"The Red and the Black" is a classic work of the French critical realist writer Stendhal, first published in 1830, and for more than 100 years, it has been translated into many languages and widely circulated, and has been adapted into plays and films many times.
* tells the story of Yu Lian, a "young careerist", who hopes to quickly get ahead in high society with his ingenuity, but is sentenced to death for impulsive killing.
However, when his girlfriend went to the rescue desperately, Yu Lian surprisingly chose to refuse and was willing to die.
Why is that?
For the sake of desire, it will only fall deeper and deeper.
The protagonist Yu Lian is the son of a carpenter, he is beautiful and talented, has an excellent memory, and yearns to get ahead, because he admires Napoleon, and longs to be free from humble poverty like Napoleon, and to be the master of the world with a long sword.
At that time, a priest in his forties could receive a salary of 100,000 francs, three times more than Napoleon's generals.
So, Yu Lian bowed to Father Silang, studied theology diligently, and with his amazing memory, memorized all the Bibles in Latin, which caused a sensation in the city.
Because Julien memorized the Latin Bible, he was chosen to be the tutor of the mayor's family.
At Derina's house, the shrewd Julien was keenly aware that Mrs. Derrena had a good impression of him, so he immediately seized the opportunity and decided to use this woman as a springboard to achieve his goals.
He thought to himself, "I should go one step further, and I must achieve my goal in this woman." If I become rich in the future, and someone laughs at me for being a governess, I will let everyone know that it is love that makes me accept this position. ”
In this way, Julien broke into Madame de Rena's room in the middle of the night.
Shakespeare said: Love is not sweet words in the shade of flowers, not honey words in the peach blossom garden, not light tears, not even rigid compulsion, love is based on a common language.
Eager for love, Madame de Rainer is deeply in love with Julien and is more than willing to support his ideals.
But Julien didn't love Madame de Rena, he just hoped that through this woman, he would leap onto the dragon gate.
However, there is no impermeable wall in the world, and as there are more and more rumors, the priest who cared about Yu Lian asked him to go to the seminary in the provincial capital to study and leave the ** whirlpool temporarily.
The benefits obtained by unscrupulous means will not last long.
Although Yu Lian was gifted and intelligent, he felt very depressed about the complicated interpersonal relationships in the seminary, and later the dean was ostracized and resigned, so he introduced Yu Lian to the Marquis of Mur as a secretary.
This was a great opportunity for Lien, so under the influence of aristocratic society, he not only broke away from the rustic atmosphere of the young man of the town, but also met the daughter of the marquis, the noble and arrogant Miss Martel.
Although Julien did not like Miss Martel's personality very much, he thought that she could bring him social resources, so he pursued her passionately.
Soon, Martel became pregnant, and the Marquis of Mur, who had originally looked down on Yu Lian, had to give in again and again, first giving them a piece of land, and then sending him a letter of appointment as a hussar lieutenant, conferring the title of nobility on Yu Lian.
Julien was overjoyed to put on an officer** at the hussar garrison, and just as he was intoxicated with the pleasure of satisfying his personal ambitions, he suddenly received a letter from Miss Martel.
It turned out that Madame de Rainer had written a letter to the Marquis of Mur, revealing her relationship with Julien.
Annoyed and angry, Julien immediately bought a pistol, found Mrs. Derriner and shot her twice, and Mrs. Derrena was shot on the spot and fell to the ground.
As a result, Yu Lian was imprisoned for shooting and killing.
In this world, there is no road that leads to sincerity, because sincerity itself is the path to everything.
Yu Lian was shrewd and capable, and he had no true feelings for the people around him, and finally he was ruined under a momentary impulse and caused a catastrophe.
Wake up and die.
In prison, Yu Lian gradually calmed down, and couldn't help but feel remorse and shame for his actions.
Poverty is not terrible, what is terrible is the inferiority complex in the heart, groveling to climb up, eager to get ahead in high society, instead of relying on their own strength, and working hard to make a career.
Fortunately, Mrs. de Rainer did not die from the gunshot wound, and when she had recovered a little, she and Miss Martel went about in the hope that the prosecutor would give Lien a lenient sentence.
Yu Lian cried bitterly when he learned about it, and his heart became more and more remorseful and guilty.
In the end, the court declared that Yu Lian had committed the crime of accumulating ** and sentenced him to death.
Upon hearing the news, Madame de Reyna went desperately to visit the prison, and Yu Lian learned that the letter of denunciation had been drafted by the priest who had gone to hear Madame de Rena's confession and forced her to write it.
The misunderstanding between Julien and Madame de Rena was finally resolved, but Julien, who had long been disheartened and had seen everything in the world, refused to appeal, refused to pray for the end of his life, and resolutely went to die.
On the third day after Julien's death, Madame de Rainer also passed away.
In life, you often feel pain due to unsatisfied desires, so you will try your best to obtain wealth, and many people think that as long as you are rich and powerful, you will be happy in this life.
As everyone knows, the greater the desire, the less happiness there is, because people's desires can never be satisfied, and if you get this, you still want that.
The tragedy of Julien is that he has lived himself as a victim of power and desire.
In the work, Yu Lian obviously had the opportunity to be light, but he categorically refused the help of the mayor's wife and the marquis's daughter, and was determined to die.
First of all, because he saw through the hypocrisy of the upper class and was unwilling to continue to live a mercenary life.
The second is that when a person's ambition and desires, as well as his bad temperament, are all thoroughly seen through, he has no face to live in the world anymore.
So even if there is a possibility of being released from prison, Yu Lian does not want to live in the world, and is ridiculed and despised by people, which has become his tragic existence.
So how should we look at ambition and desire in life?
is the same choice as Yu Lian, in order to chase interests and benefits, he does what he doesn't like against his will, until his heart is anxious and irritable to collapse.
It is still a choice, although it is not yet able to realize its dreams and goals, but it is silently working hard to continuously improve itself, moving forward step by step, and using strength to obtain career and wealth.
Different choices will have different lives, because there is never a shortcut to the road to happiness, only down-to-earth and abide by one's duty.
After reading this "Red and Black", you will understand: In this life, only by controlling desires and keeping the bottom line can you create the happy life you want.