Flaubert's summary was like a booming bell, shaking everyone present.
He elevated Lionel's technique to a new theoretical height—the "imprisoned perspective."
This accurately summarized the state of the young clerk, a product of his environment, whose perceptions were limited and shaped by that environment.
Even Lionel was surprised to hear it; it was only after the birth of 20th-century modernist novels that writers and researchers began to systematically study the complexities of "narrative perspective."
While the other writers present were still immersed in the metaphysical creative ideas and moral views of The Old Guard, Flaubert, from Lionel's fragmented explanations, was able to fully summarize a methodology that could guide creation and even name it.
Such keen insight and summarization ability left people dumbfounded.
He nodded:
"Yes, the environment not only dictates what we do but also profoundly shapes how we see, how we think, and how we feel the world.
The 'imprisoned perspective' is one such way."
Maupassant, in the back of the crowd, listened enraptured, his breathing becoming rapid; Professor Hippolyte Taine looked at his student with a complex gaze, his suspicions about him largely dispelled.
The publisher Charpentier keenly sniffed out the scent of a new literary trend.
He leaned closer to the Goncourt brothers and whispered:
"Edmond, did you hear that?
'Imprisoned perspective,' 'acquired numbness'...
This will be the new trend!
Monsieur Sorel not only writes good stories, he might also... define a new way of writing!"
Immediately, he also stood up and extended his hand to Lionel:
"Monsieur Sorel, I am Georges Charpentier, owner of 'Charpentier Publishing House,' and a good friend of Monsieur Flaubert and Monsieur Zola.
Your The Old Guard and what you've said today... those exciting terms have deeply impressed me."
Lionel was a bit bewildered, but still politely shook his hand.
Georges Charpentier smiled, his delicate mustache twitching:
"Lionel, I recently founded an illustrated newspaper called La Vie Moderne (Modern Life), with Émile Bergerat as editor-in-chief and Pierre-Auguste Renoir as illustrator.
I believe they would all be delighted to receive your great work!"
With that statement, Lionel instantly felt several scorching gazes on his back—from the young, aspiring writers in the room: Huysmans, Paul Alexis, Léon Hennique, Henri Céard, and Guy de Maupassant.
If there was a friendship in the world nobler than any other for a writer, it was an intimate relationship with a publisher.
Georges Charpentier was not yet 40, and in 1872, he took over his father's publishing house, "Charpentier's Library," and began publishing adventurous contemporary authors, especially those considered supporters of naturalism.
Furthermore, he was one of the main collectors of Impressionist painters; not only was the Impressionist stalwart Pierre-Auguste Renoir his good friend, but even Paul Cézanne was a frequent guest.
What Lionel gained today was Georges Charpentier's admiration and friendship; tomorrow, he would gain francs!
An established writer like Émile Zola naturally wasn't jealous but sincerely stepped forward and embraced Lionel, affectionately patting his back:
"Lionel, you are the most remarkable young man I've ever met.
If you're interested, when the weather gets a little warmer, you can come with Guy, Paul, Huysmans, and the others to my villa in Médan.
I'll have the most delicious food ready for you."
Flaubert watched the two of them with a smile, and only after Zola and Lionel parted did he speak:
"At this time next week, I will also be here to welcome your esteemed presence."
Georges Charpentier also extended an invitation:
"Every Tuesday evening, on the third floor of 'Charpentier's Library,' if you, Léon, can appear, it will excite everyone."
The eyes of the other young writers turned red—who would have thought that a previously unknown Sorbonne student would become the darling of the Parisian literary salons in just one afternoon?
Most of them were still ecstatic about getting a few lines of poetry published in a newspaper.
Maupassant's emotions were more complex than Huysmans's—a bit of jealousy, but more relief.
This way, Lionel probably wouldn't have time to attend those gatherings of noblewomen and rich second-generation heirs, right?
Most of the "legend of poor Lionel" skits he had concocted were created at these gatherings.
But why was Lionel, of all people, taken under the wing of a noblewoman first?
However, Maupassant also knew that with Georges Charpentier's invitation for submissions, Lionel's moment in the spotlight had come to an end.
Salon discussions usually didn't revolve around a single work, a single problem, or a single person.
"No matter how eloquently you speak, you only have The Old Guard! Now it's my turn!"
Maupassant muttered to himself.
Having endured for a long time, he finally found an opportunity.
While everyone was still immersed in the aftermath of being shocked by the new theory, he pushed his way from the back of the crowd to the front.
Then, he pulled out a thick, plainly covered booklet and held it high:
"Gentlemen, recently a strange book has appeared on the Parisian market, titled The Decadent City!
It's already being snatched up by citizens.
I finally managed to get my hands on a copy, and after reading it, I deeply felt that although the content might be somewhat immoral, its portrayal of worldly human hearts is quite valuable..."
Before he finished speaking, Lionel on a nearby sofa suddenly coughed several times; it was unclear if the cigarette Huysmans had given him was too strong.
——————
[Most Holy Father, your faithful servant reports to you with immense grief and anxiety:
Paris, this holy city once revered as the 'City of Faith,' is now suffering the most severe and malevolent spiritual assault it has endured in two centuries!
A publication titled The Decadent City, like sulfurous fire erupting from the depths of hell, is furiously burning through the moral defenses and pure faith of believers in this land!
...
This book meticulously describes how sacred priests are bought by worldly money, how solemn sacraments are exploited by despicable lies...
Its lines are filled with deep-seated hatred for the Church and its servants!
Its malicious intent and vile methods are truly unprecedented in two centuries!
...
This book not only promotes lust but openly extols vices such as bribery, fraud, and blasphemy!
It distorts the definition of success, revering the satisfaction of selfish desires and the trampling of rules as guiding principles!
Wherever its poison spreads, the spirits of the flock are laid to ruin!
Now, the air of Paris is permeated with an immoral, dangerous, indulgent atmosphere, contemptuous of all that is sacred and authoritative!
...
Your humble servant has exerted every effort, using all lawful secular means to resist, but as you know, the secular Parisian government has been eroded by ideas of liberal indulgence and is unable to act with decisive force.
Therefore, your most humble and loyal servant herein implores the Holy Father's guidance and divine intervention!]
An old man with white hair, clad in a magnificent white silk priestly robe, read this and looked confused.
He then gazed at the plain, thick booklet on the table.
It had arrived with the letter, using the fastest postal system in Europe today, covering the vast distance from Paris to Rome in just 60 hours.
However, regarding the contents of the letter, while the old man didn't scoff, he did believe the writer was being alarmist.
But the next paragraph made him dismiss his slight contempt and begin to take it seriously:
[Your humble servant ventures to suggest that the unprecedented crisis facing the Archdiocese of Paris profoundly reveals the severe deficiency and powerlessness of secular authority in regulating the spiritual domain.
This might be an opportunity... I implore the Holy See, at an appropriate time, to express the Church's deep concern to the government of the French Republic and subtly but firmly convey this idea:
Only by re-empowering the Church with a clearer and more active right to participate and a stronger voice in moral instruction and cultural education can such diabolical spiritual erosion be effectively resisted, and the souls of the faithful and the morality of society be protected.
Your most humble servant, Gilbert-Guillaume-Marie-de-Boëhan.]
The old man put away the letter, pondered for a moment, and then rang the bell on the table.
The bell's sound was clear and long, seeming louder than the bells of ordinary churches.
(End of Chapter)
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