Là-bas by Joris-Karl Huysmans (Book Analysis) E-Book

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• Herausgeber: BrightSummaries.com
• Kategorie: Bildung
• Serie: BrightSummaries.com
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 19

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Beschreibung

Unlock the more straightforward side of Là-bas with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!

This engaging summary presents an analysis of Là-bas by Joris-Karl Huysmans, a book so shocking that it was banned from being sold in certain locations. It is not difficult to understand why – a novel following the spiritual journey of a writer interested in Satanism would have been too much for polite society to handle, all the more so since the protagonist in question appears to be a reflection of the author himself. Indeed, Joris-Karl Huysmans went through a crisis of faith in his lifetime, dabbling in Satanism before turning to God. He documented his journey in his Durtal quadrilogy, which includes Là-bas. The novel caused a scandal when it was first published in 1891, and many readers of the time called for the editor to halt its publication. However, they were ignored, and Là-bas continues to be published to this day.      
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• A complete plot summary
• Character studies
• Key themes and symbols
• Questions for further reflection

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Leseprobe

Joris-Karl Huysmans

French writer

Born in Paris in 1848.Died in Paris in 1907.Notable works:Against the Grain (1884), novelEn route (1895), novelThe Cathedral (1898), novel

Joris-Karl Huysmans was a French writer. He was originally a naturalist, before he began to gradually move away from Émile Zola (French writer, 1840-1902), the leading figure of the movement. He broke away from Zola completely in 1884, the year when his most famous novel, Against the Grain, was published. Although this book is considered to be the model of a decadent novel, the author nonetheless did not become a decadent writer. On the contrary, he converted to Catholicism and told his religious story through his Durtal novels, which include four autobiographical works: Là-bas (“Down There”), which was published in 1891, is the first entry in the series, followed by En Route, The Cathedral and The Oblate (1903).

Là-bas

A novel about spiritual evolution

Genre: novelReference edition: Huysmans, J. K. (2004) Là-bas. Trans. Wallace, K. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.1st edition: 1891Themes: decadence, duality, God, good, evil, evolution

Là-bas tells the story of Durtal, the literary representation of Huysmans when he was not sure which religion to convert to: Catholicism or Satanism. This hesitation is represented by the characters, who are the source of much of Huysmans’ lyricism. Durtal turns to his friends to try to find his spiritual path.

The novel charts the progression of Durtal’s spiritual evolution. As a result, there is very little action. Nevertheless, Huysmans adds several elements to his tale which make it more like a traditional novel, such as the love affair between Durtal and Hyacinthe Chantelouve, and the story within a story of Gilles de Rais (Marshal of France and a confessed serial killer of children who lived from around 1400 to 1440). There are a number of long passages which focus on the biography of Gilles de Rais that Durtal is writing.

Summary

Chapter 1

The novel begins in medias res