At the beginning, an exposition is given – a ball in the palace of Duke B., during which the reader gets acquainted with the beautiful princess Vanina Vanini and learns the news about the escape from prison of the Holy Angel of one of the prisoners. The composition of the novel is a classic for romantic works of this genre. The driving force behind the plot was the human (female) character – passionate, proud, who wants to achieve his goal at any cost. The plot of the novel is based on a real historical event – the struggle of Venta (one of the cells of the organization for the liberation of Italy from foreign domination) of carbonaria and its death. The combination of two literary trends allowed Stendhal to show the inner tragedy of two young people, embraced by multidirectional passions: love for a person (Princess Vanina Vanini) and love for the Motherland (poor carbonarian Pietro Missirilli). In it, the writer proved himself both as an incredible romantic, and as an already emerging realist.

The short story “Vanina Vanini” has become a literary bridge between reality and fiction, history and fantasy. A seven-year stay in Italy, the presence of two friends, carbonarians and the persecution of supporters of the national liberation movement that began in the 20s of the XIX century could not but be reflected in the work of Stendhal.

Vanina Vanini by Stendhal