Resumen de La tétralogie de Durtal: les objectifs de la déconstruction huysmansienne de la formule romanesque traditionnelle
From À rebours, the Huysmansian novel, faithful to the naturalistic aesthetic and to the traditional formula, sets off in a direction which is immediately identified by Zola as a blow to naturalism, and which also constitutes a blow brought to the novel as a genre. In the catholic trilogy, the plot deteriorates from novel to novel, the document takes over, the protagonist’s monologue invades the story. The author explains it by a desire to renew the novel formula, which arrived at an impasse; the pedagogical design of the cycle contributes to the need to seek a new form. But that’s not all. The changes introduced reflect the wishes and needs of the protagonist, who seeks to huddle in a safe place and dreams of finding a haven of peace in the spiritual realm.
