Hypocrisy as the Key to Success: Some Reflections on a Parallel between Stendhal's and Larra's Visions of Society

Abstract

Although there is no evidence that Mariano José de Larra everread any of Stendhal's novels, the similarities between the vision ofsociety the Spaniard expounds in his articles and the one conveyed inthe French author's Le Rouge et le Noir (1830) are indeedstunning. Taking into account the turbulent era in which they lived, itis certainly not too surprising that both of them depict society as abattlefield. What does come as a surprise, however, is their convictionthat the only "weapon" guaranteeing success in the struggle forexistence is hypocrisy. And what really makes one suspect that Larraknew Stendhal's works quite well is the fact that both writers expresstheir admiration for an exceptional individual and even give him thesame name: while Stendhal speaks of the homme supérieur,Larra uses the concept of the hombre superior.