Aesthetic Writers under the Veil of Secrecy

Abstract

The mystery, both subject and motif, becomes a very narrative technique in the works of the aesthetic writers Mateiu I. Caragiale, Jules-Amédée Barbey d’Aurevilly and Auguste de Villiers de l’Isle-Adam. For these three authors, the telling of a story is quite a ritual, enjoyed at leisure, never rushed, which needs the adequate place and adequate listeners. Nevertheless, the presence of several narrators (some of them being unreliable sources) and the multiple reflections do not leat to any revelations, but enhance the uncertainties and doubts. The mystery is always undermined by indiscretion, but the authors are certain that the beauty of a story lies in its mystery.