The Place of the BlessedVirgin Mary in the Work of Jois-Karl Huysmans
Graduation Date
Spring 1956
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Document Form
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Degree Granting Institution
Catholic University of America
Program Name
Humanities
Abstract
Joris-Karl Huysmans, naturalistic writer and convert ardently devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary, was born in Paris, February 5, 181*8. Until his thirty-sixth year this nervous, singular individual was deeply iirmiersed in Zola's naturalism; but with the writing of A Rebours in 1884 he readied a crossroads, when a friend could apply to him what had originally been said of Baudelaire: Il ne reste plus a l’auteur qu’a choisir entre la bouche d’unpistolet ou les pieds de la croix."* His spiritual Odyssey led him through occultism to the Catholic Church in 1892. He was received as a Benedictine oblate in the monastery of Ligug£ and on May 12, 1907, died in Paris a painful but Christian death.
In the works which he wrote after his conversion, Huysmans laid an increasing emphasis on the place of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the total Christian scheme. His more important writings bear a strong and readily proven autobiographical imprint, and therefore it is legitimate to conclude that he has sincerely expressed in them his concept of and attitude toward the Virgin Mother of God. Several of his Catholic biographers have touched briefly upon the fact of his striking predilection for Mary. An unpublished dissertation entitled "Huysmans and the Liturgy" has more direct and detailed bearing on this subject in so far the devotion of Huysmans stems from the liturgy. But up to the present time, there has been no complete and unified analysis of this aspect of his writings.
The scope of this thesis is restricted to the concept of the Blessed Virgin Mary as expressed in the "Catholic" writings of Huysmans (those written after his conversion to the Church.) It is proposed to investigate in these writings his contribution to the field of Marian literature. The vast range of exterior influences which modified Huysmans’ concept—for example, the influence of his friends and literary associates—will not be treated here in detail. The divisions of the thesis have been determined by the material which presented itself in the books, letters, and articles under consideration.