''En rade'' (English: ''Becalmed'', ''A Haven'' or ''Stranded'') is a novel by the French writer
Joris-Karl Huysmans
Charles-Marie-Georges Huysmans (, ; 5 February 1848 – 12 May 1907) was a French novelist and art critic who published his works as Joris-Karl Huysmans (, variably abbreviated as J. K. or J.-K.). He is most famous for the novel ''À rebou ...
. It first appeared as a serial in the magazine ''
Revue Indépendante
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own duri ...
'' between November 1886 and April 1887. It was published in book form on 26 April 1887 by Tresse et Stock. ''En rade'' followed Huysmans' most famous novel, ''
A rebours
A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...
'', and was a commercial failure since neither critics nor the public could understand its mixture of brutal realism and fantasy. Later on, the
Surrealists
Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...
were more appreciative and
André Breton
André Robert Breton (; 19 February 1896 – 28 September 1966) was a French writer and poet, the co-founder, leader, and principal theorist of surrealism. His writings include the first ''Surrealist Manifesto'' (''Manifeste du surréalisme'') o ...
included extracts from the novel in his ''Anthology of Black Humour''.
Plot
Very little happens in this avowedly
anti-Romantic work. Jacques Marles seeks refuge from his
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
ian creditors with his wife Louise in a dilapidated bungalow in the village of
Longueville, France. Far from finding contentment in an idyllic summer landscape, the couple discover the countryside is grotesque and diseased. The local farmers are greedy, cunning, and obsessed with money. The novel documents the petty irritations and disappointments of the Marleses' day-to-day existence as well as their explorations of the ruined chateau and garden. Interspersed with these realistic descriptions are three dream sequences, recounting Jacques' erotic fantasies in a highly
Decadent
The word decadence, which at first meant simply "decline" in an abstract sense, is now most often used to refer to a perceived decay in social norm, standards, morality, morals, dignity, religion, religious faith, honor, discipline, or competen ...
style.
Translations
* Translated as ''Becalmed'' by Terry Hale (Atlas Press, 1992)
* Translated as ''A Haven'' in ''The Decadent Reader'', edited by Asti Hustvedt (Zone Press, 1999)
* Translated as ''Stranded'' by Brendan King (Dedalus European Classics, 2010)
Sources
* Huysmans ''Romans'' Volume One (Bouquins, Robert Laffont, 2005)
*
Robert Baldick
Robert André Edouard Baldick, FRSL (9 November 1927 – April 1972), was a British scholar of French literature, writer, translator and joint editor of the Penguin Classics series with Betty Radice. He was a Fellow of Pembroke College, Oxford.
...
: ''The Life of J.-K. Huysmans'' (originally published by Oxford University Press, 1955; revised by Brendan King, Dedalus Press, 2006)
Further reading
* Gordon, Rae Beth (1993). "The Function of the Metaphore Filée in En Rade," ''Nineteenth-Century French Studies'', Vol. 21 (3/4), pp. 449–460.
* Grigorian, Natasha (2008). "Dreams, Nightmares, and Lunacy in En rade: Odilon Redon’s Pictorial Inspiration in the Writings of J.-K. Huysmans," ''Comparative Critical Studies,'' (5), pp. 221–233.
* Matthews, J.H. (1964). "En Rade and Huysmans’ Departure from Naturalism," ''L’Esprit Créateur,'' Vol 4, No. 2, pp. 84–93.
* Mayer-Robin, Carmen (2005). "Carcass or Currency? Marketing Ptomaines in Huysmans’ En Rade." In: ''Currencies: Fiscal Fortunes and Cultural Capital in the French Nineteenth Century.'' Oxford: Peter Lang, pp. 41–56.
* Pasco, Allan (1987). "Negative Representation in Huysmans' En Rade." In: ''Novel Configurations.'' Birmingham: Summa, pp. 123–150.
* Ziegler, Robert (1985). "Subterranean Skies: the Vertical Axis of Huysmans’ En Rade," ''Stanford French Review'', Vol 9 (2), pp. 241–251.
External links
Full French Text at
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
Full French Text at
Gallica
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1887 French novels
Novels by Joris-Karl Huysmans
Decadent literature