‘A sort of breviary’: Arthur Symons, J. K. Huysmans and British Decadence
Arthur Symons’s description of J. K. Huysmans’s À rebours as ‘the breviary of decadence’ is widely cited by critics. It has had a significant influence on our understanding of Huysmans and upon histories of the Decadent movement more generally. This article examines the complex and changing textual...
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Presses Universitaires de la Méditerranée
2019-12-01
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| Series: | Cahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/cve/6440 |
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| author | Matthew Creasy |
| author_facet | Matthew Creasy |
| author_sort | Matthew Creasy |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Arthur Symons’s description of J. K. Huysmans’s À rebours as ‘the breviary of decadence’ is widely cited by critics. It has had a significant influence on our understanding of Huysmans and upon histories of the Decadent movement more generally. This article examines the complex and changing textual history of this phrase as it is found in Symons’s journalistic writings. Across various periodicals, I trace the literary and social concerns that underlie Symons’s response to Huysmans during the 1890s. In the process, I uncover a set of conflicting motives and forms that can be traced to the contradictions and complexities of Decadence as a movement and concept. Symons’s comparison of À rebours to the Catholic breviary is exemplary here: although he first formulated this during 1892, he did not arrive at the familiar form in which it has been so influential until 1908, at which point he had disavowed Decadence for Symbolism. Drawing on recent work by Vincent Sherry I argue that this textual crux has broader consequences for our understanding of the untimely nature of Decadence, especially as it was encountered by English-speaking British readers. I show how Symons’s response to Huysmans epitomises the elusive and difficult nature of Decadence within the form of his writings, as much as his critical pronouncements. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-04715194cc2245f19e259fbe21f4b18b |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0220-5610 2271-6149 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2019-12-01 |
| publisher | Presses Universitaires de la Méditerranée |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens |
| spelling | doaj-art-04715194cc2245f19e259fbe21f4b18b2025-01-30T10:22:26ZengPresses Universitaires de la MéditerranéeCahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens0220-56102271-61492019-12-019010.4000/cve.6440‘A sort of breviary’: Arthur Symons, J. K. Huysmans and British DecadenceMatthew CreasyArthur Symons’s description of J. K. Huysmans’s À rebours as ‘the breviary of decadence’ is widely cited by critics. It has had a significant influence on our understanding of Huysmans and upon histories of the Decadent movement more generally. This article examines the complex and changing textual history of this phrase as it is found in Symons’s journalistic writings. Across various periodicals, I trace the literary and social concerns that underlie Symons’s response to Huysmans during the 1890s. In the process, I uncover a set of conflicting motives and forms that can be traced to the contradictions and complexities of Decadence as a movement and concept. Symons’s comparison of À rebours to the Catholic breviary is exemplary here: although he first formulated this during 1892, he did not arrive at the familiar form in which it has been so influential until 1908, at which point he had disavowed Decadence for Symbolism. Drawing on recent work by Vincent Sherry I argue that this textual crux has broader consequences for our understanding of the untimely nature of Decadence, especially as it was encountered by English-speaking British readers. I show how Symons’s response to Huysmans epitomises the elusive and difficult nature of Decadence within the form of his writings, as much as his critical pronouncements.https://journals.openedition.org/cve/6440decadencesymbolismperiodicalsSymons (Arthur)Huysmans (J. K.)Saintsbury (George) |
| spellingShingle | Matthew Creasy ‘A sort of breviary’: Arthur Symons, J. K. Huysmans and British Decadence Cahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens decadence symbolism periodicals Symons (Arthur) Huysmans (J. K.) Saintsbury (George) |
| title | ‘A sort of breviary’: Arthur Symons, J. K. Huysmans and British Decadence |
| title_full | ‘A sort of breviary’: Arthur Symons, J. K. Huysmans and British Decadence |
| title_fullStr | ‘A sort of breviary’: Arthur Symons, J. K. Huysmans and British Decadence |
| title_full_unstemmed | ‘A sort of breviary’: Arthur Symons, J. K. Huysmans and British Decadence |
| title_short | ‘A sort of breviary’: Arthur Symons, J. K. Huysmans and British Decadence |
| title_sort | a sort of breviary arthur symons j k huysmans and british decadence |
| topic | decadence symbolism periodicals Symons (Arthur) Huysmans (J. K.) Saintsbury (George) |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/cve/6440 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT matthewcreasy asortofbreviaryarthursymonsjkhuysmansandbritishdecadence |