Notre Dame of the depths Huysmans and La Salette

The discovery of La Salette on Durtal’s journey fits within the history of the symbolism of apparitions, to which Huysmans was introduced by Abbé Boullan. The possibility of a new novelistic language is raised in the form of a poetics of deciphering, in which the image acts as a signpost while remaining enigmatic. The experience is a fraught one for character and author alike: by putting themselves “en route,” they also risk being sidelined by the Church, or even lost in the mystery.