Adolphe | Adolphe

At a glance:

Author: Benjamin Constant
First Published: 1816
Type of Work: Novel
Type of Plot: Psychological realism
Time of Work: Late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries
Setting: Germany and Poland
Genres: Long fiction, Psychological fiction
Subjects: Love or romance, Nineteenth century, Eighteenth century, Duty, Human behavior, Germany or German people, Poland or Polish people, Sacrifice, Nobility, Royal courts or courtiers
Locales: Italy, Poland, Göttingen, Germany

Adolphe, a precocious young man, the narrator. Influenced by his constrained relationship with his father and the strong, unconventional opinions of an older woman of whom he has been a protégé, he finds himself in conflict with himself and with the highly conventional, mediocre society of a small German principality. He sets about the conquest of Ellénore and finally succeeds in winning her away from Count P————. Even while basking in the joys of love, he is annoyed by its constraints. This conflict brings much unhappiness both to him and to...

Adolphe | Adolphe

At a glance:

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