If you’ve been following along, you may recall reading about Stendhal Syndrome. Stendhal was a 19th-century writer who was so overwhelmed by the magnificence of Florence that he got seriously ill. It sounds crazy, but Stendhal Syndrome is considered to be a legitimate illness. Since we’re here in Florence, let’s take a detour from the tourist path and get better acquainted with Stendhal.
Stendhal is the pen name of the French writer, Marie-Henri Beyle. His most famous work is a novel called “The Charterhouse of Parma.” It received high praise from the likes of heavyweights like Leo Tolstoy and Henry James.
What better way to get to know Stendhal than to dive into The Charterhouse of Parma? Don’t worry – this will be the ultra-ultra-condensed version.
The Charterhouse of Parma
The story takes place early in the 19th century in what is now northern Italy. Austria had won the most recent war in the area. The Austrians had moved in and had made themselves quite at home.
Locals hated the occupying forces, but aristocratic families cozied up to them, hoping to hang on to some of their wealth and power.
The unlikely hero of the story is the second son in one of these aristocratic families. Being second, in this case, is tantamount to being last. For first sons in aristocratic Italian families, it was usually “winner take all.”
Our hero’s name is Fabrizio. Being second son wasn’t the only strike he had against him. He had always been, shall we say, somewhat of a goofy kid. Goofy, but cute. His father and older brother didn’t like him, but everyone else in the household made up for it by spoiling him rotten.
They sent Fabrizio to Jesuit school, but he didn’t study at all. He didn’t have to. His family arranged for him to be given exemplary scores no matter what he deserved. He made it through school with honors, but he didn’t learn a thing.
Enter Napoleon
In 1796, Napoleon and the French army invaded and ran the Austrians out. People were happy to see them go, except for aristocrats, who now stood to lose everything.
Napoleon continued on to Waterloo, where he planned to teach the British and the Prussians a lesson. Fabrizio got caught up in the Napoleonic excitement. He joined Napoleon’s army and set out to do battle at Waterloo.
It was a crazy idea. An Italian aristocrat who couldn’t speak French joining the French army? But logic and common sense were not often significant factors in Fabrizio’s decision-making process.
Off he went, but as soon as Fabrizio reached the battle zone he was taken prisoner by the French. They assumed that he must be a spy. But he managed to escape, and pressed on toward the action at the battlefront.
One escapade followed another as he found himself in the thick of the battle of Waterloo. By pure dumb luck, Fabrizio managed to get out of the war zone alive.
Back Home Safely, but Considered a Traitor
Fabrizio made his way home, but now the aristocrats were back in power. And in their eyes, he was considered a traitor.
Our hero, more for political reasons than anything else, found himself facing trumped up charges of murder. He was imprisoned in a tower – the Torre Farnese – the dark and gloomy fortress of a scheming general. Poor Fabrizio!
And as luck would have it, Fabrizio had fallen head-over-heels in love with the daughter of this same scheming general. Her name was Clelia. He’d had a few flings before, but this was the real thing. Fabrizio didn’t know it, but Clelia had fallen in love with him, too.
But Guess What?
Fabrizio was imprisoned alright, but guess what? From a window in the prison tower, Fabrizio discovered that he could look down into the room where Clelia kept her birds.
Clelia’s father planned to marry her off to some creepy guy for political purposes. If she refused, he’d ship her off to a convent to spend the rest of her days. Tending her birds was probably the high point of poor Clelia’s day.
Fabrizio kept a constant vigil at the tower window, hoping to see her, until finally one day she appeared. You can imagine our sensitive hero’s excitement. This was fantastic!
Yes, Fabrizio is in prison, probably facing a death sentence, but in his mind, all is well, because he can catch a glimpse of his true love tending her birds.
By this time, The Charterhouse of Parma readers have bonded with Fabrizio, flaws and all. It would be hard not to. So while our hero is happily – for the moment – imprisoned in Torre Farnese, let’s take a break and pick it up from here next time.
To be continued…
