Garden of torment. Mirbo Octave

Octave Mirbo (1848-1917) - a writer who largely experienced the influence of decadence and anarchism of the second half of the 19th century. The reader can observe such an influence in the shocking novel “The Garden of Pilvia” (1899) - the strict criticism of the European Colonial Society. The main manifesto of the book: civilization is built on murder and sadism, but hypocritically denies its foundation. The first part of the book is devoted to this. The plot of the second part unfolds far from Europe, in China. The protagonist, Frenchman, and Englishwoman Clara go on a trip to the east. They at their own free will fall into the garden, where torture is practiced as art. Among ecstasy, pain and death, the protagonist understands that his companion knows no bounds, but he himself capitulates, reflecting on the limits of human experience and sensations.