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Why did Henri Beyle leave Grenoble for Paris in 1799?
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Stendhal
Stendhal, oil painting by Pierre-Joseph Dedreux-Dorcy; in the Bibliothèque Municipale de Grenoble, France.
In 1799, Henri Beyle left Grenoble for Paris ostensibly to prepare for the entrance examination to the École Polytechnique. In reality, however, his primary motivation was to escape from his hometown and from the oppressive rule of his father.1