Chapter summary
One late afternoon in the orchard, Julien Sorel dreams of the difficulty of getting a good position and lets out a rush of enthusiasm for Napoleon, and Madame de Rênal frowns and adopts a cold air, because to her it sounds like the thinking of a servant. He saves himself by attributing the remark to the reasoning of the impious he heard during the trip to his timber merchant friend's house, but he feels in her frown the first setback of his illusion. With the education she has given him, Julien finally understands the intrigues of Verrières, where they are trying to make the devout Moirod the first deputy mayor rather than the second, and even Madame de Rênal sees him becoming pope or prime minister, like Richelieu.
Analysis
Julien's outburst in favor of Napoleon slips out because, alone with her in the orchard, he relaxes his vigilance. Her frown brings him back, and he saves himself by attributing the sentence to the impious he heard on his trip to Fouqué's. He lies on the spot because the frown calls him back to earth, although he is far from guessing what she thinks: that such a way of thinking suits a servant.
Julien's outburst, which he has to take back on the spot: How Napoleon was indeed the man sent by God to young Frenchmen! Who will replace him?
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