The Battle for Hope

Michel Houellebecq’s infamous novel Submission features Francois, a middle-aged literary scholar who functions as a postmodern rendering of Durtal, the main character of J.K. Huysmans’s turn-of-the-century decadent novels. Francois’s academic and personal fascination with Huysmans leads him to explore whether Durtal’s journey from the dark excesses of Western decadence to exuberant faith and hope in the Eternal is still possible 100 years later. In the end, Francois doesn’t manage to find the light.