The influences behind Against the Grain (À rebours)

1884

Against the Grain (À rebours)

Joris-Karl Huysmans

Decadent. France. Written in French.

Huysmans's novel (À rebours) follows Jean des Esseintes, the last of a worn-out aristocratic line, who shuts himself in a house at Fontenay and arranges his days around perfumes, jewels, Latin decadent authors, Moreau's paintings and Baudelaire's poems. Its library chapters on Petronius, Baudelaire, Poe, Flaubert and Mallarmé became a reading list for the Decadent movement.

Where it came from

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1874

The Temptation of Saint Anthony (La Tentation de saint Antoine)

Gustave Flaubert

Third Republic. France. Written in French.

A closet drama in which the desert hermit Anthony is besieged over one night by visions of heresies, gods, queens and monsters.

What it handed down

To Against the Grain (À rebours) (1884)

Direct source, well documented.

In chapter 14 des Esseintes singles out Flaubert's Temptation among modern books for its gorgeous, hallucinatory erudition. Its parade of exotic heresies, gems and monsters is a model for the novel's catalogues of rare and strange things.

Where it came from

Life of Antony, Athanasius of Alexandria c. 360
Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), Anonymous c. 10th–5th century BCE (compiled)
Faust, Part One, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1808 follow this thread

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c. 360

Life of Antony

Athanasius of Alexandria

Late Antiquity. Roman Egypt. Written in Greek.

A biography of the desert hermit Antony, recounting his renunciation of property and his battles with demonic temptations.

What it handed down

To The Temptation of Saint Anthony (La Tentation de saint Antoine) (1874)

Direct source, well documented.

Athanasius's Life is the source for Anthony's desert solitude and his nightly assaults by demons in many shapes. Flaubert expands these temptations into a vast pageant of visions.

Where it came from

Gospel of Matthew, Anonymous c. 80–90 CE

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c. 80–90 CE

Gospel of Matthew

Anonymous

Early Christian. Roman Syria or Palestine. Written in Greek.

Gospel narrative of Jesus's life and teaching, including the death of John the Baptist at Herod's court.

What it handed down

To Hérodiade (Scène)

Direct source, well documented.

Matthew 14 tells of Herodias, her dancing daughter and the beheading of John the Baptist. Mallarmé takes the name and the biblical setting, giving the princess the name Hérodiade and reworking the story around her self-absorption.

To Life of Antony (c. 360)

Direct source, well documented.

Athanasius writes that Antony gave up his property after hearing in church 'If you would be perfect, go, sell what you have' (Matthew 19:21). The gospel's account of Jesus tempted in the wilderness supplies the pattern for Antony's desert trials.

Where it came from

Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), Anonymous c. 10th–5th century BCE (compiled)

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c. 10th–5th century BCE (compiled)

Hebrew Bible (Tanakh)

Anonymous

Iron Age to Persian period. Ancient Israel and Judah. Written in Hebrew.

The scriptures of ancient Israel: law, history, prophecy, psalms and wisdom books including Job.

What it handed down

To The Temptation of Saint Anthony (La Tentation de saint Antoine) (1874)

Direct source, well documented.

Flaubert draws on scripture for many visions, including the Queen of Sheba, Nebuchadnezzar and the gods of Israel's neighbours. Anthony's meditations quote and turn over biblical texts throughout.

To Faust, Part One

Structural model, well documented.

The 'Prologue in Heaven,' where the Lord allows Mephistopheles to tempt Faust, is modelled on the opening of the Book of Job. Goethe acknowledged the borrowing.

To Gospel of Matthew (c. 80–90 CE)

Direct source, well documented.

Matthew repeatedly quotes the prophets with the formula 'that it might be fulfilled,' presenting Jesus as completing Israel's scriptures. Its genealogy, Moses typology and temptation narrative are built from Hebrew Bible material.

Where it came from

This is one of the oldest surviving works in its tradition; the line ends here.

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Where it came from

What it handed down

To Against the Grain (À rebours) (1884)

Where it came from

What it handed down

To The Temptation of Saint Anthony (La Tentation de saint Antoine) (1874)

Where it came from

What it handed down

To Hérodiade (Scène)

To Life of Antony (c. 360)

Where it came from

What it handed down

To The Temptation of Saint Anthony (La Tentation de saint Antoine) (1874)

To Faust, Part One

To Gospel of Matthew (c. 80–90 CE)

Where it came from

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