The Red and the Black by Stendhal

The Red and the Black by Stendhal is a classic novel of French literature, first published in 1830. It tells the story of Julien Sorel, a provincial 19-year-old who strives to make something of himself in the world. Set in the early 1800s during the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy and the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte, the novel follows Julien's quest for social advancement, love, and redemption through a series of moral conflicts and complex human relations.

The Red and the Black is a journey of struggle, a romantic hero's ambition, and social turmoil and ambition in a time when the upper class and stringent social conventions made it difficult for individualism and ambition to thrive. Through his journey, Julien Sorel contradicts the accepted norms of his society and sometimes flouts the laws of both man and God, ultimately sacrificing himself for a dream of grandeur and social advancement.

Julien is a determined, ambitious young man from a poor family in rural France. He works as a tutor at the local estate of the de Rênal's, a family of wealthy aristocrats. Here, Julien is exposed to a world full of wealth and has his first brush with social conformity. He falls in love with his employer's wife, Madame de Rênal, and begins to foster an ambition of grandeur and social advancement, desiring to live a life of luxury. But despite his ambition, Julien never forgets his humble roots and can never really escape the social conventions that surround him.

When Madame de Rênal becomes suspicious of Julien's motives, she decides to send him to a seminary in an attempt to enhance their social standing and make their family look more respectable. At the seminary, Julien finds himself in an environment of strict censorship and devotion to the Church, ultimately forcing him to confront his inner ambitions and reconcile his faith with his desires for greatness. Julien quickly rises to the top of the seminary, and catches the attention of the seminary's supervisor, the Abbé Pirard.

The Abbé quickly becomes a mentor to Julien, and helps him to gain a position as secretary to an important public figure. As his career progresses and Julien climbs the social ladder, he finds himself torn between his ambitions and the moral code of his faith, unsure of where his true place in society lies. Julien's struggle to find his place in the world and make sense of the complex human relations of his time is ultimately rewarded when he becomes a beloved member of high society.

The Red and the Black has relevance today, as Julien's story serves to illustrate the moral dilemmas posed by ambition, the complexity of human relations, and the way in which social conventions influence misdeeds. Julien's journey from a poor provincial tutor to a beloved member of high society captures the dilemma of social mobility and is a relevant example of a struggle for personal freedom. Stendhal's classic novel doesn’t only raise questions about our personal ambitions, but also about the social consequences of ambition that we must face.