%0 Journal Article
%T Between Fascination and Doubt. Octave Mirbeau and the Science
%A Staroń, Anita
%J Cahiers ERTA
%V 2024
%R 10.4467/23538953CE.24.013.20188
%N Numéro 39
%P 103-118
%K science, scientist, pessimism, progress, education
%@ 2300-4681
%D 2024
%U https://ejournals.eu/en/journal/cahiers-erta/article/entre-fascination-et-doute-octave-mirbeau-et-la-science
%X Octave Mirbeau is consistently interested in the development of science, as is evident from his press articles, short stories and novels. But his judgment of science and its conquests, of scientists and their methods, is not unambiguous. His work contains therefore both enthusiasm for the power of human knowledge and the vivid conscience of its harmful effects. This study aims to highlight these contrasting positions and reflect on their foundations, which arise from the polemical nature of his writing, from his own lucidity and from the lack of faith in the human race. In spite of his pessimistic beliefs, Mirbeau persists on fighting for the values he cherishes, confronting an idealistic vision of science with a disillusioned image of the reality.