Des Esseintes’ Gaze in À rebours by Huysmans: A Path to Exploring the Aesthetic Attitude of Artistic Capitalism
Abstract
À rebours by Huysmans narrates the story of Des Esseintes, a young bourgeois who, in the bleak context of the end of the 19th century, decides to seclude himself alone in a residence. The character turns his life into a series of heterogeneous aesthetic experiences in an attempt to express complex emotional states and escape. His worldview can be interpreted as a precursor to certain current positions, as described by sociologists Lipovetsky and Serroy in L'esthétisation du monde. Vivre à l'âge du capitalisme artiste, and as discussed by Soto in «Estéticas en TikTok, entre lo histórico y lo digital». The connection between these attitudes can be established by using the terminological framework provided by Grietzer in Ambient Meaning: Mood, Vibe, System.
Downloads
Article download
Crossmark
License
In order to support the global exchange of knowledge, the journal Thélème. Revista Complutense de Estudios Franceses is allowing unrestricted access to its content as from its publication in this electronic edition, and as such it is an open-access journal. The originals published in this journal are the property of the Complutense University of Madrid and any reproduction thereof in full or in part must cite the source. All content is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 use and distribution licence (CC BY 4.0). This circumstance must be expressly stated in these terms where necessary. You can view the summary and the complete legal text of the licence.
