The Red and the Black Themes

Part 1 of The Red and the Black centers on the affair between Julien Sorel and Madame de Rênal. So you can imagine that the institution of marriage plays an important role in all the juicy goings-...

Julien's grand ambitions in The Red and the Black usually center on thoughts of heroism and leadership… but he knows from the books he's read that no adventure is complete without a few romantic...

Julien isn't always sure whether or not he's in love… and the same goes for Mathilde de La Mole and Madame de Rênal. By the end of The Red and the Black, though, they all know what love is. The...

Julien Sorel is a total social climber, a peasant who will do whatever it takes to raise himself up in France's rigid class system. There are tons of obstacles in his way, including one or two that...

In The Red and the Black's portrayal of upper class France, there is a terrible disease that afflicts almost 99% of the population: boredom, plain and simple. What do you expect from a whole class...

Julien Sorel is more than just proud. He's downright vain, and he'll do almost anything to keep the world from putting him down. Other characters in The Red and the Black are quick to notice that J...

It's clear that Julien Sorel lives by a different set of rules than the women he seduces. For starters, Julien can just pick up and leave town when his affairs create scandal. He can also leave his...

In a world where people size one another up in seconds, appearances are everything. The clothes you wear, you body language, even the way you laugh: these are all things that tell the characters in...