Christa Giles

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in art that the body is the soul. In every sphere of life Form
is the beginning of things.˝ 115 Baudelaire speaks of the
religion of dandyism not only because it was an attempt ˝to
correct and improve on nature,˝ 116 but also because it was a
means of forging spiritual values in an age of ˝idiotic
sentimentality combined with ruthless commercialism.˝ 117
The self-discipline, the impassivity and controlled
behaviour of the dandy, is an outward manifestation of a
strict code. Therefore Des Esseintes in his earlier years
would receive tailors, etc. in a large hall where he would
˝ascend an imposing pulpit and preach them a sermon on
dandyism.˝ 118
Dandyism through its ˝doctrine de l’élègance et de
originalité˝ 119 invests life with significance. Indeed the pose
that the dandy adopts implies a philosophy of life, a
˝formal recognition of the importance of treating life from a
definite and reasoned standpoint.˝ 120 Moreover, as Balzac
wrote in his article on dandyism, ˝Traité de la Vie
Elègante˝: ˝L’Elégance dramatise la vie.˝ 121 This idea that
elegance dramatizes life is suggested by the fact that the
dandy exists essentially before his mirror or in the eyes of
others. Certainly, Des Esseintes lives in isolation at
Fontenay, but his dandyism remains an expression of
superiority in the face of an absent rabble, and the spectre
of mediocrity and commerciality. The philosophy, the pose