acase@tulane.edu

acase@tulane.edu

acase@tulane.edu

acase@tulane.edu

acase@tulane.edu

Stendhal's splendid imagination gives life to a myriad of fictional characters who reflect the particular vision of their creator. His heroes are idealized projections of himself wherein he realizes a dream. Handsome, energetic, and vigorous, they hold in common a sensitive soul and a quivering heart. Like Stendhal, they share a need to conceal their ambition or their passion from the vulgar herd, and of necessity are seen to play roles. To masquerade is to be granted the freedom to transcend societal barriers, to reach beyond to a purer sphere where the only law is to seek one's own happiness A female version of the male hero is to be found in the amazonian heroine who is first and foremost characterized by self-interest. In a world too heavily populated with ordinary people, this aggressive heroine is bored and dreams of distinguishing herself through action. She is a revellious creature who refuses to assume the role of an empty-headed beauty and make a placid, conventional marriage. Stendhal refers to these spirited adolescents as singuliere to show his fondness for kindred souls of a Lamiel, a Vanina or a Mathilde Unlike the amazons, the heroines who would fulfill Stendhal's fantasy were very womanly and are known by their timidity and reserve. This is the sort of heroine Stendhal would have as his beloved, the woman who remains forever inaccessible to him, and likewise to his heroes Whereas the heroes in Stendhal's short prose are most often presented as round characters who may or may not change in the course of the narrative, his secondary characters tend to be flat and static. They interact closely with one or more protagonists, to assist or to oppose their desires, their ambitions, or their goals In short, Stendhal achieves a delicate balance in his dramatis personae, whether he touches upon the surface to draw a flat yet memorable character, or whether he plunges into a heart, soul and mind to create a fully-developed and lifelike figure / acase@tulane.edu

acase@tulane.edu

acase@tulane.edu

acase@tulane.edu

acase@tulane.edu