Julien Sorel's character

As the first section of Stendahl's The Red and the Black (1830) unfolds we see that the "hero," Julien Sorel, is a young man with grandiose ideas about his importance and with little sense of morality. He's contemptuous of those in the business world and of those who have prospered through (corrupt) politics, in particular the May of his hometown, Verrieres, who has hired him to be a Latin tutor for his children (an acquisition that shows he's "arrived"). But, while he holds all around him either in contempt or as a possible stepping stone for his advancement, he's nothing but a dreamer and a cavilling young man. He reads - secretly, because his employer is a fervent Royalist - the writings of his hero, Napoleon (I can't think of any contemporary analogy for this hero-worship) - he imagines that his slow courtship of the mayor's wife and comparable to N's military exploits. Similarly, he is preparing to a career in the Church, with not a hint of morality, faith, or propriety. Yes, we feel some sympathy for JS, in particular because we have seen him with his family - his father a crude and conniving owner of a prosperous sawmill, and his brothers a pair of louts who beat JS, a quiet and sensitive soul for no reason. Of course he's want to get out of this way of life - but w/ JS it's all or nothing: He can't imagine taking up the good job offer from his friend to co-manage a wood business and he show no particular devotion to his first job as a tutor. Everything for him is opportunity to escape small-town provincial life and to rise to greatness - but as what? Many young people have grandiose dreams about this success, but few are so contemptuous of those who stand in their way or who might actually help them.