28 A procession 199
29 First promotion 206
30 A man of ambition 221
BOOK TWO
1 Pleasures of the countryside 239
2 Entry into society 250
3 The first steps 258
4 The Hôtel de la Mole 262
5 Sensitivity and a great lady's piety 275
6 A matter of accent 278
7 An attack of gout 285
8 What decoration distinguishes a man? 293
9 The ball 303
10 Queen Marguerite 312
11 The power of a young lady 320
12 Might he be a Danton? 324
13 A plot 330
14 A young lady's thoughts 339
15 Is it a plot? 345
16 One o'clock in the morning 350
17 An old sword 357
18 Cruel moments 362
19 The Opera Bouffe 368
20 The Japanese vase 377
21 The secret memorandum 383
22 The discussion 389
23 The clergy, forests and freedom 397
24 Strasburg 406
25 The Ministry of Virtue 413
26 Propriety in love 420
27 The best positions in the Church 424
28 Manon Lescaut 428
29 Boredom 432
30 A box at the Opera Bouffe 436
31 Frightening her 441
32 The tiger 446
33 The infernal torment of weakness 451
34 A man of intelligence 457
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