Abstract: Although crystallization is used in À rebours as a principle that animates both the theme and the form of the text, solid, condensed and fixed matter is not always valued. Conversely, volatilization seems necessary to Des Esseintes' aesthetic ideal, particularly in the description of his tortoise adorned with precious stones. These two metaphors, apparently irreconcilable, borrowed from the universe of chemistry, coexist, determining a poetics which breaks down binding literary frameworks.
