Stendhal between Romanticism and Realism
             Stendhal is one of the major writers of the nineteenth century and an important innovator of the novel as a literary genre. His unique style has been many times redefined by the critics, in search of an appropriate tag. Nevertheless, Stendhal's originality springs precisely from the way in which the writer managed to blend entirely different and even contradictory attitudes and philosophies in his novels. His works are all characterized by a critical and even sarcastic view on his contemporary life. The author's deception with post-Napoleonic world is reflected in almost every novel. Stendhal was a writer who could not find his place in the country and the time he was forced to inhabit, and who looked with hostility on the political life and the ideologies of the time. His novels are thus deeply concerned with the connection between history and individual life: "History with the rumble of its cannons marches side by side with and at the same pace as the rhythm of the individual life."("The Charterhouse of Parma, 1982) Through his interest for the social and political context and his critical and discontent view on the world, Stendhal can be classified among the realist writer. However, there is much in his novels that recalls a Romantic propensity, such as his nostalgic view on the past, his idealism and his irony. Stendhal's writings are thus at the border between Realism and Romanticism, a trait that ensures the absolute originality of his style.
             The Red and the Black is undoubtedly Stendhal's most famous and most read work, and Julien Sorel, its main character is one of the most unforgettable literary heroes. The style of the work is innovating and even close to modernism. One of the most interesting stylistic aspects is certainly the complex relationship established between the author and the hero he creates. Thus, Stendhal's attitude to Julien S...