# Against the Grain — Character guide

> Key figures in Against the Grain by J.-K. Huysmans.

- [Des Esseintes](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/des_esseintes.md): Reclusive aesthete and protagonist who retreats to his villa to live a life of artifice and sensory exploration.
- [Salomé](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/salome.md): Biblical dancer whose image obsesses Des Esseintes, symbolizing his fascination with the femme fatale.
- [Miss Urania](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/miss_urania.md): American acrobat and strongwoman who captivates Des Esseintes with her androgynous allure.
- [Marquis de Sade](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/the_marquis_de_sade.md): French libertine author whose works influence Des Esseintes' theories of perversion and cruelty.
- [Charles Baudelaire](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/baudelaire.md): Poet whose decadent aesthetic and themes of spleen deeply shape Des Esseintes' worldview.
- [Gustave Moreau](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/gustave_moreau.md): Symbolist painter whose works of Salomé and Herodias are treasured by Des Esseintes.
- [Paul Verlaine](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/verlaine.md): Decadent poet whose work is analyzed by Des Esseintes as a master of linguistic artifice.
- [Edgar Allan Poe](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/edgar_allan_poe.md): American writer whose tales of horror and logic fascinate Des Esseintes.
- [Gustave Flaubert](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/flaubert.md): Novelist whose style and exoticism are admired by Des Esseintes.
- [Émile Zola](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/zola.md): Naturalist writer whose realism Des Esseintes rejects in favor of artifice.
- [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/schopenhauer.md): German philosopher whose pessimism resonates with Des Esseintes' worldview.
- [Barbey d'Aurévilly](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/barbey_daurevilly.md): Catholic writer whose dandyism and style are praised by Des Esseintes.
- [Villiers de l'Isle-Adam](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/villiers_de_lisle_adam.md): Symbolist playwright whose works are collected by Des Esseintes.
- [Stéphane Mallarmé](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/mallarme.md): Poet whose hermetic style is admired by Des Esseintes for its obscurity.
- [Albrecht Dürer](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/albert_durer.md): German Renaissance artist whose engravings are studied by Des Esseintes.
- [Jan Luyken](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/jan_luyken.md): Dutch engraver whose religious illustrations are collected by Des Esseintes.
- [Tertullian](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/tertullian.md): Early Christian writer whose asceticism is referenced by Des Esseintes.
- [Petronius](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/petronius.md): Roman satirist whose 'Satyricon' is admired for its decadence.
- [Virgil](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/virgil.md): Roman poet whose pastoral works are contrasted with modern decadence.
- [Richard Wagner](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/wagner.md): Composer whose music dramas are discussed by Des Esseintes.
- [the doctor](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/the_doctor.md): Physician who advises Des Esseintes on his failing health.
- [the servant](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/his_servant.md): Unnamed household staff who attend to Des Esseintes' needs.
- [Madame Laure](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/madame_laure.md): Proprietress of a brothel visited by Des Esseintes.
- [Auguste Langlois](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/auguste_langlois.md): Friend who lends Des Esseintes a tortoise encrusted with jewels.
- [Claire Lenoir](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/claire_lenoir.md): Character from a story by Villiers de l'Isle-Adam referenced by Des Esseintes.
- [the Crampton](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/the_crampton.md): Brand of mechanical organ owned by Des Esseintes.
- [Fortunatus](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/fortunatus.md): Legendary figure whose inexhaustible purse is mentioned by Des Esseintes.
- [Trimalchio](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/trimalchio.md): Extravagant host from Petronius' Satyricon, referenced as a decadent archetype.
- [Abbé Peyreyve](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/the_abbe_peyreyve.md): Priest who debates theology with Des Esseintes.
- [Lacordaire](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/the_dominican_lacordaire.md): Dominican preacher whose sermons are read by Des Esseintes.
- [Bossuet](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/bossuet.md): Bishop and orator whose works on divine providence are studied.
- [Veuillot](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/veulliot.md): Catholic journalist whose polemical style is noted by Des Esseintes.
- [Ernest Hello](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/hello.md): Catholic writer whose mystical works are collected by Des Esseintes.
- [Ozanam](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/ozanam.md): Catholic historian and social reformer mentioned in passing.
- [St. Ambrose](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/st_ambrose.md): Church Father whose hymns and writings are referenced.
- [Ruysbroek](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/ruysbroek.md): Flemish mystic whose spiritual writings are admired by Des Esseintes.
- [Persius](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/persius.md): Roman satirist whose difficult style is compared to modern poetry.
- [Claudian](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/claudian.md): Late Roman poet whose works are part of Des Esseintes' library.
- [the Chimaera](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/the_chimaera.md): Mythological hybrid creature referenced as a symbol of artifice.
- [the little Judas](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/the_little_judas.md): Nickname for a young boy in a story within the book.
- [Pantin](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/pantin.md): Nickname for a puppet or caricature figure mentioned in passing.
- [De Falloux](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/de_falloux.md): French politician and historian mentioned in a list of authors.
- [De Goncourt](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/de_goncourt.md): French writer and diarist whose style is noted by Des Esseintes.
- [Honoré de Balzac](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/balzac.md): Novelist whose 'La Comédie humaine' is a touchstone for Des Esseintes.
- [Victor Hugo](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/victor_hugo.md): Poet and novelist whose romanticism is critiqued by Des Esseintes.
- [Odilon Redon](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/redon.md): Symbolist painter whose works are collected by Des Esseintes.
- [Tristan Corbière](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/corbiere.md): Poet whose ironic style is admired by Des Esseintes.
- [Théodore Hannon](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/theodore_hannon.md): Belgian poet whose decadent verse is compared to Baudelaire.
- [D'Aigurande](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/daigurande.md): Minor character mentioned in a list of acquaintances.
- [Monsieur Folantin](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/monsieur_folantin.md): Protagonist of a novel by Huysmans, referenced as a parallel figure.
- [Ennodius](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/ennodius.md): Late antique bishop and writer mentioned in a list of hagiographers.
- [Eugippus](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/eugippus.md): Monk who wrote a life of St. Severin, referenced in passing.
- [St. Severin](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/st_severin.md): Saint whose life is recorded by Eugippus, mentioned briefly.
- [St. Epiphanes](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/st_epiphanes.md): Saint whose miracles are related by Ennodius, mentioned in passing.
- [Père Chocarne](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/pere_chocarne.md): Dominican preacher whose sermons are read by Des Esseintes.
- [Christ](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters/christ.md): Central figure of Christianity, referenced in Des Esseintes' religious musings.

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/characters