This major work, which earned him fame, was published in two volumes in March 1839, then revised in 1841, shortly before his death, following a famous article by Balzac[1] and in fact taking a more “Balzacien”: today, it is the original Stendhalian text that we still read.
Sardinia where his mother owns land.
In the meantime, her aunt, widowed after the assassination of General Pietranera, meets Count Mosca, Prime Minister of the Prince of Parma, settles with him in this last resort, and, for convenience and disregarding decorum , married Duke Sanseverina without seeing him more than twice. Fabrice, expelled from the paternal house because of his commitment, joins his aunt at the court of Parma. The military career being closed to him, he turned to religious affairs by spending three years at the Ecclesiastical Academy of Naples in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. He would later become coadjutor to Archbishop Landriani.
However, his fiery nature takes over and the young coadjutor gets involved in a few love affairs. One of them pushes him to kill the poor comic actor Giletti, who attacks him first, near the Austrian border. This benign act in a monarchical state (an aristocrat defends himself and slays a "rogue"), as will often be recalled in the novel, is of capital importance because it confirms Abbé Blanes' prediction, and dooms Fabrice to prison. (the tower of Parma), its fate being fixed by the political intrigues of the court.
The cabal mounted by the adversaries of Count Mosca and the beautiful Gina seizes the opportunity. Vague promises of judicial immunity are made to Fabrice, who flees, first passing through Casalmaggiore in the kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia, then Ferrara and Bologna in the Papal States. In Bologna, he fell in love with La Fausta, an opera singer, who was in a relationship with Count M. He followed her to Parma, without being discovered. La Fausta also shows interest in him. A duel ensues between Fabrice (who called himself Joseph Bossi) and Count M. who is wounded, forcing Fabrice to flee again, this time to Florence, in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. Count Mosca wrote to him there to tell him that his name, Joseph Bossi, had not been pronounced, which allowed Fabrice, two months later, to return to Bologna. His interest in La Fausta dies out, as he finds this woman fickle in her feelings. He makes the mistake of believing in the promises of judicial immunity, and returns to Parma: he then finds himself imprisoned in a fortress, at the top of the Farnese tower. Although threatened with death, he draws a particular sweetness from his imprisonment by falling in love with Clélia Conti, the daughter of the governor of the prison (the two young people communicating by means as ingenious as they are varied). With the help of Clélia and that of the Sanseverina, Fabrice manages to escape. But the dose of laudanum administered to the governor of the prison to allow the escape proves to be too strong, and he seems to be in mortal danger. Consumed by remorse, Clélia makes a wish to the Madonna, that of never seeing Fabrice again, and of marrying the rich Marquis de Crescenzi, a union desired by her father. The governor recovers, and Clelia gets her wish. Fabrice and Gina take refuge in Belgirate on the shores of Lake Maggiore in the kingdom of Sardinia. Subsequently, Gina established Fabrice in Locarno, Switzerland. They see each other from time to time, but Fabrice longs for Clélia and shows himself in a gloomy mood, which makes Gina miss the court of Parma and her livelier life. In the meantime, the Prince of Parma officially dies of illness. It is in truth a somewhat "helped" death, this by the poison administered to him by the republican revolutionary poet Ferrante Palla, sent by Gina.
Sardinia where his mother owns land.
In the meantime, her aunt, widowed after the assassination of General Pietranera, meets Count Mosca, Prime Minister of the Prince of Parma, settles with him in this last resort, and, for convenience and disregarding decorum , married Duke Sanseverina without seeing him more than twice. Fabrice, expelled from the paternal house because of his commitment, joins his aunt at the court of Parma. The military career being closed to him, he turned to religious affairs by spending three years at the Ecclesiastical Academy of Naples in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. He would later become coadjutor to Archbishop Landriani.
However, his fiery nature takes over and the young coadjutor gets involved in a few love affairs. One of them pushes him to kill the poor comic actor Giletti, who attacks him first, near the Austrian border. This benign act in a monarchical state (an aristocrat defends himself and slays a "rogue"), as will often be recalled in the novel, is of capital importance because it confirms Abbé Blanes' prediction, and dooms Fabrice to prison. (the tower of Parma), its fate being fixed by the political intrigues of the court.
The cabal mounted by the adversaries of Count Mosca and the beautiful Gina seizes the opportunity. Vague promises of judicial immunity are made to Fabrice, who flees, first passing through Casalmaggiore in the kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia, then Ferrara and Bologna in the Papal States. In Bologna, he fell in love with La Fausta, an opera singer, who was in a relationship with Count M. He followed her to Parma, without being discovered. La Fausta also shows interest in him. A duel ensues between Fabrice (who called himself Joseph Bossi) and Count M. who is wounded, forcing Fabrice to flee again, this time to Florence, in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. Count Mosca wrote to him there to tell him that his name, Joseph Bossi, had not been pronounced, which allowed Fabrice, two months later, to return to Bologna. His interest in La Fausta dies out, as he finds this woman fickle in her feelings. He makes the mistake of believing in the promises of judicial immunity, and returns to Parma: he then finds himself imprisoned in a fortress, at the top of the Farnese tower. Although threatened with death, he draws a particular sweetness from his imprisonment by falling in love with Clélia Conti, the daughter of the governor of the prison (the two young people communicating by means as ingenious as they are varied). With the help of Clélia and that of the Sanseverina, Fabrice manages to escape. But the dose of laudanum administered to the governor of the prison to allow the escape proves to be too strong, and he seems to be in mortal danger. Consumed by remorse, Clélia makes a wish to the Madonna, that of never seeing Fabrice again, and of marrying the rich Marquis de Crescenzi, a union desired by her father. The governor recovers, and Clelia gets her wish. Fabrice and Gina take refuge in Belgirate on the shores of Lake Maggiore in the kingdom of Sardinia. Subsequently, Gina established Fabrice in Locarno, Switzerland. They see each other from time to time, but Fabrice longs for Clélia and shows himself in a gloomy mood, which makes Gina miss the court of Parma and her livelier life. In the meantime, the Prince of Parma officially dies of illness. It is in truth a somewhat "helped" death, this by the poison administered to him by the republican revolutionary poet Ferrante Palla, sent by Gina.
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