Dandyism, Gems, and Epigrams: Lapidary Style and Genre Transformation in Barbey's Les Diaboliques

This article explores the processes of creative innovation and genre transformation in Barbey d'Aurevilly's Les Diaboliques (1874). Barbey's adaptation in his dandy narratives of stylistic features associated with earlier epigrammatic and lapidary genres reveals both his interest in preserving and revitalizing literary tradition. The epigram's ambiguity, its tendency to produce the unexpected, and its combination of maximum impact through minimal expression inspire the irony that was the keystone of nineteenth-century French dandyism. Barbey's figuration of the epigram and the lapidary reveals a tension between ancient and modern, between art and nature, that culminates in his apocalyptic vision of contemporary society. Consequently the lapidary imagery in Barbey's text creates a monument to his time and etches his own style into literary history. (KH)