The French Novel

I was very interested in the poisonous French novel that Dorian becomes obsessed with so I searched for information on the influence of or what the novel was. It is most universally agreed upon that the novel from which Dorian's French novel is based on is A Rebours (translated Against the Grain) by Joris Karl-Huysmans. The novel focuses on a recluse French man, Jean Des Essenties, who is a nobleman from a proud and historical family. He was rather a decadent playboy in Paris whose antics eventually disgust himself and also create his distaste for society at the time (the upper class 19th century bourgeois). He escapes to a country estate where he strives to create his own idealistic world. Jean Des Essenties is anesthetic just as Dorian is; he appreciates the fine arts and, as Dorian does, he begins to collect artwork and literature to engage in intellectual contemplation. The novel is a psychological study of Jean Des Essenties and the rest of society.

I think it is interesting that this novel is what Oscar Wilde chose to be the crux of Dorian's downfall. Many parallels are found in both novels with its place of import on aestheticism and a rebellion against popular society. Jean Des Essenties eventually dies at the end of the novel due to his erratic and idiosyncratic behavior. The parallels between Des Essenties and Dorian are strikingly apparent: their questionably moral behavior, their interest in studying obscure studies (i.e. jewels, perfumes, etc.), and their deviation from societal's expected behavior. The novel was popular with Wilde and helped in the formation of the Decadent writers who spoke out against Victorian repression and ideals. Dorian perhaps shows this deviation best, but how is he punished by society for such a deviation?