Théophile Gautier's Mademoiselle de Maupin, published in 1835, is a foundational work of French Romanticism and a bold manifesto for the doctrine of "Art for Art's Sake." The novel is famous for its provocative Preface, which defiantly rejects the utilitarian and moralistic expectations placed on literature. The story itself is a complex exploration of gender, love, and aesthetic idealism, loosely based on the life of a 17th-century opera singer. The plot centers on a young knight, Théodore, who is actually the beautiful Mademoiselle de Maupin in disguise. She has adopted male attire to travel freely and gain insight into the true nature of both men and women. In her male persona, she becomes the confidant of the poet d'Albert, who is bored with his mistress, Rosette, and yearns for an idealized, perfect beauty. D'Albert finds himself strangely drawn to the androgynous Théodore, while Rosette falls in love with the disguised knight. This creates a tangled web of desire and mistaken identity, culminating in scenes of charged erotic ambiguity. The novel challenges conventional notions of gender and sexuality, suggesting that true love transcends physical form. Gautier's lavish, sensual prose prioritizes the description of beauty and the pursuit of artistic perfection over plot and moralizing, making Mademoiselle de Maupin a controversial and groundbreaking text that championed artistic freedom and the cult of beauty.

Table of Contents:

• Mademoiselle de Maupin. Part 1

• Mademoiselle de Maupin. Part 2

• Mademoiselle de Maupin. Part 3

• Mademoiselle de Maupin. Part 4

• Mademoiselle de Maupin. Part 5

• Mademoiselle de Maupin. Part 6

• Mademoiselle de Maupin. Part 7