The Charterhouse of Parma
We are in the process of moving to a new apartment so my
blogging on movies is on hold for the moment. I did, though, have a chance to
finish “The Charterhouse of Parma” so after a long and exhausting day of
cleaning up our old place, I can relax with a bit of blogging on my book site.
“The Charterhouse of Parma” is the second novel by Stendhal
on the List and it is quite a bit different from “The Red and the Black”, not
least in its tone, which is blatantly irreverent and even satirical rather than
understated as in “The Red and the Black”.
This is a big and sprawling story with the character Fabrice
del Dongo at the centre. Fabrice is the second son of a Marquis and, being full
of life and romantic ideas, is scorned by his father. Instead, he is attached
to his aunt, Contessa Gina Pietranera, a similarly vibrant woman.
Much inspired by the glory of the French, the very young
Fabrice endeavours to join in Napoleon’s final campaign at Waterloo. A
combination of being Italian, very young and incredibly naive, his exploits in
that battle are more comical than dramatic and when he returns to Italy at
least he is a bit wiser.
Meanwhile, Gina, a widower, is getting attached to Count
Mosca, the prime minster to the Prince of Parma and is relocating there as a
way to keep the now wanted Fabrice out of the clutches of the Austrians. Parma
is a tiny principality, led by an absolute ruler, where intrigues are rampant,
but also very provincial and as a result often absurd and comical. The scheme
is that Gina gets married to the old Duke of Sanseverina, who immediately moves
abroad and shortly after dies, leaving his estate, title and fortune to Gina,
Duchesse de Sanseverina. Count Mosca is her lover and companion from the outset
and together they scheme the shit out of Parma.
From then on things get complicated. Mosca is in love with
Gina. Gina is in love with Fabrice. Fabrice is in love with Clelia Conti and
Clelia is promised to the wealthy Marquis de Crescenzi. Fabrice is arrested for
killing a former rival to an actress, he was dallying with, though in truth the
guy assaulted Fabrice and for that Fabrice is imprisoned in a fortress held by
Clelia’s father.
Th story is in fact much more complicated than this and
there are a dizzying number of characters coming in and out of the story and it
is clear that Stendhal had a lot of fun with this story. He has placed it in
Italy, allegedly because the Italians can and will act differently than the
French, but just as likely, it is a way of creating a fable using imaginary
characters in a far away place that are still easily recognizable for the
French reader. With this move, Stendhal can attack absolutism, scheming nobility
and various injustices at will. And that he does, big time.
Stendhal has a wonderful way of writing and in “the
Charterhouse of Parma” he uses it more satirically than in his earlier book.
There is a glee to his writing as if much of it was written on an inspiration
and a need to prove a (or several) point(s). At times the story goes out on a
tangent before being reigned in and while it indicates an unstructured flow of
mind method of writing, it never becomes annoying though sometimes the story
appears to have dead ends or vital people suddenly appear. I would not be
surprised if the book is a first write through, but if so, it is mighty
impressive.
The characters are always very much alive, although compared
to his earlier work, in “The Charterhouse of Parma” there is an element of caricature
to the characters. Where the characters of “The Red and the Black” felt like real
human beings, the characters here are a little too fantastical for realism, but
in return they are so much more entertaining. I understand it as Stendhal’s
mockery of the upper classes and their silly intrigues.
I enjoyed reading “The Charterhouse of Parma”, it was fun
and easy to read, but I do find “The Red and the Black” the better book. Probably
it is that satirical bite which, fun as it is, also distance me as a reader
from the story.
Still, definitely a recommendation from me.
