“I remember the story of France, the eldest daughter of the church." Revolutionary eschatology and testimonial truth in A Season in Hell

This article argues that by subverting the Christian order of time, A Season in Hell takes a critical distance from an array of individual and collective happiness strategies all while validating the aspirations of the lyrical I: the desire for truth, freedom, transcendence, and community. It also advances that while the “I” distrusts both Christian and Revolutionary eschatology, he also finds a basis for solidarity in its mixture of optimism and disenchantment.