Ni tout à fait sérieuse, ni tout à fait comique À propos de la représentation de la perversion dans le chapitre ix

The fact that Des Esseintes is a pervert, in the sexual sense, appears as early as the Notice. The representation of the duke is itself perverse as well: ironic, parodic, grotesque, burlesque. Chapter nine, which relates his adventure with Miss Urania, reveals this sexual and textual perversion. If the erotic play between the two lovers is doomed to failure, the perversion being mostly cerebral, Huysmans’ text shows an exuberant vitality and ludism that does not invalidate the existential and spiritual crisis of the duke.