
PRÉFACE
LES FUMÉES
L'ARAIGNÉE DE CRISTAL
LE CHATEAU HERMÉTIQUE
PARADE IMPIE
LES VENDANGES DE SODOME
LE RODEUR
LA DENT
VOLUPTÉ
LE PIÈGE A REVENANT
The story opens with a haunting preface that treats absurdity as a lurking presence, likening it to a legion of demons that possess ordinary conventions. Through a blend of philosophical musings and vivid, unsettling images—mirrors that frighten, a missing tooth that feels like a cold heart—the narrator draws us into a world where signs and meanings clash. The tone is both literary and eerie, promising a meditation on isolation, perception, and the thin line between sense and nonsense.
At its center is Rachilde, a solitary woman whose acute sensitivity makes her feel the hidden currents that drive everyday life. As she navigates strange encounters—old women whispering about not belonging, a sudden loss that reverberates through her being—she senses an invisible force steering her toward an uneasy revelation. Listeners will be drawn into her introspective wanderings, where each observation feels like a step deeper into the absurd, inviting reflection on how much of reality is invented by the mind.
Language
fr
Duration
~2 hours (140K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Sophie Lambert, Madeleine Fournier and Marc D'Hooghe (Images generously made available by the Hathi Trust.)
Release date
2015-04-30
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1860–1953
A daring, unconventional voice of French Decadent literature, this novelist and playwright became famous for fiction that challenged social rules and played provocatively with gender and desire. Writing under a pen name, she helped shape the literary life of fin-de-siècle Paris both on the page and in criticism.
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