Octave Mirbeau

The genesis of Mirbellian writing can be seen as the prelude to a struggle that is both ethical and aesthetic. This confrontation highlights the birth of a Mirbellian paradigm. The desire to exist in Mirbellian work manifests itself through the incarnation of the controversial and "irredeemable" intellectual, as Sartre put it: Mirbeau refuses to bow to literary currents, such as realism and naturalism, that are out of step with his vision as a modern writer.