Point of View

One might argue that Sentimental Education operates from two perspectives, one social and the other political. While the book is written in the third-person and covers the events of Frederic's life without much commentary, there is an underlying message. The author illustrates the emptiness in Frederic's life, points out his embarrassing behavior, his poor character and his consistently poor life choices. He clearly disapproves of the behaviors of the French upper class. They are rarely loyal in marriage, think only of social, financial and political gain and generally live bad lives. Their relationships with one another are unstable; they seldom care long for one another, and are even indifferent when their loved ones die - in some cases, at least.

However, in the background, France is in the process of undergoing a revolution against the monarchy. The story begins with revolutionary, democratic and socialist ideas floating...