Doctor of Sciences (Philology), Associate Professor, General Academic Faculty, The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, komarova-ea@ranepa.ru
This article examines the antinomies that illustrate Huysmans’ complex relationship with Christian faith and the Catholic Church. It highlights the dual perspectives of his contemporaries and scholars regarding his conversion to Catholicism. A comparative analysis is conducted using key works from different stages of his literary career, including the decadent novel À Rebours, the mystical novel Là-Bas, and the Catholic novels En Route, La Cathédrale, and Oblat. The study explores the author’s ambivalent stance toward the clergy, religious doctrines, and Christian art. In À Rebours, the negative portrayal of religion is linked to the replacement of spiritual practices with commercial ones and the moral corruption of priests. Là-Bas presents an opposition between Satanism and Christianity as absolute poles. In his Catholic novels, Huysmans critiques the restrictions imposed by the Church and the spiritual emptiness of certain religious institutions. However, Christian medieval art, rich in symbolic correspondences, ultimately serves as a medium through which the writer attains genuine faith in God.
Huysmans; antinomy; religion; art; mysticism; symbol.
Download textFor citing: Komarova E.A. (2025) Antinomic perception of Catholicism in J.-K. Huysmans’ novels. Human being: Image and essence. Humanitarian aspects. Moscow. INION RAN. Vol. 3 (63). pp. 122-134. DOI: 10.31249/chel/2025.03.07