The Oblate

The Oblate of St Benedict by Joris-Karl Huysmans, translated by Edward Perceval, 403 pages 

 

The Oblate is the final book in the Durtal series that began with La Bas and continued with En Route and The Cathedral.  Durtal's friend and mentor, Abbe Gevresin, having died, the author-surrogate makes the decision to leave Chartres, where he spent the bulk of The Cathedral.  He attaches himself to the Abbey of Val-des-Saints, in Burgundy, as an oblate, that is, as a person living in the world but sharing in the work and, especially, the liturgical life of the monastery.  Although much of the novel is taken up by dialogues on subjects including art, history, and the liturgy, there are a couple of subplots in this novel which provide some narrative movement (unlike The Cathedral, which had virtually no plot at all).   One involves the mediocre new parish priest, who plays his part in the age-old struggle between the secular and religious clergy.  The other involves the looming threat of government persecution in the aftermath of the Dreyfus Affair.

Huysmans' novels are very much an acquired taste.  He does seem to have gained a sense of humor at some point, which tempers the fierce dogmatism of his aestheticism somewhat.  On the other hand, the conclusion is highly unsatisfying, especially given that it is also the conclusion of the four-book cycle.  Perhaps the open-endedness is intentional, a call for the reader to continue the story in his own life.  In any event, The Oblate is simultaneously easier to read and less interesting than either En Route or The Cathedral.