The Tragedy Of Napoleon Bonaparte
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Apr. 9, 2022 • By Jason Elhilow
DescriptionAn essay that explores the tragic downfall of the once famed Emperor of France, Napoleon Bonaparte I.
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ImageJacques-Louis David
In storytelling, there are many different types of archetypes used to create a character. Of course, there are the typical protagonist and antagonist, along with secondary and tertiary roles, but there are more layers than that. All of these characters likely have different arcs, different ideas behind them, encouraging their goals and leading to the resolution of the narrative. These bring them to contrasting outcomes, some winning, some losing. This same idea is how so many individuals in our own history have risen, but also fallen. They may have been the heroes of their time, or possibly the villains. But some are the villains of their own stories. These people are tragic heroes, ones who rise to great fame and power, but lose it all due to a major flaw in their ideals and personality. In the past, there have been many examples of ones who bring themselves to their own fall. And no one fits this mold better than Napoleon Bonaparte I, ruler of France from 1799 to 1815. He came from extraordinary heights, once being the strongest and most influential leader in the world, but let his self-interests and dreams get in the way of reality. Napoleon Bonaparte is a tragic hero because he let his power, ego, and lust for war lead to his ultimate demise and downfall.Napoleon's early life was fairly straightforward and uneventful. He was born on August 15, 1769, in Ajaccio, France on the island of Corsica (Napoleon I, Emperor of France). One of eleven children, Bonaparte was brought into this world by Carlo Buonaparte and Letizia Romolino (Napoleon, I). Bonaparte’s early education was nothing special, going to primary and then military school later on. “After elementary education at a boys' school in Ajaccio, young Napoleon was sent in January of 1779 with his older brother Joseph to the College of Autun… In May of the same year, he was transferred to the more fashionable College of Brienne, another military school, while his brother remained at Autun” (Napoleon I Bonaparte). The military seemed to always be the goal for Napoleon, whether he himself made the decision or his parents did. He was destined to be part of the armed forces. Bonaparte soon went to École Militaire of Paris, enlisting in the royal army under Louis XVI, and subsequently joined an artillery unit at Valence, where he received more military training (Napoleon, I). But soon, in 1789, the French Revolution broke out, dividing many and creating chaos across both France and the rest of Europe. Napoleon didn’t pick a side, though, not sympathizing with the royalists or the revolutionists. Regardless, there was no food, no resources, and the monarchs had everything while others starved. Subjects wanted a new government, one that would solve these problems. It was the perfect recipe for disaster, a ripe place for revolution, as many wanted to take down the ruling king and bring ideas of Enlightenment into society. They wanted a strong leader, and Napoleon would soon be their savior. Before that, though, he needed to prove his skills, prove his abilities to win at any costs necessary.Bonaparte had started off his career with a “victory." One of his first rises to power was with the Egypt Campaign, where he, along with a legion of soldiers, marched onto the African continent in 1798. At first, he triumphed along with the rest of the French army, attempting to take over the area for French rule. But by 1799, they suffered massive losses, as the Syrians pushed them back heavily, and eventually, brought them to defeat (Napoleon I Bonaparte). Though Napoleon himself did not go through such agony, as he deserted his men in Egypt and returned to Paris, saying that they won the entire time. He lied his way home, lied about how successful he was. This led the French people to think they had gained a massive swath of territory, when in reality, they lost thousands of soldiers and dozens of scientists, artists, and historians (Napoleon I Bonaparte). But they crowned Napoleon as a national treasure, thinking he did the impossible. This gave him the courage he needed, as this status rose his self-confidence and ego to a new height, leading to one of the most important power swipes in history: his coup d’etat of the French Directory. “Landing at Fréjus… Napoleon went directly to Paris, where the political situation was ripe for a coup d'etat. France had become weary of the Directory, and… Napoleon overthrew the government on November 9-10, 1799” (Napoleon, I). The Directory was originally set up after the Revolution to stabilize and steady the French government, but it failed, and soon, Bonaparte set up the Consulate. He became the First Consul between the years of 1799 to 1804. Now he was truly in control, truly the one in command. Sure, he did it in the most elusive way possible, the most deceptive way he could, but it worked. This led to a decade of pillaging, as Napoleon Bonaparte built himself and his empire higher and higher, taking over the majority of Europe by the time his kingdom elapsed. Though nothing lasts forever, as his tragic flaws soon began to show and his unstoppable ideals clash with reality.By 1802, Napoleon was the most popular dictator France had ever known and was given the position of Consul for Life (Napoleon, I). Later in 1804, Bonaparte made himself Emperor of France, solidifying his power over his empire. He was incredibly popular with his subjects—for the most part—and brought copious amounts of prosperity to a desperate France. He was constantly at conquest, bringing a surplus of people under his reign. No matter how much he had, he wanted more, and more, and more, and the people were happy with it, especially with the Napoleonic Code. “The civil code regulated aspects of society such as individual liberty, equality before the law and in taxation, freedom from arbitrary arrest, divorce, and religious freedom (Napoleon I Bonaparte). He gave them freedoms that they never had, he gave them rights they had been wanting for years. But the good was most definitely balanced by the bad, as censorship was rampant and starvation was still an issue, especially as his nation grew. Napoleon increasingly centralized the government, slowly bringing control closer and closer to him (Napoleon I Bonaparte). He began to believe he was better than everyone else, and became extremely overconfident in his abilities. “Napoleon appeared unstoppable. He had repeatedly defeated the great powers of Europe, one at a time, had rearranged the map of Europe” (Napoleon I Bonaparte). Napoleon was at the ultimate stage of his power, he was at the ultimate peak of European history. Every battle, he won; in every fight, he was the victor. No one could slow him down, no other kingdom could defeat him. He became increasingly cocky, increasingly power-hungry; he thought he was invincible. But he was soon proven wrong.Napoleon only really had one enemy left: the British. With their superior navy, it was next to impossible for him to win them over. Though he had a plan. The Continental System was a series of barricades meant to stop trade with Britain in the hopes of starving them. “He allied with Russia and… blockaded all English goods. This was one of Napoleon's biggest errors as it limited trade, thus causing the discontent of the bourgeois” (Boffa). The cracks were starting to show in Napoleon’s dominance, as the systems he enforced slowly hurt his own economy along with his allies. No one was happy, everyone wanted to trade with England, and soon, the alliance broke. Russia started trading with the English again, knowing there would be consequences, but hoped that they wouldn’t outweigh the benefits. Though unfortunately, they did, as that’s when Napoleon invaded. “In June 1812, Napoleon had 611,000 French and allied troops ready to invade Russia… Napoleon entered Moscow on September 14, and that night the city was in flames” (Napoleon I Bonaparte). As punishment for their betrayal, the French Army invaded Russia. But the unbeatable Bonaparte made one error in his judgment: the cold winters of Northern Europe. Soon after he entered the territory, his soldiers began to freeze to death, along with extreme hunger and dehydration. Just like in the Egypt Campaign before, Napoleon was failing at his job, he was failing at keeping a clean record. And this time, he was actually punished, being banished to the island of Elba, where he was never meant to be seen again… except, he was. Napoleon Bonaparte, so sure of himself, so sure of who he was, escaped his exile and with 1,050 loyal soldiers, planned an attack to gain his throne again (Napoleon, I). This all culminated in the Battle of Waterloo in 1814, where he fought long and hard to get back what he thought was his (200 Years After Waterloo, Napoleon Is Still a Divisive Figure). No matter what, he wanted to have his ego stroked, he wanted to be the most powerful man in the world again. Though he failed, was ousted for a second time, and officially was never seen again. “He surrendered to the commander of the British blockade… hoping to obtain asylum in England. Instead, he was sent into exile on the island of St. Helena. He died on St. Helena, after long suffering from cancer, on May 5, 1821” (Napoleon, I). That was the end of Napoleon, Waterloo was the end of the great emperor (Roberts). Once being on top of the world, he now laid dead at the hands of his enemy's exile. If he stopped pushing, stopped being selfish, and stopped his ego from getting the better of him, he could have lived to see another day. But his flaw, so tragic and demanding, led to his eventual downfall.Napoleon Bonaparte, once powerful and dominant, let his weaknesses get the better of him, making him a prime example of a tragic hero. He started off so simple, but let the worse side of himself take over. Whether in Egypt or on the battlefields of Waterloo, he always gave in when his life was in danger, always putting himself over his underlings. That is one of the worst flaws you can have as a person: lack of sympathy, lack of care, lack of awareness. The world is so much bigger than yourself, the world has more in it than you. Don’t make the same mistakes Napoleon made, giving in to your highest desires, because eventually, they will let you down. They will bring you down a dark path, one you may not want to follow, one where the sacrifices for more may outweigh your own consciousness. You can be flawed, you can make mistakes, but never let them consume you, never let them take you over. Never let your ego drive who you are, because eventually, it will lead to your downfall, just like it has for so many in history.
Sources
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