Des Esseintes' infatuation with artifice in Huysmans' Against NatureIn J.-K Huysmans Against Nature, Des Esseintes rebels against his family, religion and Parisian society to establish a unique identity for himself. He perceives this rejection of the truistic self as the development of individuality when, in reality, it is only a self resulting from his reaction to the overstimulated audience. By decorating his home with eccentric objects, he falsely believes he can detach himself from ordinary people. When he finds new objects to focus on, he is able to lay down his emotions and instill them into the object. Des Esseintes wants to be a rare individual; through his bizarre purchases and decorum he thinks he is himself. As Des Esseintes becomes more and more neurotic, objects begin to drain the life out of him and begin to take on a life of their own. Through this exchange of energies Esseintes hopes to obtain a personality distinct and independent from that of mass society. His perversion and manipulation of natural objects reflect his need to create a fantasy world, an unrealistic world in which he can escape from the harsh reality of his childhood and not be “contaminated by angry Parisians”1. This retreat can only last so long before Des Esseintes realizes that he cannot survive without being part of society; he returns to Parisian life as a way to escape his past and avoid his apparent afflictions that will melt away when he conforms to society's standards. In response to a desensitized Parisian lifestyle and a monotonous upbringing, Des Esseintes creates ideal environments that stimulate his “fatigued senses”2. Des Esseintes was born into a family that had been consanguineous. This... middle of paper... marries, for his interaction with Parisians and for his religious background. The city offers him an atmosphere of comfort because he doesn't have to make his own decisions, the general public does it for him. In the city he has the comfort of the management. He therefore looks to the public and Parisian society to help define and build a single simple mass identity.Notes1. Huysmans, J.-K., Against Nature, trans. Robert Baldick (New York: Penguin Books, 1959). 24.2. Huysmans, 23.3. Huysmans, 17.4. Huysmans, 245. Huysmans, 18.6. Huysmans, 26.7. Ibid.8. Huysmans, 21.9. Huysmans, 23; 27.10. Huysmans, 31.11. Huysmans, 39.12. Huysmans, 38; 36.13. Huysmans, 32.14. Huysmans, 37.15. Huysmans, 27.16. Huysmans, 63.17. Huysmans, 66.18. Huysmans, 67.19. Ibid.20. Huysmans, 68.21. Huysmans, 30.