Italian Stories (Selected Works of Stendhal)

Author: (French) Stendhal (Stendhal), translated by Xu Hejin, Wang Zhensun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-10-01
Features: Stendhal (1783–1842) was a famous French realist critic of the 19th century, and his novels and literary critiques hold an important position in French literary history. This book is a collection of short and medium-length stories, including eight works such as "Vannina Vannini," which Stendhal compiled based on handwritten stories he discovered in Italy. The stories depict either the tragic love between young men and women of vastly different social standings or the conspiracies and murders arising from romantic affairs among court nobles. The characters in the novels are driven by intense emotions, overwhelming desires, and the violent actions that result from them. Stendhal intended to use this to express his admiration for the "passionate character of Italy" and his worship of "power," contrasting it with the reality of 19th-century French society, where the pursuit of interests stifled natural emotions in people.