J.-K. Huysmans with Wilhelm Wundt: Ennui, or a Mind-Body Problem
John D'amico
Nineteenth-Century French Studies September 1, 2022 DOI: 10.1353/ncf.2022.0019 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that Huysmans's En rade draws on Wilhelm Wundt's theories of the physiological unconscious, reaction times, and apperception to depict the conscious mind's struggle with its unconscious other, and contends that ennui functions as the conscious register of unconscious activity, becoming an agent of psychic change over time. |
Abstract
Abstract:Taking a cognitive approach to Huysmans's 1887 novel En rade, this article studies the writer's aesthetic transmutation of the theories of Wilhelm Wundt (1832–1920)—a figure widely known as one of the founders of modern psychology. The protagonist, Jacques Marles, invokes Wundt's claim that an extended foot during sleep may prompt the experience of falling in a dream. This explanation has led critics to cast Wundt as a foil for psychoanalytic readings, dismissing wholesale his writings despite their pertinence to the author's portrayal of Jacques's errant thought. Considering Wundt's perspectives on the mediating work of consciousness, I examine Huysmans's use of the scientist's ideas on the physiological unconscious, reaction times, and apperception to portray the struggle of the conscious mind when confronted with its unconscious other. In so doing, I argue that ennui functions as the conscious register of unconscious activity to become an agent of psychic change over time.