Celebrity Biography (Illustrated Edition)

Author: (French) Roman Rolland
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-12-01
Features: Roman Rolland (1866–1944) was an outstanding realist writer of the 20th century in France. He was the son of a notary in a small provincial town in France and spent his childhood in the provinces. In 1881, the family moved to Paris. Rolland entered the école Normale Supérieure, one of the most renowned cultural centers in France at the time, known for its intense ideological conflicts. As a young man, Rolland stood in opposition to various forms of idealism by engaging with the works of Spinoza and the ancient Greek philosophers known as the "Presocratics." From his youth, he was deeply fond of the works of authors such as Shakespeare, Hugo, and Goethe, and he even imitated Hugo's style in many places. However, during the formation of his thoughts and art, Leo Tolstoy had a profound influence on him. While studying at university, he corresponded with the great Russian writer whose works were widely read in France, seeking answers to the questions that concerned him and following Tolstoy's advice with great respect. After graduating from the école Normale Supérieure, he chose music history as his field of study. Until 1912, he taught as a music history professor at the école Normale Supérieure and the University of Paris. In the second half of the 1890s, social conflicts between the Third French Republic and progressive forces were intense. Rolland, like the famous writers Zola and France, actively engaged in social life. He participated in the struggle to defend the Dreyfus case and declared himself a supporter of socialism. Of course, the socialism he spoke of at the time still carried the faint hues of romantic idealism.