PhilosophersStendhal (Henri Beyle)
Stendhal (Henri Beyle)
Novelist and analyst of the passions: love is born of a "crystallisation", when the imagination adorns the loved one with a thousand perfections.
Enlightenment1783 · 1842 FranceGrenoble
Life
Stendhal (Henri Beyle, 1783-1842), a French writer born in Grenoble, wrote The Red and the Black and The Charterhouse of Parma. In his essay On Love (1822) he analyses how romantic passion is born and calls it a 'crystallisation': the imagination adorns the loved one with a thousand perfections. This analysis remains a reference for thinking about love.
Main works
1822
De l'amour
An essay describing the stages of falling in love, including 'crystallisation'.
1830
Le Rouge et le Noir
A novel of ambition and passion in Restoration France.
1839
La Chartreuse de Parme
A novel of a young Italian caught between court intrigue and love.
In his own words
« In the salt mines of Salzburg, a leafless winter branch is thrown into the abandoned depths of the mine; two or three months later it is pulled out covered with sparkling crystals. »