A Comparison of Mme de Lafayette and Stendhal in Relation to Their Literary Periods

Abstract

The nature of this paper was determined by the awareness of my decided lack of knowledge in the area of the French novel. In order to reduce this deficiency, it was necessary to select a topic that would encompass the greatest possible number of aspects of the French novel, e.g. historical, stylistic, thematic, while remaining within the scope of a three-month study. Thus the subject was narrowed to include only the psychological novel; from this level it was further limited to a study of La Princesse de Cleves and Le Rouge et le Noir.