About “The life of Henry Brulard”
Stendhal recounts his early life in Grenoble, highlighting his deep affection for his mother and his disdain for his father's bourgeois behavior. He also describes his grandfather, a rationalist from the eighteenth century, and the priest Abbe Raillanne, whom he viewed as a symbol of tyranny and hypocrisy. His youth was marked by strong emotions, including passion, hatred, and ambition. He decided to study mathematics, believing it to be the only field free from hypocrisy. Eventually, he left Grenoble as a mathematics student and joined Napoleon's army, entering Italy as a young lieutenant.