The Novel That Diagnosed the Death of Western Heroism: Stendhal's The Red and Black

How Ambitious Men Become Monsters in a Dying Civilization

I recently finished reading the great 1830 classic The Red and the Black, by the French writer Stendhal.

I was struck by how much this book from 200 years ago had to say about our time today.

Stendhal was a sharp observer of society, and The Red and the Black is one of the greatest portraits of what happens when a society leaves its heroic age behind, and settles into something much smaller and more mediocre.

In this video, I explore how Stendhal portrayed the death of heroism in society, why this novel is seen as one of the first psychological novels, and why Nietzsche loved it:

I also mention why it made me think of people like Andrew Tate.

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