Między dwiema otchłaniami. Joris-Karl Huysmans „w drodze” od naturalizmu do naturalizmu mistycznego
Split Between Two Abysses: Joris-Karl Huysmans En Route from Naturalism to Spiritual Naturalism

Summary/Abstract: Best known for his ground-breaking, decadent novel "À Rebours (Eng. "Against Nature or Against the Grain"), Joris-Karl Huysmans is widely regarded as one of the most influential writers of the European Modernism. His works evolved through contrasting themes, ranging from Zola’s naturalism ("Marthe, histoire d’une fille"; "Les Soeurs Vatard"), to Schopenhauer’s philosophy ("En rade"). He wrote a novel on the thenfashionable trend of Satanism ("Là-bas"), later to express his deep spirituality in the “Catholic” trilogy ("En route", "La Cathédrale", "L’Oblat"). The former, with its vivid description of a black Mass and Satanist rituals, caused a great scandal when first published in 1891. While writing, Huysmans worked with experts on Satanist cult and officially confessed to being fascinated with blasphemy and spiritism. This nonetheless did not prevent him from seeing "Là-bas" as an important step towards embracing God and religion. Just like the book’s protagonist Durtal, Huysmans claimed to have been “split between two vast abysses – one filled with darkness and the other with light.” And, that he just had to “descend before climbing again” – a reference to a dramatic change of themes in his literary output: “Thanks to a vision of the supernatural evil, I experienced a vision of the supernatural good. One resulted from the other. With his clawed paw, Devil led me to God.”

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