Chapter summary
To find his bearings in the La Mole salon, Julien Sorel notes the names and character of the regulars: the marquise's flatterers, two viscounts and five barons who lead the conversation, all governed by the rule of never talking politics or joking about anything established. Behind the marquise's armchair, Mathilde de La Mole presides over a circle where Croisenois, Caylus, Luz and Norbert mock whoever arrives, such as Descoulis, Sainclair and Baron Bâton, while Julien watches from a straw chair. Count Chalvet passes by, along with Baron de Tolly, who rigged an election, and the young Tanbeau, who asks for ten years in prison for the poet Béranger.
Abbé Pirard, who calls the place a den, warns Julien that the Marquis de La Mole does not like scribblers, and Julien burns a manuscript of his own. The evening ends with mockery of Count de Thaler, the immensely wealthy heir of a banker to kings, and the sight cures Julien of all envy.
Analysis
Julien notes the names and character of the regulars so as to find his bearings in a circle where every word can cost him his place. Hearing from Pirard that the marquis does not like scribblers, he burns a manuscript of his own: he sacrifices writing so as not to be taken for a thinker, as in the seminary he hid his learning. Whoever has no income learns early that a personal taste comes at a high price.
Ch. IV. The hosts of the La Mole palace: At bottom, the hosts felt much pride and much boredom; they were used to slander to amuse themselves, while they waited for true friends.
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