Associative analysis of the painting by G. Moro “Salome, dancing before Herod” in the novel by J.-K. Huysmans “Against Nature”

Abstract

The phenomenon of the “symbolic image” is examined using the example of the flower in Salome’s hand in Gustave Moreau’s painting “Salome Dancing before Herod” and the lotus in Salome’s hand in J.-K. Huysmans’ novel “Against the Grain.” The history of the terms ‘imago’, ‘archetype’, and ‘symbolic image’ in psychoanalysis is traced, as well as the influence of these psychoanalytic concepts on the perception of imagery in literature and painting. The relevance of the study lies in the enduring interest of literary scholars in issues related to the interplay between psychoanalysis and literature, as well as the theme of ekphrasis in literature. It is demonstrated that one of Moreau’s receptions of the “flower in Salome’s hand” became the lotus in Salome’s hand in Huysmans’ novel “Against the Grain.” It is established that Huysmans perceives Moreau’s famous phytomorph primarily as an unconscious concept of evil, anxiety, pain, illustrating his reasoning with vivid associations related to the perception of the flower in Moreau’s work. In conclusion, the author of the article points out that the imago-images of the “flower in Salome’s hand” and “lotus in Salome’s hand” become the starting impulse for creating an archetype that generates various new versions of “Salome’s flowers,” comparing lotuses and lilies in the works of H. del Casal, Elisa, and O. Wilde.