{"id":30064,"date":"2016-01-22T14:48:06","date_gmt":"2016-01-22T12:48:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/d66.nl\/vanmierlostichting\/archive\/kleinpaste-the-red-and-the-black\/"},"modified":"2016-01-22T14:48:06","modified_gmt":"2016-01-22T12:48:06","slug":"kleinpaste-the-red-and-the-black","status":"publish","type":"archive","link":"https:\/\/d66.nl\/vanmierlostichting\/archive\/kleinpaste-the-red-and-the-black\/","title":{"rendered":"Kleinpaste – The Red and the Black"},"content":{"rendered":"Lees hier het pdf<\/a>\u00a0van dit artikel.<\/em>\n\nDoor Thijs Kleinpaste<\/strong>\n\nLiterature often mirrors current events. In this column Stendhals The Red and the Black will be discussed: human dignity and morality lie at the heart of every revolution.\n\nEurope has been careless with its democracy. Ever since the Eurozone crisis broke out, democ\u00adracy has been the victim of severe neglect. When Greek prime-minister Papandreou suggested holding a referendum on his proposed austerity measures, he was quickly put in place by his European counterparts: they would have none of Papandreou\u2019s shenanigans. In 2011, when Berlusconi was replaced by the \u2018technocrat\u2019 Mario Monti, many welcomed Monti as the one who would finally take the necessary measures. The tribute some Europeans paid to democracy seems lip-service at most. Democracy doesn\u2019t solve the debt-crisis, hampers quick action and is really only a hindrance in tackling our worst problem! Thank God for technocrats! It is as if some have forgotten that the supreme value of democracy lies not so much in its ability to manage effec\u00adtively, as in providing political decisions with the highest authority, legitimacy and \u2013 most of all \u2013 decency. Why this is the case, is most accu\u00adrately illustrated in The Red and the Black (1830) by Stendhal (Marie-Henri Beyle), in which the dem-ocratic, egalitarian promises of the 19th-century collide with a slowly dying aristocratic order.\n\nIn The Red and the Black, the young, intelligent but poor Julien Sorel dreams of making it in a world that is still dominated by the aristocracy. Stendhal published his novel just a few months after the July Revolution of 1830, and it chronicles the last years of the Bourbon Restauration. Julien struggles to find his way up the social ladder, always carrying around a portrait of Napoleon, whom he admires. The days of Napoleon stand in sharp contrast with the restored old order, in which privilege dominated. Stendhal attacks the materialism, shallowness and corruption of the French aristocratic society. If there is to be another Robespierre, the aristocratic elites themselves first and foremost are to blame.\n\nOne scene between Julien and his employer, monsieur de R\u00eanal, mayor of the small town of Verri\u00e8res, is especially illustrative. One day Julien feels humiliated after being publicly scolded by monsieur de R\u00eanal, after which Julien angrily confronts him. Monsieur de R\u00eanal (involved in a petty feud about status with some of the other notables in town) is afraid Julien might quit his job: the young man is quite popular in Verri\u00e8res. But instead of an apology, he offers Julien a raise.\n\nHowever, Juliens dignity cannot be bought or sold: \u2018Mere money, how banal!\u2019 he ponders. He takes the raise because he considers it a moral victory over monsieur de R\u00eanal. The latter, being rather tight, only worries about the extra money he now has to spend on Juliens salary.\n\nJulian and monsieur de R\u00eanal are living in two worlds which are unable to understand each other. Juliens highest aspiration is not just mate\u00adrial wealth. He simply hopes to be regarded as an equal so that he can climb through the ranks, and become an acknowledged member of the French society. The promise of a democratic, egalitarian society, stemming from the values of the French Revolution, permeates through Stendhals novel, and causes the agitation between the world Julien wants to live in and the world in which he is forced to live in: working in the service of the aristocracy.\n\nIn this sense the novel contains an acute perspec\u00adtive. It is never just about money, Stendhal says. Democracy and democratic cultures are not so much about the \u2018best\u2019 or most lucrative decisions, but about human dignity. When it comes to such dignity, Europe doesn\u2019t provide a very hopeful view for the future.\n\n \n\nThijs Kleinpaste<\/strong> studeert geschiedenis aan de Universiteit van Amsterdam en is schrijver van het boek Nederland als vervlogen droom<\/em>.\n\n \n\nStendhal, The Red and the Black (Het Rood en het Zwart), 563 p. Amsterdam, 2007. Translation: Hans van Pinxteren.\n\n \n\nHeeft dit artikel uw interesse gewekt? Klik hier <\/a>voor meer info en abonnementen.\n\n\u2013 \u2013\n\nDit artikel verscheen in idee<\/em> nr. 6 2012: Trust in people\u2019s own power<\/a>, en is te vinden bij de onderwerpen democratie<\/a> <\/em>en\u00a0literatuur<\/a>.<\/em>\n\n ","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-30064","archive","type-archive","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nKleinpaste - The Red and the Black – Mr. Hans van Mierlo stichting<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/d66.nl\/vanmierlostichting\/archive\/kleinpaste-the-red-and-the-black\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"nl_NL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kleinpaste - The Red and the Black – Mr. Hans van Mierlo stichting\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Lees hier het pdf\u00a0van dit artikel. Door Thijs Kleinpaste Literature often mirrors current events. In this column Stendhals The Red and the Black will be discussed: human dignity and morality lie at the heart of every revolution. Europe has been careless with its democracy. 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Door Thijs Kleinpaste Literature often mirrors current events. In this column Stendhals The Red and the Black will be discussed: human dignity and morality lie at the heart of every revolution. Europe has been careless with its democracy. 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