ABSTRACT
Authors regularly exploit vocabulary that comes to them laden with meaningful connotations, whether insinuations, implications, analogies, or allusions, few of which would be listed in standard dictionaries but which are nonetheless cultural associations that authors can bring into focus. Huysmans wrote in a period when symbolism was important, and he exploited symbols regularly in Arebours and En rade, while neglecting standard plots. In his short story, “UnDilemme,” he returned to traditional forms of literature and built a story on both denotative and connotative levels. He later called his approach “spiritualistic naturalism.”
