Writer 1879: Solitary Journey in France

Chapter 74 This is a church-certified forbidden book, would you like a copy? (First update, please vote!)

At the same time that Lionel received Gabriel's letter, Le Figaro was right next to him.

The front-page headline read: "Divine Intervention or Expansion of Power? Cardinal Montelli Speaks Out to the Paris Parliament, Calling for Greater Power for the Church!"

This report maintains Le Figaro's consistent objective style, but its bias is also revealed between the lines, namely its concern about the expansion of church power.

Even this was only briefly mentioned in connection with the fact that the publisher of "Decadent City" was "The Noisy Newspaper," without going into further detail.

This reassured Lionel a little. He had considered the risks when he first started writing "Decadent City". He only decided to take the risk after taking into account various factors such as the large-scale decline of the church's power after the Franco-Prussian War, the establishment of the French Republic, and the sweeping of liberal thought in Europe.

Unexpectedly, the popularity of "Decadent City" became an excuse for the Vatican to expand its power, and it was taken too far, which caught him off guard.

Although Bishop Gilbert and Cardinal Montelli did not use the erotic descriptions in the novel as the main point of their arguments, Lionel knew that this was the part that could truly provoke the senators' sensitive nerves.

In its attacks on the church itself, *Decadent City* is no more extreme than *The Decameron* or its successors—and even if it were, most French people wouldn't care.

But erotic descriptions are different; they concern people's most basic moral values.

Take painting as an example—when Édouard Manet's "Luncheon on the Grass" was first exhibited in 1863, it was considered a blasphemous work because it depicted two well-dressed gentlemen and a naked woman sitting on the grass.

Why would the French, who are accustomed to depicting nudity, criticize this painting so harshly? Because such subjects have historically been associated with biblical stories, Greek mythology, folk tales, and historical anecdotes, carrying a sense of sacredness or sin, and the human body has been philosophicalized and religiousized.

Another type is purely private collections, or advertisements painted for prostitutes in brothels (later replaced by cameras), which are not considered high art.

Unlike "Luncheon on the Grass," which is highly realistic and depicts the daily life of Parisians at the time, the human figures in the painting no longer have philosophical or religious connotations. In particular, the two men, dressed in fine clothes, represent a contrast and an offense.

So although they are all paintings of the human body, they demonstrate the clear distinction between the academic and impressionist schools at that time.

When Manet submitted this painting to the French Academy of Fine Arts, hoping it would be selected for that year's "Paris Salon," it was ruthlessly rejected.

An enraged Manet and other demobilized candidates pooled their money to set up a "Salon of the Demobilized" next to the official salon, which was approved by Napoleon III and later became a permanent salon.

This also means that the paradigm of European academic painting and people's moral framework for the content of paintings were subverted and reshaped starting with this painting.

The effect of "Decadent City" is similar.

European history is not lacking in erotic novels, but most of them are confined to the bedroom and are nothing more than various kinds of adultery.
"Decadent City" is different. It not only integrates eroticism into daily life, fully demonstrating how imaginative humans can be in this area, but also combines murder and power struggles, making it irresistible to every man who has seen it.

But this also challenges the moral bottom line of this era.

So for every person who loves it, there is just as many who hate it—even if it's just superficial hatred.

Lionel was very hesitant at this moment. Gabriel's letter urging him to finish the manuscript was, in Chinese terms, a "open conspiracy."

The remaining 3000 francs in royalties were originally supposed to be paid after the rest of "The Decadent City" was completed, but now he only needs to finish the second part to receive it, which seems like he's gotten a good deal.

The risks involved are obvious—Gabriel doesn't know his own identity yet, but if he rashly contacts him, how can he be sure it's not a trap?

Lionel stared at the second part of "Decadent City," which was already more than half-finished, in his drawer, caught in a dilemma. A voice screamed in his mind: "Disappear! Now! Abandon the 3000 francs, abandon everything related to 'Decadent City,' take the little savings in the drawer, ask the academy for a long leave, buy a train ticket to Marseille or Bordeaux, hide for two months, and wait for the storm to pass."

Another voice was also roaring: Take a gamble! Gabriel is still maneuvering; if he's careful enough, he might still get the money! 3000 francs can sustain a decent life for a year. The Easter holiday is coming soon, and the French government will be paralyzed for two weeks. There's still time!

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After the report in Le Figaro was published, it did not plunge The Decadent City into an abyss of no return. Instead, it was like pouring a ladle of cold water into a pot of boiling oil, instantly triggering an unprecedented and almost frenzied explosive reaction.

The underground book market in Paris went into a frenzy overnight.

The original copy of "Decadent City," which already showed signs of hype, and its "soulmate"—the thin "supplementary booklet" printed with "□□□□ (XX lines deleted here)"—saw their value skyrocket like a hot air balloon, soaring at an astonishing speed.

In private reading rooms, the hourly rental price for original books has skyrocketed from 1 Su to 3 Su, and advance reservations are required, along with a substantial deposit; if you add "supplementary books," the price starts at 5 Su.

The mobile bookseller changed the price of his stock every six hours. When he set up his stall in the morning, he was already selling for 2 francs; by the time he closed his stall late at night, the price had risen to 5 francs—a crazy price that could buy a whole deluxe edition of Alexandre Dumas's D'Artagnan trilogy.

On the black market, some people have even started selling signed copies of "The Decadent City" by the author of "An Honest Parisian," limited to 100 copies, at 10 francs each.

Just as Gabriel felt the noose around his neck begin to tighten, the number of orders for "Decadent City" coming in from different channels reached an unbelievable number.

In just one day, he received an advance payment of nearly 3 francs.

Gabriel stared in disbelief at the scene. Even after 30 years in newspapers and publishing, he had never seen a "banned book" so outrageous.

His desire to obtain the second part of "The Decadent City" as soon as possible grew stronger, and he decided to write another letter to "an honest Parisian" and enclose an advance payment of 300 francs.

He believed that no poor, pedantic scholar could resist the temptation of money.

Meanwhile, the mainstream French literary scene also fueled the sales success of "Decadent City".

When Maupassant brought out this novel at Flaubert's salon a few weeks ago, people didn't take it too seriously. Turgenev's assessment was: "It has some talent, but not much!"

Now, however, they are forced to pay attention to its influence on secular culture and politics.

In a letter to the editor of *The Two Worlds Review*, Gustave Flaubert clearly stated:

"...I was not surprised at all by the anger of Bishop Guberta and that important man from Rome. ...Aren't those dirty deals about money, power, faith, and physical pleasure the daily drama that unfolds behind the gilded gates of Versailles?"
What they feared was not the so-called 'obscenity,' but this unsparing truth. As for the church's calls to expand censorship? Ha! Was the farce of 1857 to be repeated in 1879, and even more egregiously?
The real evil is never in a book, but in the hands of those who try to blind everyone.

Émile Zola, in his column for Voltaire, intervened with a more combative and theoretical stance:
The fact that the church tried to suppress it proves that it touched a nerve! What they fear is not 'obscenity,' but the truth! The social reality depicted in this work is enough to shake their carefully woven moral myth!
To condemn it with the label of 'obscenity' and to cover it up with the charge of 'blasphemy' is an insult to reason and a reaction against social progress!

Flaubert and Zola's pronouncements sparked serious discussions about creative freedom, social criticism, and the power of the church, attracting more readers driven purely by literary curiosity. Many who had previously scorned banned books now felt intensely curious.
"What kind of book could be so highly praised by Flaubert and Zola?"

The sales of "Decadent City" exploded like a burst dam, becoming unstoppable...

(End of this chapter)