New-York tribune., 1896-03-29
III

III.
Stendhars personality Is revealed at very nearly
full length In this novel, which Is not. 1t may be re-
heated a record OF his career. but which Is witt
ten out of the very core of his experience, reveal
ing his nature as clearly as though he had SET
out to make It an autobiography. He has peen
called a critics critic, novelists romancer. ana
II NAV be that a wide public Will never be Sc
cured for his peculiarly introspective MODE Oh
narration. The Goliloquies which aoouhd III
LA Chartreuse de Parme" may presuppose IN
their appeal TO the reader a certain professional
detachment Of mind such as Stendhal cultlVateu
In himself and gave to his hero. psychoios's'
lt,o NJ Ronrget is fascinated by the process OF
Thought which Is typifed in La Chartreuse de
Parme" He sees Stendhal making Fabrlce do
what so many persons. writer's and laymen IKE 10
do now He is charmed TO see the hero holding
himsel; off at arms length. even In tie fury OF
an adventurous climax. and weighing MS SEN
cations his ideas his whole reference 10 the
,o,p, or points at issue Now this spectacle OF
ntrospective evolution may require specializen
faculties for is full appreciation. stei dhal may
be as indicated above. novelist for ntNelists
n critic for critics But this is not 50 certain az
II NAV have been ten fifteen yeas ago
Everybody has had his taste OF morbid psy-
any rate. ls awake to the interest which may
reside in a representative II the school, and so
widely have the seeds OF the analytic spirit been
g. vn that Stcndhal must now be n igure Of some
ronn,en. 10 rs many realcrs give their atten-
ton TO the bulk Of modern fiction Stendhal Is
first and last q romancer in La tharTeuSe u'
Parme" yet there Is a spirit pervadng the o"of
which mlngles easily w.:h the spirit of realism
now in vogue There is the same treless curl
oslty as To motive. there IL the same Hla''Iia'-
,stic feeling constantly at work But win Steh'-
hal there is something more than THESE things
with him there IL the poetic glamour OF ltaiy'
and so potent Is this that La Chartr"use de
Parrne" flows on from chapter 10 chap'er VII"
unfail!ng buoysncy. and ends, as 1t begins on Il
lyric note Between its llneo there Is the at
tractor OF Stcndha. himself 81 MS a's'h''c
,.naencies OF his love for the Italian landscape
and Italian manners the most cynica. 'hlhe' ~
has - say about the latter never diminishing
bis relish ,or the life of the peninsula More
over. enforcing triumphantly the value OF the
ego in Sirndhsrs work this formless novel has
s,orv t. tell in spite II It's haphazard cOnstruc-
ton II tells the story OF Fabrice del l)onso; IL
coupcls lh. reader 10 take an interest III ms
r.r.1ralltv and career II holds the attention III
-. ,rov Characteristic OF the author at all times
In Imposing upon the inaSination c"rth'i
cent "A certain point OF view. certain l"'.-
yiiutflfV That lnilElluiHtN b''S H'N i''''' W
The horzlu Of French letters with STRIKING eihi
nence Materlalism is n sterile creed ana a Hie
ike S,endhars begins and ends In ltset. Wrn Wrn-
Co.,, on, ~ such n lie n. cannot be- said TO have
had a wide pcrvasiye influence at any tiine. or 10
have such an influence now wnrn he promises
I, be most widely appreciated. That M'rlihee
l,arncl much from him. that literary men nahs
alwavs had fOndncss for him. has not made
him the founder OF a school. He interests but
doe, not fructify. Yet no writer VINO interests
na, ha charged with landing his reader in an
iuruasse Stendhal dd little 10 advance h'era-
ture I'm France or elsewhere. but II IT Is wofth
while 10 pause in the company or remarhapi'
tn,ellIgence then II IL worth while 10 pause De
sile him And In no one II his books. not even IN
a.. Rouge ct le Noir" Is he more companionable.
more entertaining than In La Chartrruse de
parmc." a work as picturesque. as romantic as II
ls sardonlc and incsive