The Oblate is the final book in Huysmans' cycle of four novels featuring the character Durtal, a thinly disguised portrait of the author himself.

Durtal had already appeared in Là-bas, En route and The Cathedral, which traced his (and the author's) conversion to Catholicism.

The author uses the book to examine the Christian liturgy, express his opinions about the state of Catholicism in contemporary France and explore the question of suffering.

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