Comment tromper le destin ? Scénarios de révolte chez Huysmans et Gourmont
How to cheat fate? Scenarios of revolt in Huysmans and Gourmont

Summary/Abstract: Convinced that the material world is nothing but a prison, that any escape ends in failure, heroes of the French novels of the late 19th century fall into the trap of powerlessness. Overcome by pessimism, the protagonists do not give up the struggle: they seek salvation in art, neurosis and artifice, inventing subtle subterfuges to deceive their senses with pleasant illusions. In our study we will try to show how the heroes of Huysmans and Gourmont undertake this challenge, with or without success, at the very peril of their physical and mental balance. In defiance of a hostile environment, they transform their imagination into a superior force capable of dominating reality. Forced into a desperate search for the new, the rare, the strange, they attempt to overcome the chimeras of powerlessness.

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