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The Red and the Black · Book II · Chapter 41

The trial

Social ClassPolitics

Chapter summary

On the eve of the trial, Mathilde de La Mole brings the Abbé de Frilair the letter in which the bishop asks for acquittal, and he guarantees a verdict of acquittal. He counts on her to reach the episcopate, citing six devoted friends among the twelve jurors: Baron Valenod, two of his dependents, and a wealthy manufacturer who aspires to a supply contract with the War Ministry. Julien Sorel, determined to let only the lawyer speak, descends from the prison amid a crowd in which, to his surprise, his presence inspires tender compassion. He enters a courtroom where women occupy the galleries, among them Madame Derville. The lawyer moves the audience, and Julien holds back his tears only when he catches an insolent look from Valenod. After midnight, when the president asks whether he has anything to add, he rises and, in a speech that makes the audience weep, admits the premeditation, refuses to be judged by his peers, and says they want to punish him for his origins. Madame Derville faints. Around two in the morning, Valenod reads the unanimous declaration of guilt for murder with premeditation, the death sentence is pronounced, and Julien only wishes to tell Madame de Rênal that he considers himself justly condemned.

Analysis

Julien holds himself back until midnight, letting only the lawyer speak. Valenod's insolent look makes him hold back his tears, and the president's question about whether he has anything to add gives him the opening. He speaks, as he himself tells the jurors, because the horror of contempt makes him take the floor, and because, as midnight strikes, he feels carried away by the idea of duty. He admits the premeditation and refuses to be judged by his peers, turning the defense into an accusation.

The jury is worked over by political calculation before any hearing, and it is worked over to acquit.

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