À la fin du XIXème siècle, la médecine prend en charge de manière prégnante le phénomène homosexuel, à l'aune des découvertes en psychopathologie. Le personnage est non seulement identifié physiquement sur la base d'un certain nombre de critères dits scientifiques, mais plus encore, on dresse sa cartographie mentale. Bien que cette classification des comportements sexuels se fasse dans une intention moins punitive que curative, les pratiques sexuelles minoritaires sont encore stigmatisées. Au niveau juridique, les lois françaises sont réputées clémentes puisque les pratiques homosexuelles ne constituent plus un délit dans le code pénal de 1810. L'usage détourné de l’outrage public aux moeurs permet cependant de contrôler les comportements tandis qu’on observe une recrudescence des procès pour outrage aux moeurs en fin de siècle. Notre travail, qui s'inscrit explicitement dans le cadre des Gender studies et de la Queer theory, est d’abord épistémologique : il vise à analyser la construction d’un savoir sur l’homosexualité dans la seconde moitié du xixème siècle à travers le corpus médical,dont le rôle est souvent considéré comme majeur dans les études, et à travers les corpus juridiques et littéraires, parfois minimisés. Nos analyses relèvent également de l’histoire des représentations : il s’agit de proposer une définition de l’esthétique décadente à laquelle nous intégrons le signifiant homosexuel. Notre propos est enfin d’entrer dans l’étude détaillée des textes par le biais de trois thématiques majeures démontrant l’usage décadent d’une homotextualité : la symbolique des fleurs, la figure de l’androgyne et le mythe de Narcisse. / By the end of the 19th century, medicine overwhelmingly took hold of the homosexual phenomenon, basing itself on new findings related to psychopathology. Not only were characters physically identified thanks to a series of so-called scientific criteria, but they were also analysed through mental mapping. Although the aim of the classification of sexual behaviours was to cure rather than punish, the practices of sexual minorities were still stigmatized. As far as the judiciary system was concerned, French laws were considered to be quite lenient in so far as homosexual relationships had no longer been regarded as offences since the 1810 penal code. Nevertheless, the distorted use of the affront to public decency enabled to control people's behaviours and, by the end of the century, an increase of the trials focusing on cases of indecent exposure could be noticed. Our work, that definitely ascribes itself within the field of Gender Studies and Queer theory, is first and foremost epistemological and seeks to analyze how a body of expertise about homosexuality emerged in the second half of the 19th century, through the medical corpus that turned out to be prevalent in the studies that were conducted then, as well as through both legal and literary texts, although they were quite overlooked then. Our analyses also pertain to the history of representations, as we offer to define the aesthetics of decadence by adding a signifier: homosexuality. Finally, we also plan on scrutinizing texts by relying on three main themes that are meant to emphasize the decadent use of a homotextuality : the symbol of flowers, the figure of the androgyne and the myth of Narcissus.

(in English): The main objective of the thesis Jules Barbey d'Aurevilly between romanticism and decadence is not only to describe Barbey's novels Un Prêtre marié and L'Ensorcelée but specially to put these two works into context of decadent aesthetics. At the beginning of this work stood the question of whenever we can consider Jules Barbey d'Aurevilly (similarly to Charles Baudelaire) to be a pioneer of the decadent movement. We will be analysing generally universal themes, such as love, pride or revolt, but we will see them through the prism of decadence, allowing them to obtain new meanings. The same motive of love, standing for passion in a romantic work, attains in Barbey's universe a character of a pathological instinct. We have divided our work into three chapters. The first one represents a theoretical part, in which we had put Barbey's work into its literary-historical context, and we had shown the topics of the generation of "disenchanted" romantics preceding the generation of decadents. Consequently, we have arrived at the main motives of decadence par excellence. The second chapter, in which we focus on the novel Un Prêtre marié, is then the essential core of our work. Through character analysis we study motives such as hysteria, incest, pride, sadomasochism, sexuality and others,...

Vouée à la diffusion de la décadence littéraire, la fin du siècle s’est forgée une généalogie tutélaire. Par le biais des essais que Barbey d’Aurevilly, Théophile Gautier et Paul Bourget lui ont consacrés, Baudelaire est devenu le poète de la décadence. Mais alors que cette postérité décadente a suscité plusieurs études, il manquait un travail de synthèse sur le sens que le concept de décadence prend sous la plume de Baudelaire. Accusé de propager la décadence, le poète s’en est défendu, en appliquant cette même catégorie à l’idéologie du progrès, puis à l’« art philosophique ». Malgré cette ambiguïté constitutive, la décadence est aussi pour Baudelaire un objet de fascination : c’est ainsi qu’il l’allégorise à travers le couchant du soleil, source de poésie et image d’une civilisation vieillissante. Cette thèse se propose d’aller aux sources de la pensée de l’histoire de Baudelaire. Nous associons ensuite à l’hétérodoxie philosophique du poète un autre versant de la réflexion sur la décadence au XIXe siècle : imprégné de culture française, conforté par les critiques de son époque, Nietzsche élève Baudelaire au rang d’alter ego littéraire de Wagner, chez qui modernité et décadence s’amalgament. Tour à tour rapprochée du pessimisme et du nihilisme, profondément renouvelée, la décadence, loi fatale ou métaphysique, redécouvre ainsi toutes ses nuances. / The fin de siècle assured its own lasting genealogy by contributing to the diffusion of literary decadence. Through the essays that Barbey d’Aurevilly, Théophile Gautier and Paul Bourget devoted to him, Baudelaire became the poet of decadence. While this legacy of decadence gave rise to several studies, no work has exhaustively addressed the meaning that this concept takes on in Baudelaire’s works. Accused of propagating decadence, the poet attempted to defend himself by applying this aesthetic category to the ideology of progress and to « philosophical art ». Despite his constitutive ambiguity, decadence nonetheless fascinated Baudelaire. The poet allegorized decadence in the image of the sunset, which served both as a source of poetic inspiration and evoked an ageing civilization. This thesis proposes to trace the sources of Baudelaire’s historical thinking. It then attempts to associate another side of the reflection on decadence in the nineteenth century with the philosophical heterodoxy of the poet. Nietzsche, who was impregnated with French culture and supported by many critics of his time, elevated Baudelaire to the rank of a literary alter ego of Wagner, since like the composer, the poet brought together modernity and decadence. Reconciling with both pessimism and nihilism, the concept of decadence emerges as deeply renewed, a fatal or metaphysical law that exposes all of its nuances.

Dans les oeuvres de la tétralogie de la Gândara de Carlos de Oliveira, tout se passe comme si l’auteur,l’autorité narrative ou quelque intelligence démiurgique eût ouvert, dès Casa na Duna, une abominable Boîtede Pandore d’où s’échapperaient des incantations maléfiques aussitôt dissoutes dans une écriture brouillée. Lesdifférentes catégories narratives du récit se présentent ainsi comme autant d’édifices voués à la dégradationpar l’effet pernicieux de la temporalité. Parleuse de sortilèges, l’écriture de la tétralogie appelle la médiation del’interprète, seule capable d’exorciser ses funestes desseins. Voici toute la poignante ironie dont est constelléel’écriture de Carlos de Oliveira, portée par des artefacts ludiques : jeux de temps, d’actants, jeux d’espace, devie et de mort, dans lesquels la promesse d’une décadence universelle miroite ses augures. Ce travail tente dedéchiffrer sur un mode à la fois sémiotique, symbolique et psychocritique, le mécanisme des schèmes du déclinen se recommandant des thèses de Phillip Hamon sur le statut sémiologique du personnage, des théoriescratyléennes sur l’onomastique, des hypothèses de Durand et de Malebranche relatives à la phobie dumouvement indiscipliné ou encore des réflexions de Ricoeur sur les stratégies de l’utopie. / In the works of the tetralogy of gândara of Carlos de Oliveira, everything happens as if the author – thenarrative authority, or some other demiurgic intelligence – had opened since Casa na Duna, a terriblePandora’s Box from which escape evil incantations immediately dissolved in a blurred writing. The narrativecategories are buildings dedicated to degradation by the pernicious effects of temporality. Spells, writing of thetetralogy of gândara speaker calls the divinatrice mediation of the interpreter, only able to exorcise his evildesigns. Here is the poignant irony which is capable writing of Carlos de Oliveira, proclaimed forcefully andworn by playful artefacts: time, actants games, space games, life and death, in which the promise of a universaldecadence shines his omens. This work analyzes in a mode both semiotics, symbolic and allegorical, themechanism of the schemes of the decline. We resort Phillip Hamon these on the semiotic status of thecharacter, cratyl’s theories on onomastic, the phobia of the indiscipline movement of Durand and Malebrancheassumptions, and also Ricoeur reflections on the strategies of utopia.

The thesis is devoted to the following two representatives of literal decadence, Oscar Wilde, British dramatist, prose writer, poet and essayist, and Arthur Breisky, Czech prose writer, literary critic and translator. The thesis opens with providing a basic insight into the life and work of both authors. They were both influenced by decadence, which was not only an artistic trend, but also a specific spirit of the time that was reflected in the psychological and social roots and opinions of both authors. The thesis works with the basic assumption that the Czech decadent Breisky was significantly influenced by Wilde in his opinions and activities. The thesis sets up three areas to explore that mingle and influence each other: criticism, masque and mystification. The main similarities between Wilde and Breisky are analyzed in the thesis. Based on the comparison of individual motives, it is possible to trace how Breisky builds on Wilde's ideas and what, on the other hand, he invents newly or differently. Apart from the comparison of both authors, the thesis also provides a comprehensive overview of Breisky's opinions on literature and art at the theoretical level. Key words: Arthur Breisky, Oscar Wilde, decadence, critique, art, masque, mystification, dandysm

The Concepts of Decadence and Health in Nietzsche's Late Philosophy The thesis deals with the concepts of decadence and health, which feature prominently in Nietzsche's late thinking. The core sources of the thesis are Nietzsche's works from 1888, namely The Case of Wagner, Twilight of the Idols, The Anti-Christ, Ecce Homo and Nietzsche contra Wagner, although earlier works are occasionally cited as well. The thesis aims to explore what the motives decadence and health mean in the context of late Nietzsche's thinking, what role they play in his grand philosophical project of the revaluation of all values, and how they interplay with each other. A consistent motive is applied throughout the thesis, that of decadence and health being opposites in terms of "amount" or "direction" of will to power manifesting itself through them - decadence, or bodily decay, is taken to represent a descending line of life characterized by a lack of will to power, and suffering from "a lack of life", while health is taken to represent an ascending line of life which is characterized as overflowing with life and suffering from it as well. The concepts of decadence and health are thus interpreted as physiological manifestations of these two directions, or, roughly said, "vectors" of will to power. The first chapter of the thesis...

Sigurd Agrell published six volumes of melancholic and highly stylised poetry between 1903 and 1912, and has since then been largely ignored in 20th century Swedish literary history. His writing shows influences from decadence and symbolism, and his frequent use of the sonnet, as well as other metrical devices, also connects him to an older tradition. In this essay I examine what tradition he belongs to, and in what ways his verse fits in with other writers of the turn of the last century. I analyse poems by Sigurd Agrell in order to identify what themes, motifs and literary techniques he shares with contemopary poets, and in what ways he differs from them. We will see that while Agrell shares many traits with the symbolist movement, he also stands out in certain important respects.

La question de l’influence primordiale de Carlyle sur Proust n’a jamais été abordée de manière profonde. Cette thèse a pour objet de combler cette lacune. Nous analysons en particulier le dialogue continu que tient Proust avec Les Héros et Sartor Resartus. Nous identifions à quel point ses réflexions sur ces lectures carlyliennes - dont le sujet principal est la recherche d’une nouvelle foi ou mythe créateur pour ces temps modernes et incroyants - sont présentes dans le portrait de l’artiste, et du monde, qu’il nous offre dans À la recherche du temps perdu. Le parcours du Narrateur qui se termine avec la redécouverte de « la foi dans les lettres » se construit dans un tissage dialogique où, (souvent s’inspirant de Ruskin), Proust réécrit les événements historiques, biographiques, et éthiques qui préoccupent Carlyle dans sa recherche de la « vérité », en leur donnant une plus grande valeur esthétique. S’inspirant du coté expérimental de Sartor Resartus, ainsi que des essais carlyliens sur l’histoire et la biographie, Proust refait de manière imaginaire le parcours littéraire de Carlyle même dans la construction de son Narrateur, qui ressemble par plusieurs aspects à un Carlyle transplanté dans un pays qu’il considérait, comme l’épitomé de la décadence. Ainsi, Proust peut réhabiliter l’aspect « romancier manqué » de Carlyle, qui s’est refugié dans les vies des « grands hommes » et l’histoire des « grands événements », quand le Narrateur prend conscience de la réconciliation entre la vie et l’art. Toutefois, c’est la justesse et la profondeur des observations carlyliennes sur l’art et sur la nature de l’artiste ainsi que l’incitation donnée par la description du développement d’une conscience artistique dans Sartor Resartus avec son ambigüité, son ironie, son dédoublement de la voix narrative et son affirmation que « l’idéal » se trouve « dans le méprisable actuel » qui inspire Proust le plus dans sa présentation du « portrait de l’artiste » qu’est À la recherche du temps perdu. / In this thesis we attempt to treat for the first time the hitherto largely overlooked question of the primary importance of Carlyle as an influence on Proust. Basing our research on the dialogical relationship which Proust has continually with Heroes and Sartor Resartus, we trace the presence of his reflections on Carlyle’s writings, which are essentially concerned with the search for a new faith or creation myth in modern secular times, in the portrait of the artist in the world which is the subject of À la recherche du temps perdu. The Proustian Narrator becomes reunited with his faith in literature which he has lost over the years and eventually reconciles life and art. His journey to this point has been largely constructed on rewritings (inspired very often by Ruskin) of Carlylean texts dealing with History, Biography, and Ethics, where Proust redresses the importance of the aesthetic element which Carlyle increasingly renounces. Taking his inspiration from the experimental nature of Sartor Resartus, and from Carlyle’s historical and biographical writings, Proust also rewrites Carlyle’s personal trajectory in his portrait of his Narrator who bears a strong resemblance to a virtual Carlyle transplanted into a country which he considered, rather playfully, as the epitome of decadence. Proust can therefore, by purely literary methods, show that a writer’s reservoir of impressions comes not from the constant pursuit of “Truth”, or by writing the lives of others, but from having lived life, familial, intimate, and indeed social life. Even if Carlyle can be considered as a failed novelist, it’s the impact of his profound and heartfelt writings on what art is and on the nature of the artist, along with his innovative Sartor Resartus with its constant ironic undertones, its doubling of the narrative voice, its affirmation of the ideal in the everyday, which most inspires the imitative and spiritual portrait of an artist which is À la recherche du temps perdu. .

The aim of this thesis is to define Jan Opolský′s prosaic works with emphasis put on his evident inspiration through fine arts. The work of Jan Opolský does not exceed limits of a short stories. It almost falls short of an action. The predominant feature would be reflexion and visual description. That is especially the case with voluminious parts devoted to the bright light and the color nuances - with their changing expresions and diverse shades reflected on the presented object of art. The whole momentum of his prosaic work tends to be included in exactly these parts of his ouvre. In his writing, Opolský uses his skills he earned as a craftsman and as an expert in various artistic fields. Because of his obsession with the world of art, he can be considered a good example of a decadent artist. A number of his texts, especially given these features it is focusing on, have symbolic legitimacy anyway.

Fairy-tale in the works of Václav Tille-Říha thesis is based on an analysis and an interpretation of Tille's fairy-tale writings and symbolist stories considering the means of developing symbolist poetics on an outline of a folklore fairy-tale. The target of this thesis is to grasp the function of fairy-tale features in Václav Tille's works which emerged from the intersection of literary adaptation of traditional folklore subjects with symbolist creation. The opening chapter deals with the historical context of Tille's works and its folklorist and literary aspects. The work aim, through the works of Václav Tille, to express a wider framework within the context of symbolist writing and Art Noveau fine arts.