Abstract
Psychologically intense in substance and style, the stories of 'Diaboliques' combine horror, comedy, and irony to explore the affairs and foibles of men and women whose aristocratic world offers neither comfort nor protection from romantic failure or sexual outrage. Conquest and seduction, adultery and revenge, prostitution and murder - all are within Barbey d'Aurevilly 's purview as he penetrates the darker recesses of the human heart.