Conflict, Gender and Transcendence in Le Rouge et le Noir

Numerous aspects of Le Rouge et le Noir still puzzle readers: why is Mathilde so obsessed with violence? why is Christ alluded to in connection with Julien? why is the latter sometimes represented as feminine, and Mathilde as masculine? It is argued that such features are all connected in a pattern of thought that deliberately places the question of gender at the center of Julier's story, in all its personal, political and metaphysical dimensions. Gender is also related to the urge for transcendence at work, an urge the strength of which is confirmed by an unpublished note by Stendhal. (CWT)