Kulturphilosophie of Smell in the Novel “Against Nature” (“À rebours”) by J.-C. Huysmans

Abstract

The olfactory space in the novel “Against the Grain” (“À rebours”) by J.-C. Huysmans is for the first time analysed from the perspective of Kulturphilosophie. A number of methods, particularly analytical and historical-cultural, can be used to examine this topic. At the same time, the approach of Kulturphilosophie can be applied to the semantic field of the phenomenon of smell. The article deals with the research experience of flower-images and perfume aspects concerning odoric passages in the novel. The text of the novel “Against the Grain” is examined in detail. Specific features of the use of natural, artificial, metaphysical odorisms or components referring to them are revealed. Particular attention is paid to the meaning and symbolism of some of the scents included in the novel, which have come to mark the epoch of “fin de siècle”. On the basis of the analysis of the novel’s olfactory, the olfactory and near-olfactory passages composing the text’s odoristic universe are classified into four groups, taking into account the origin (natural – artificial), the type of perception (syncretic), reality or unreality of embodiment (real – metaphysical). The Kulturphilosophie approach to the novel “Against the Grain” makes it possible to reveal the objectifications of smells, to structure them, to trace their role in revealing the author's creative intentions, and to decipher their hidden meanings, comparing them with cultural trends and creative experiments of the “fin de siècle” epoch.