A Life of Napoleon by Stendhal - Essay Example

? Stendhal’s A Life of Napoleon Stendhal, a thinker of the farthest left, in 1840 d that “the only man whom I have admired all my life is Napoleon” (The Open University, 2004). Marie-Henri Beyle was the original name of Stendhal who turned out to be an imperative literary figure of the modern age. Stendhal followed a life like Napoleon’s specifically getting inspired by the intermediary era from the early administration through the era of Napoleon and in the epoch of the comeback of the realm and the “July Revolution”, it was witnessed by Stendhal that Europe's and France's progress into the modern period which influenced the career of Stendhal to a great extent. Napoleon was described by Stendhal as a person gifted with incredible skills and a precarious aspiration. He has been referred to as the “finest man” by his talents to have emerged after the era of Caesar. He faced every adversity with a brave heart that always kept him firm and splendor. He never allowed his affluence overcome his work, decisions and judgement. He got carried away to the extent of agitation when his fervor met with resistance, thus far more inclined to companionship than to permanent detestation, he was known as a person stained by some of the unavoidable vices of a subjugator, yet no further wastage of blood. Stendhal found some grave faults with the character and he stated that, “Napoleon was at crucial moments fatally soft-hearted, sentimental, full of illusion and thoroughly misguided” (The Open University, 2004). In this regard Stendhal stated, “Thirteen and a half years of success turned Alexander the Great into a kind of madman. Good fortune of exactly the same duration produced the same madness in Napoleon” (The Open University, 2004). He was a character that remained unmoved to humanity. He has been compared with Caesar throughout the text and this fact would continue to diminish the fame of “Alexander or Frederick the Great” (The Open University, 2004). He was never referred to as a tyrant and as per Stendhal, “Although violent and unrestrained in his fits of temper, he was neither cruel nor vindictive” (The Open University, 2004). It has been rightly mentioned in the text that, “Napoleon was steeped in classical history” (The Open University, 2004). As an emperor he was innovative enough to find out ways to tackle situations. During the conclusion of the last century, Napoleon ruled the French throne and in due course the entire country stood against him claiming a constitutional and free rule. However Bonaparte utilized the idea of counter revolution to work for his own benefit that was intended at “leaving nothing new in the state, as it were, except himself” (The Open University, 2004). It can be said that Napoleon happened to be a proud ruler who was satisfied with his own achievements. He stated in his memoirs, “From nothing I raised myself to be the most powerful monarch in the world” (The Open University, 2004). Napoleon took part in several battles throughout the world which resulted in inundation of bloodshed however in none of the battles, except the combat in Spain, he attacked initially from his part. He kept on conquering places with the aim of inviting new changes within the entire European continent. He decided to transform the entire Europe into an enormous kingdom. This arrangement, if it was ever feasible, was his lone justification for not having reformed the regions that were dominated by him, and as he failed to convert them into backing for France, through the means of forcing them to follow the similar ethical route. The future generation will view this as a tactic of prevention of the battle from the neighboring regions where the conqueror had stretched out his empire. In his memoirs, Napoleon clearly stated that, “I sincerely thought that the fate of France and Europe and my own destiny were permanently fixed” (The Open University, 2004). This shows how much the king was attached to his kingdom. He even mentioned that, “For my part, I intended to have devoted myself wholly to the internal interests of France: and I am confident I should have wrought miracles” (The Open University, 2004). The emperor further mentioned that he wished to turn France into a super power however he never wanted to rule the entire world. One of the vital mistakes committed by Napoleon was the Peninsular War which accounted for 240000 casualties, economic dislocations and huge economic losses. In Stendhal’s opinion Napoleon was a poor politician and he made great mistakes by putting the other kings and his colleagues at an esteemed position. The author further added, “Napoleon supposed his fellow monarchs to be men of their word, and after defeating them, he spared them, But they bided their time and helped to destroy him” (The Open University, 2004). Additionally according to the words of the ruler ‘In instigating wars against me,’, ‘circumstances gave me the means to enlarge my empire, and I did not fail to take advantage of them’ (The Open University, 2004). The greatness of his character was overshadowed by the hard luck and his acquiescence has been equated by some but outshined by nobody. Mr. Warden repeatedly approved to be the witness to these traits, and it might be further added that they were lacking any kind of flamboyance. The way Napoleon leaded his years at Saint Helena remained totally unaltered. During the modern era it is probably this which gives us an impression of the nature of Plutarch’s heroes. The visitors who paid visit to the emperor at Elba expressed surprise at the admirable calm with which he bore his change of fortune. He replied: ‘The reason, I think, is that everyone was more taken aback by it than I. I have no very high opinion of mankind and I have always mistrusted good fortune. Moreover, I have known little enjoyment: my brothers have been far more kingly than I. They have had all the pleasures of royalty; I have known almost nothing but its demands.’ (The Open University, 2004) Stendhal started his work on the life of Napoleon stating that, “I experience a kind of religious feeling writing the first sentence of the history of Napoleon. He is in fact the greatest man ever to appear in this world...” (The Open University, 2004). Stendhal’s works were influenced to a great extent by the life of Napoleon. It is not possible to find any of Stendhal's significant novels devoid of being confronted by the essential role performed by the ruler in the lives of the protagonist and other characters created by the novelist. It can be said the appearance of Napoleon at several instances in the works of Stendhal was not an accident. Furthermore Stendhal's professional life was in numerous ways similar to that of Napoleon’s career. Similar to Napoleon, the author was proficient of using key networks to make the most out of the people who were holding key positions in various organizations and who would help him to make a great start towards his profession. As Stendhal kept following this process, his professional life started rising and falling with the similarities like lifetime, posthumous, and fortunes, of Napoleon Bonaparte. The author did not put pen to paper till Napoleon was on his throne. As soon as the emperor left, Stendhal started his novels. His characters mostly reproduce both his personal Napoleonic profession and his huge sorrow with Napoleon's destiny after his trounce at the battle of Waterloo. Stendhal regarded, “his ever mediocre political genius to be an immediate cause of the Russian debacle of 1812” (The Open University, 2004). Stendhal at the same time admired and criticized the ruler stating, “Arrogance and crownomania” (The Open University, 2004) were the actual reasons for the fall of the great emperor. Stendhal being the learner of the Napoleonic epoch politics, history, and literary works, offered the readers with great advantage from information having some strong association between Napoleon's proficiency and Stendhal's career. Stendhal perceived that Napoleon’s administrative and military skills lacked political expertise. In this regard Stendhal stated, “He had the warm heart of a soldier, but a poor head for politics….He was unsuited to politics and was mediocre as a monarch” (The Open University, 2004). Stendhal used to be a resident of Grenoble, who started hating his survival in the city and desired for the quest of Paris. Consequently, when he shifted to Paris during the month of November 1799, it was exactly the day following the event when Napoleon seized authority with the “coup d'Etat de Brumaire”. There he met Daru who used to be his father’s cousin and had strong political connections. In 1799, Daru made some job arrangements for Stendhal where he had been appointed for a position of a clerk in the Ministry of War. Daru worked under Napoleon and used to control thousands of people working under him. Since this time, Stendhal got inspired by the character of Napoleon. Stendhal’s adoration for Napoleon could be traced at several instances. He stated in his book that Napoleon gained ultimate power, “with a character that was already formed and inflexible” (The Open University, 2004). Thus it can be concluded from the works of Stendhal that he used to be a very keen observer of the administration policies adopted by the emperor. As a result he started adoring him for his virtues but straightway mentioned the flaws within his character. This approach effectively reveals Stendhal’s great attachment with and admiration towards the ruler that influenced his personal life and his works to a great extent. Works Cited The Open University. 2004. The Napoleonic Phenomenon. Open University: Milton Keynes. Read More