Frederic Stendhal was one of the first romantic writers. In his works, he focused on the inconsistency of human nature. His books were not accepted by his contemporaries, since Stendhal's nervous and dry style was strikingly different from the lyrical mood of other writers.
Biography: early years
Frederic Stendhal (real name and surname - Henri-Marie Beyle) was born on January 23, 1783 in the French town of Grenoble. He comes from a petty bourgeois family: his father was a parliamentary advocate, and his grandfather worked as a doctor. The childhood of the future writer fell on the French Revolution. His mother died when he was seven years old.
In 1796, Stendhal entered the Central School of Grenoble, where he began to study history. From that time on, he was imbued with great love for this subject.
In 1799, Stendhal moved to Paris and entered the Ecole Polytechnique. At that time, France was gripped by revolutionary sentiments, so Stendhal dropped the thought of education and joined the army. As a military officer in the Napoleonic army, he traveled to Italy. In 1800, Stendhal came to Milan and was captivated by the beauty and splendor of this city.
Creation
Soon he got bored with the military routine. He returned to his homeland and soon resigned. In 1802, Stendhal decided to try his hand at trading. In Paris, he began attending the Comédie-Française theater, thanks to this leisure, he had a desire to become a writer. Then Stendhal began to read a lot and work with texts.
In 1814 he left to draw inspiration from his beloved Milan. There his literary talent was fully revealed. In Milan, Stendhal began to visit the legendary Teatro alla Scala. In those days, it hosted not only operas, but also held musical evenings. And in their atmosphere, he conceived the idea of the theory of romanticism, which was soon reinforced by practice - Stendhal was carried away by the wife of a Polish officer, Matilda Viscontini. Love was not mutual, but served as food for thought over the theory of romanticism.
In Milan, Stendhal also analyzed the influence of the great masterpieces of the Renaissance on the mind of the beholder. He was the first to talk about their strange impact on others. Later, the term "Stendhal syndrome" appeared in psychology, which is also called "Florentine syndrome". It is understood as the mysterious state of the human soul.
In 1821, Stendhal returned to France, where his book "On Love" was soon published. In it, he tried to analyze the origin of feeling. The book brought him fame.
In the twenties and thirties, Stendhal worked very fruitfully. At that time, such famous works as:
- Rossini's Life;
- "Armance";
- Lucien Leuven;
- Parma Abode;
- "Red and black".
The novel "Red and Black" deserves special attention. In it, the protagonist Julien Sorel longs for fame at any cost. No one can stand in his way, not even his beloved, whom he kills in cold blood. Thus, Stendhal showed how rotten society is.
Stendhal died on March 23, 1842 in Paris. The grave of the writer is located in the Montmarthe cemetery.
