Théophile Gautier’s "Avatar" is a brilliant and unsettling novella that plunges into the dark possibilities of science, metaphysics, and the ultimate sacrifice required for illicit love. The protagonist is Octave de Saville, a passionate Parisian nobleman hopelessly obsessed with the beautiful Countess Prada, who is married to the wealthy but uninspiring Count Oluf. His tormenting fixation drives him to the brink of suicide, until he is offered an audacious, unnatural solution by the sinister Dr. Cherbonneau, a physician versed in Eastern mysticism.

Cherbonneau proposes a soul transference—an "avatar"—that will place Octave’s passionate, young soul into the body of Count Oluf. The procedure promises Octave the opportunity to live as the Count, claim the Countess as his own, and possess the happiness previously denied him. The story details the psychological horror and moral confusion that follow the switch. While Octave gets his wish, he finds that inhabiting the Count's body does not automatically grant him love. The true horror begins to reveal itself as the displaced soul of the Count remains a lurking, jealous presence, threatening to repossess the body Octave stole. "Avatar" is a tense, philosophical horror story that is part Gothic romance and part early science fiction. It explores profound questions about identity, the nature of the soul, and the limits of desire, serving as a thrilling and unnerving critique of the dark, consuming nature of obsessive passion and the terrifying price of cheating destiny through occult science.

Table of Contents:

• Avatar. Part 1

• Avatar. Part 2