OLLI3718 - Stendhal, The Red and the Black (1830) and Zola, Germinal (1885) (Walk-In)

Course Description

Stendhal, The Red and the Black (1830) and Zola, Germinal (1885)

Instructor: Lenora Wolfgang, PhD

We will study two masterpieces of French Realism. The Red and the Black transformed a true story into a masterpiece of fiction on the grand scale. It is a novel of fire and energy, and its hero, Julien Sorel is raised to a superior being. Stendhal felt he was ahead of his time, and that he would be understood by future generations. His prophecy came true. In Germinal, Zola set out to study the effects of heredity and environment on members of a family. It is one of 20 novels that follow generations of a mining community, omitting nothing of the crude, violent, sexual, depraved, diseased conditions that expose the depths of human suffering.

Tuesdays, 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM