Against the grain, or a rebours, was written by joris huysmans in 1884, and it tells the story of a young duke named jean des esseintes who indulges in a life of debauchery in paris but suffers. Making a case for this weird autistic hedonism of des esseintes is insane, yet huysmans tries it here anyway. First published in paris in 1884 when the naturalistic school of which huysmans himself was a major figure was at its height, it delivered a bodyblow to zolas brand of literary realism, and almost single. Oct 25, 2012 against nature by joriskarl huysmans inclass presentation, october 17, 2012 by kjo biographical information. Against nature by joyce carol oates by emily beresford on. The first edition of the novel was published in 1884, and was written by joriskarl huysmans. Against the grain by joriskarl huysmans full text free. Such is the enticing epigraph of one early translation of huysmans cult novel of 1884, which is also routinely called the bible of decadence. Charlesmariegeorges huysmans was a french novelist who published his works as j.
Pdf the categorisation of new women in the decadent novels of. Against the grain, novel by joriskarl huysmans, published in french as a rebours in 1884. The main characters of this cultural, france story are jean des esseintes. Resisting the traditional model of nineteenthcentury fiction, joriskarl huysman produced in 1884 a novel unlike any other of his time. He is most famous for the novel a rebours against nature. Scaricare a rebours libri pdf gratis di joriskarl huysmans. After a lifetime of parisian decadence, and out of a. Dec 31, 2016 the protagonist of joriskarl huysmans a rebours against nature, in my translation, though the original title has a wider connotation. Against nature is the story of des esseintes, an aesthete who attempts to escape paris and, along with it, the vulgarity of modern life. Against nature joriskarl huysmans oxford university press. In both its style and its subject, the work epitomizes the decadence of late 19thcentury french elite culture. Charles marie georges huysmans was a french novelist who published his works as joriskarl huysmans. Joriskarl huysmans 1848 1907, translated by john howard the book that dorian gray loved and that inspired oscar wilde.
With focused humor and sardonic sense of taste, huysmanss unfolds the story of des essaintes, the hermetic aristocrat on the borders of paris, as he tries to seal himself in aesthetic rituals. Free download or read online against nature pdf epub book. A beginners guide to better understand their amazon fire phone fire phone, fire phone books, fire. Its easy to link to paragraphs in the full text archive if this page contains some material that you want to link to but you dont want your visitors to have to scroll down the whole page just hover your mouse over the relevent paragraph and click the bookmark icon that appears to the left of it. Few men have ever been endowed with so critical a nature as was joriskarl huysmans an author with an allpervading vision, an acute sensitivity to odors, an ear. Against nature by joyce carol oates by emily beresford on prezi. Landow created the html design and formatted the text, adding french accents.
After passing the baccalaureate, he took an administrative post in the ministry of interior. Against nature huysmans oscar wilde and the french. Decadent novel a rebours, or, against nature the british. The protagonist, des esseintes, exhibits the debilitating symptoms of neurasthenia, a generalized psychosomatic disorder that came into. Pow the influence of cartoons in contemporary art, valerie cassel, ed. The hero, des esseintes, is a neurasthenic aristocrat who has turned his back on the vulgarity of modern life and retreated to an isolated country villa. Joriskarl huysmans 18481907 is recognized as one of the most challenging and innovative figures in european literature and acknowledged as principal architect of the findesiecle imagination. Nature has no instructions for mankind except that our poor beleaguered humanistdemocratic way of life. Either translated as against nature or against the grain, the title refers to the central process of the book, in which an aristocrat, des esseintes, completely withdraws himself from.
Huysmans great a rebour perhaps better translated against the grain, is a mordantly brilliant plunge into the depths of modern decadence. If youre going to buy against nature anyway, get the penguin classics edition. If you enjoyed the damned, you might like huysmanss against nature a rebours, also available in penguin classics. His aesthetic opposes the artificial against nature. Either translated as against nature or against the grain, the title refers to the central process of the book, in which an aristocrat, des esseintes, completely withdraws himself from society to immerse himself in concentrated sensations in private. Huysmans novel a rebours against the grain or against nature or wrong way. Illustrating his preference for artifice over nature a characteristic decadent theme, des esseintes chooses. This web version of john howards translation of joriskarl huysmanss a rebours, whose title is rendered both against the grain and against nature, uses the project gutenberg ascii text produced by harrison ainsworth release date. Resisting the models of classic nineteenthcentury fiction, it focuses on the attempts of its antihero, the hypersensitive neurotic and. Huysmans, against nature presentation handout oscar. Against nature or in this version against the grain explores to the furthest limit the life of the worldrejecting aesthete living a reclusive existence devoted entirely to artificial paradises of his own devising.
Writing appears to be necessary for the centralized, stratified state to reproduce itself. A translation by robert baldick against nature in the penguin series is. It was also translated into english as against nature. As joris karl huysmans announced in 1884, against nature was fated to be a novel like no other. Classisms relationship with objects from the orient in huysmans against nature. A rebours against nature joriskarl huysmans 1848 1907 joriskarl huysmans, a frenchman of dutch ancestry, wrote the defining work of the decadent movement, a movement which began around the time of baudelaires les fleurs du mal 1857, filtered into and flourished in late 19th century england and finally petered out after the trial of oscar wilde 1895. Pdf against nature book by joriskarl huysmans free. Against nature is one of the subtlest influences on the picture of dorian gray, in it, the hunger, poverty and. Joriskarl huysmans, against the grain against the grain alternately translated as against nature is a slim novel 110 pages where french author joriskarl huysmans 18481907 employs a torrent of baroque descriptions and unending streams of rococo linguistic curlicues to write about a bored, jaded aristocrat by the name of des esseinte. Joriskarl huysmans was born as charlesmariegeorges huysmans on februry 5, 1848 in paris. The protagonist of joriskarl huysmans against nature 1884, des esseintes, is a dandy who demonstrates a strong dislike towards the bourgeoisie, who, in his view, is exclusively preoccupied with swindling and moneymaking huysmans 57. Huysmans, against nature presentation handout oscar wilde. Closely arrayed, side by side, in the old frames which their broad shoulders filled, they startled one with the fixed gaze of their eyes, their fierce moustaches and the chests whose deep curves filled the enormous shells of their cuirasses. Joriskarl huysmans is most famous for this novel against nature and he predicted it would be a failure with the public and critics.
It featured the character of an aesthete, des esseintes, and decisively broke from naturalism. Against the grain isbn 9781442937703 pdf epub joriskarl. Against the grain a rebours by joriskarl huysmans 1884. A rebours 1884 is a novel by the french writer joriskarl huysmans. May 06, 2016 for jean des esseintes, the protagonist of joriskarl huysmanss 1884 novel a rebours against nature, it meant a total retreat into his own brand of experimental decadence. Against nature fell like a meteorite into the literary fairground and there was astonishment and fury huysmans, preface 1903 to against nature. Joriskarl huysmans against nature and oscar wildes the picture of dorian gray reveal.
May 01, 2003 against nature, in the words of the author, exploded like a meteorite and has enjoyed a cult following to this day. As des esseintes hides away in his museum of high taste, huysman offers the reader a treasury of cultural delights and. Joriskarl huysmans full audiobook against nature by joriskarl huysmans about the book. Against the grain joriskarl huysmans audiobook and. Against the grain joriskarl huysmans audiobook and ebook. The project gutenberg ebook of against the grain, by joriskarl. Decadent novel a rebours, or, against nature the british library. Against the grain by joriskarl huysmans full text free book. As j k huysmans announced in 1884, against nature was fated. May 01, 2004 free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. A translation by robert baldick against nature in the.
Against nature is the perfect illustration of oscar wildes famous paradox that life imitates art, and not the other way around. Huysmans stranded en rade 1887, published just three years after the iconoclastic against nature, sees him again breaking new ground and pushing bac. It was also translated into english as against nature in both its style and its subject, the work epitomizes the decadence of late 19thcentury french elite culture. The project gutenberg ebook of against the grain, by joriskarl huysmans this ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. Against nature, conceived and curated by praguebased zech curator edith jerabkova and mexico citybased american curator chris sharp and gathering the works of 12 emerging artists, born mainly in 1980s and based in czech republic, this exhibition is a statement in itself. Against nature isbn 9781926487175 pdf epub joriskarl. The project gutenberg ebook of against the grain, by joris. As j k huysmans announced in 1884, against nature was fated to be a novel like no other. Against nature by huysmans im deeply attached to the baldick version, although kings translations of huysmans work is excellent.
The project gutenberg ebook of against the grain, by joriskarl huysmans this. His revised edition of baldicks biography of huysman is an absolute mustread for any huysmans afficiando. Against nature a rebours, joriskarl huysmans 1884 huysmans against nature is a novel about one man the rich but jaded aristocrat des esseintes and the isolated life he crafts for himself a life governed by aesthetic considerations and the desire to subvert, and even supersede, nature. Against the grain a rebours by joriskarl huysmans 1884 the bestknown example of findesiecle decadence, this novel has been banned and expurgated for years. A rebours translated into english as against nature or against the. Delving deep into human psychology, huysmans explains the formation of a personality and how some childhood deprivations force des esseintes to abandon the world and create one of his own.
The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 242 pages and is available in paperback format. Against nature huysmans oscar wilde and the french decadents. Against nature fell like a meteorite into the literary fairground and there was astonishment and fury huysmans, preface to against nature. It will be something nobody has ever done before, and i shall have said what i had to say. Against the grain, or against nature full audiobook duration. The book became a central work in the decadent movement, as described by arthur symons. His father, of dutch origin, died when he was eight. It will be the biggest fiasco of the year but i dont care a damn. His style is remarkable for its idiosyncratic use of the french language, wideranging vocabulary, wealth of detailed and sensuous description, and biting, satirical wit. Against nature by joriskarl huysmans is a novel in which very little happens. Huysmans against nature 1884 fell like a meteorite into the literary.