Episodi

  • Against The Grain, or Against Nature Chapter 5

    Against The Grain, or Against Nature Chapter 5
    Sep 26 2026
    In which Des Esseintes receives the long-anticipated delivery of a tortoise, transformed into a dazzling objet d’art encrusted with carefully chosen rare stones, evoking intricate pleasures of colour and light. As evening falls, surrounded by the snow and quietude of his retreat, he indulges in his unique mouth organ of liquors, which stirs within him a vivid and painful recollection of a past ordeal with a merciless dentist.
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    28 min
  • Against The Grain, or Against Nature Chapter 4

    Against The Grain, or Against Nature Chapter 4
    Sep 23 2026
    In which Des Esseintes, immersed in the twilight of classical letters, surveys the vast landscape of Latin literature from the Decadent period to the dawn of medieval Christian writings, finding charm in the vivid realism of Petronius and the exotic flourish of Apuleius while recoiling from the pedantry and decay that mark the decline of the ancient tongue. His contemplations trace the slow withering of the Roman Empire mirrored by the dissolution of its language, as barbarian invasions and ecclesiastical authority reshape both culture and expression, leaving him stranded amid the waning echoes of a once-glorious artistic heritage.
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    38 min
  • Against The Grain, or Against Nature Chapter 3

    Against The Grain, or Against Nature Chapter 3
    Sep 20 2026
    In which Des Esseintes meticulously orchestrates a hermetically sealed domestic order, surrounding himself with silent servants and contrived environments that imitate travel and nature’s caprices to evade the vulgarity of physical movement and human contact. He contemplates the folly of natural beauty compared to human artifice, while retreating from the coarse modern world and its raucous, uncultured generations with a mixture of disdain and melancholia.
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    23 min
  • Against The Grain, or Against Nature Chapter 2

    Against The Grain, or Against Nature Chapter 2
    Sep 17 2026
    In which Des Esseintes, after a lengthy sojourn in Paris, immerses himself in the meticulous transformation of his Fontenay home, carefully orchestrating the interplay of colours and textures to fashion a sanctuary tailored to his refined and introverted tastes. We witness his contemplations on the sensory and symbolic qualities of hues by candlelight, as he assembles a retreat adorned not with ostentation, but with rare flowers, treasured books, and exquisite objects that reflect his singular aesthetic philosophy.
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    20 min
  • Against The Grain, or Against Nature Chapter 1

    Against The Grain, or Against Nature Chapter 1
    Sep 14 2026
    In which a solitary and fastidious young nobleman traces the decline of his ancient family and grows increasingly alienated from the vapid society around him, his restless spirit seeking refuge from disillusionment and ennui. Tiring of folly and company alike, he resolves to retreat to a secluded haven on the outskirts of Paris, endeavouring to fashion a sanctuary of silence and repose amid the encroaching modern world.
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    23 min
  • Against The Grain, or Against Nature Chapter 8

    Against The Grain, or Against Nature Chapter 8
    Oct 5 2026
    In which the refined and fastidious Des Esseintes cultivates an extraordinary collection of exotic and grotesque plants, marvels at their strange forms and artificial qualities, and contemplates the haunting parallels between their exotic deformities and the human affliction of syphilis. His reverie is interrupted by a vivid, nightmarish vision in which symbolic figures and surreal landscapes entwine, blending his botanical obsessions with ominous reflections on decay and disease.
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    34 min
  • Against The Grain, or Against Nature Chapter 7

    Against The Grain, or Against Nature Chapter 7
    Oct 2 2026
    In which Des Esseintes finds himself besieged by a flood of melancholy memories and unsettling spiritual doubts, as his austere solitude and vivid recollections of Jesuit education awaken a latent turmoil between scepticism and a faint stir of faith. Struggling with his faltering health and intellectual exhaustion, he resolves to withdraw temporarily from mental exertion by immersing himself instead in the tangible beauty of exotic flowers to soothe his restless mind.
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    34 min
  • Against The Grain, or Against Nature Chapter 6

    Against The Grain, or Against Nature Chapter 6
    Sep 29 2026
    In which Des Esseintes, repelled by the vulgarities of modern existence, surrounds himself with the enigmatic and exotic art of Gustave Moreau and other visionary painters, creating a sanctuary of refined and somber imaginings that transport him beyond the banalities of his age. He fashions his dwelling into a monastic retreat adorned with haunting images and shadowy fabrics, seeking solace in a cultivated solitude that echoes the austere elegance and quietude of a hermit’s cell.
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    42 min