In many ways, this book seems to have been a precursor to Flaubert's A Sentimental Education. Though its full title The Red and The Black: A Chronicle of the Nineteenth Century shows us the significance of the Restoration period to the background of the novel. The title also reflects the contrasts that are so well developed. Most literally, red and black refers to the difference in uniform between military and clergy in France. Basic analogies also float to the surface: wealth/poverty, nobility/peasantry, wisdom/passion, etc. There are, however, deeper analogies that deal with political circumstances in post-revolutionary France: the corruption of clergy (drawing the color of blood from the military connotation to the clerical), the ennui of Paris society, the fear of foreigners. This period in France's history marked a removal of Napoleonic (military) thought, the beginning of religious power.

Julien learns a great deal about how to use these influences to get ahead, but his subtlety and lack of conscience keep him safe. I love the epigrams heading each chapter, all perfectly apropos. My favorite lines are more-or-less quoted thoughts of Julien's hero/martyr Danton (p474 of my edition), when he notes that the verb "guillotine [in French] cannot be conjugated in all the tenses.' You can say, 'I shall be guillotined,' 'Thou wilt be guillotined,' but not 'I have been guillotined.'" This is a perfect example of the Restoration way – applying reason and semantics to the recent violence of the revolution.

I had no trouble seeing Julien as a hero, even during his escapades, until his strange crime. I'm still confused as to Stendhal's purpose in Julien's choices at the end. Ultimately, the novel stands up well for its reflection of an important political and social era. I feel that it helps me complete a picture of post-Napoleonic Europe.