# VII explained — Against the Grain

> Chapter companion for Against the Grain by J.-K. Huysmans.

## What happens

Des Esseintes, overwhelmed by solitude and unable to read, relives his past, particularly his Jesuit education and his earlier dissolute life. His health deteriorates with nervous symptoms, and he decides to distract himself by decorating his house with exotic flowers.

## Themes in this chapter

### Escapism and Solitude

Des Esseintes' retreat into solitude and his past memories, as well as his plan to decorate with flowers, illustrate his attempt to escape from his deteriorating health and ennui.

### Illness and Neurosis

The chapter details Des Esseintes' nervous cough, stomach issues, and other physical symptoms, highlighting the theme of neurosis and physical decline.

### Religion and Spirituality

Des Esseintes' reflections on his Jesuit education and his conflicted feelings toward faith and conversion are central to the chapter.

## Character check-ins

### Des Esseintes

The protagonist, living in solitude, reviews his past and suffers from nervous and physical ailments.

### Auguste Langlois

A melancholy memory of Auguste Langlois triggers Des Esseintes' recollection of his past.

### Madame Laure

Memories of Madame Laure are associated with Des Esseintes' earlier period of parties and love affairs.

### Lacordaire

Lacordaire is mentioned as an example of the affectionate correspondence maintained by Jesuit teachers with former pupils.

### Arthur Schopenhauer

Schopenhauer's aphorisms are noted as calming Des Esseintes' thoughts and aligning with his Catholic upbringing.

## Key lines

> He lived on himself, fed on his own substance, like those hibernating animals that lie torpid in a hole all the winter; solitude had acted on his brain as a narcotic.

He became completely self-absorbed, like a hibernating animal, and solitude numbed his mind.

_Describes Des Esseintes' state of mental stagnation and withdrawal._

> The confused mass of reading and meditation on artistic themes which he had accumulated since he had lived alone as a barrier to arrest the current of old recollections, had been suddenly carried away, and the flood was let loose, sweeping away present and future, submerging them under the waves of the past.

The intellectual barriers he had built to block memories collapsed, and the past overwhelmed his present and future.

_Illustrates the sudden intrusion of memories and the failure of his attempts to suppress them._

> He sought for motives to account for the change in himself; yes, he must have been forcibly drawn in the direction of the priesthood because the Church, and the Church only, has preserved the art, the lost beauty of the centuries.

He tried to explain his religious inclinations by noting that the Church alone has preserved the beauty of past art.

_Reflects Des Esseintes' aesthetic attraction to Catholicism._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/chapters/vii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/chapters