Abstract: The novel which is about in this study situates its plot in a post-romantic context of the 1850s. The influences of “bohemianism” and hypnosis are first presented in their historical context in the 19th century (romanticism and mesmerism), then these two main themes of the novel are analyzed in the Christmas scene. The narrative tensions are suspended during the passage describing Christmas, a true story’s pivot in characters’s lifes. The irony explained by the good mood for the occasion during the gigantic and fabulous Christmas meal then makes it possible to tackle the unfortunate questions of politics and religion between France and Great Britain, Christianity and Judaism (and regarding the present case anti-Semitism).
