Only four years and yet: The distant proximity of the two versions of Huysmans' Un dilemme

Abstract

Huysmans' novella Un dilemme first appeared in two parts in La Revue indépendante (1884). Four years later, the novella was published again by Tresse et Stock. Despite their relative proximity in time, the two versions showcase numerous differences, such as long additions or deletions, alterations of words, sentences and even entire paragraphs. These differences are not simply cosmetic or stylistic, but also ideological: They therefore allow us to revisit Huysmans' writing process and question his traditionally accepted departure from naturalism after À rebours (1884). In this article, I compare the two states of the text to demonstrate that Huysmans' careful editing and rewriting of his nov..