“What binds friendships in the world is the possibility of separation at any moment.”
—Stendhal
A breviary of the love of life, the correspondence of Stendhal (1783-1842) bears witness to the humanism, gentleness and generosity necessary to write masterpieces such as The Red and the Black and The Charterhouse of Parma. A lover of Italy, music and painting, the demanding and non-conformist writer exposes in his correspondence his science of feelings as well as his practical method of happiness, especially when he addresses his sister, by delivering his thoughts on the condition of women and their necessary emancipation.
