Articles La Sainte, la Fée et la Muse dans les romans de Georges Rodenbach

The article first specifies what Rodenbach, a fin-de-siècle novelist, borrows from Decadence and Symbolism, taking into account the simultaneously marginal and privileged status he owes to his “belgitude.” It then proceeds to analyze, with reference to L'Art en exil, Brugesla-Morte, La Vocation, and Le Carillonneur, the development and functions of the figures of the Widower, the Saint, and the Fairy, exploring their analogies, rivalries, interweaving, as well as their symbolic attributes. The article shows how the myth of the Dead City functions as both mirror and Muse, enabling Rodenbach to draft a reflection on the fin-de-siècle Artist, at once anti-modern and avant-garde. It concludes with an examination of the parodic avatars of these figures in the work of Jean Lorrain.