--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is a sort of quasi-monastic diabolical…" description: "\"“It is a sort of quasi-monastic diabolical vision. In a landscape populated with larvae - flowing and undulating larvae called forth like a cascade of ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b66/jean-lorrain-16607_deacadent_it-is-a-sort-of-quasi-monastic-diabolica_1173267.jpg" --- # It is a sort of quasi-monastic diabolical vision. In a… ![“It is a sort of quasi-monastic diabolical vision. In a landscape populated with larvae - flowing and undulating larvae called forth like a cascade of leeches by tolling bells - three female figures rise up phantasmally, enshrouded with gauze like Spanish madonnas. They are the 'three brides': the…” quote by Jean Lorrain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b66/jean-lorrain-16607_deacadent_it-is-a-sort-of-quasi-monastic-diabolica_1173267.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b66/jean-lorrain-16607_deacadent_it-is-a-sort-of-quasi-monastic-diabolica_1173267.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b66/jean-lorrain-16607_deacadent_it-is-a-sort-of-quasi-monastic-diabolica_1173267.jpg) > ““It is a sort of quasi-monastic diabolical vision. In a landscape populated with larvae - flowing and undulating larvae called forth like a cascade of leeches by tolling bells - three female figures rise up phantasmally, enshrouded with gauze like Spanish madonnas. They are the 'three brides': the bride of Heaven, the bride of the Earth and the bride of Hell... The bride of Hell, with her two serpents writhing about her temples to hold her veil in place, has the most attractive mask: the most profound eyes, the most vertiginous smile that one could ever see. If she existed, how I would love that woman! I feel that if that smile and those eyes were in my life they would be all the cure I need! I could never tire of the study and contemplation of that hallucinatory visage. "The Three Brides" is very peculiar in its detail and composition. It is the whimsy of a dream rendered with astonishing fastidiousness: the delusion of an opium-smoker composed in the style of Holbein.”” [Jean Lorrain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-lorrain/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A vivid, grotesque vision of three symbolic brides, especially the alluring yet dangerous bride of Hell, reflecting obsessive fascination with dark beauty and the desire for transcendence through madness. **In simple terms:** A dark, dream‑like fixation on a dangerous, beautiful figure. Key Takeaway Embrace the allure of the unknown, but beware its peril. Themes obsession beauty danger dreams transcendence Mood melancholic intense enigmatic Type literary philosophical analytical When to use this quote - art criticism - literary analysis - psychological self‑study - creative writing - visual arts Key Concepts symbolism psychology mythology aestheticism Questions to Reflect On - What draws you to dark allure? - How can you channel fascination safely? A Different Perspective The vision may romanticize harmful obsession, ignoring real‑world consequences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bride Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bride-hell-3409753/) [Decadence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decadence/) [Decadents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decadents/) [Diabolical Vision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diabolical-vision-3409752/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Hallucinatory Visage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hallucinatory-visage-3409754/) [Hell Bride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell-bride-972426/) [Profound Eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profound-eyes-3409755/) ## Related quotes > [“Get the hell down here!” the bride shouted. “You’re stealing my thunder.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-anastasia/get-the-hell-down-here-the-bride-shouted-you-re-stealing-my-thunder/) [Debra Anastasia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-anastasia/) > [“Look, de Mazel, you've known him for years - hasn't he been known to sleep for forty hours in two days?' 'Forty hours?' 'Certainly.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-lorrain/look-de-mazel-you-ve-known-him-for-years-hasn-t-he-been-known-to/) [Jean Lorrain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-lorrain/) > [“Then Chameroy spoke. 'You always put the blame on opium, but as I see it the case of Freneuse is much more complicated. Him,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-lorrain/then-chameroy-spoke-you-always-put-the-blame-on-opium-but-as-i-see-it/) [Jean Lorrain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-lorrain/) > [“Masks! I see them everywhere. That dreadful vision of the other night - the deserted town with its masked corpses in every doorway; that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-lorrain/masks-i-see-them-everywhere-that-dreadful-vision-of-the-other-night/) [Jean Lorrain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-lorrain/) > [“In the course of my life I have had pre-pubescent ballerinas; emaciated duchesses, dolorous and forever tired, melomaniac and morphine-sodden; bankers' wives with eyes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-lorrain/in-the-course-of-my-life-i-have-had-pre-pubescent-ballerinas/) [Jean Lorrain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-lorrain/) > [“The other evening, in that cafe-cabaret in the Rue de la Fontaine, where I had run aground with Tramsel and Jocard, who had taken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-lorrain/the-other-evening-in-that-cafe-cabaret-in-the-rue-de-la-fontaine/) [Jean Lorrain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-lorrain/) > [“Freneuse is an oddball, an idler, without any aim in life! If you ask me, he has smoked too much opium in the East,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-lorrain/freneuse-is-an-oddball-an-idler-without-any-aim-in-life-if-you-ask-me/) [Jean Lorrain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-lorrain/) > [“Astarte has come again, more powerful than before. She possesses me. She lies in wait for me. December 97 My cruelty has also returned:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-lorrain/astarte-has-come-again-more-powerful-than-before-she-possesses-me-she/) [Jean Lorrain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-lorrain/) > [“The Marquis de V... - whose falsetto voice and little watery eyes I have always detested - was saying to me with a wicked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-lorrain/the-marquis-de-v-whose-falsetto-voice-and-little-watery-eyes-i-have/) [Jean Lorrain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-lorrain/) > [“There were charming ones as well as terrible ones, that I must admit. The painter was particularly entranced by Japanese masks: warriors', actors' and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-lorrain/there-were-charming-ones-as-well-as-terrible-ones-that-i-must-admit/) [Jean Lorrain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-lorrain/) > [“The beauty of the twentieth century is the charm of the hospital, the grace of the cemetery, of consumption and emaciation. I admit that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-lorrain/the-beauty-of-the-twentieth-century-is-the-charm-of-the-hospital-the/) [Jean Lorrain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-lorrain/) > [“It is well known how the book spread like an infectious disease, from city to city, from continent to continent, barred out here, confiscated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-w-chambers/it-is-well-known-how-the-book-spread-like-an-infectious-disease-from/) [Robert W. Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-w-chambers/) > [“This,' said the stranger softly, as if to himself, 'is the woeful proof, indeed, of decadence. Man waives his prerogative of lordship over the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-capes/this-said-the-stranger-softly-as-if-to-himself-is-the-woeful-proof/) [Bernard Capes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-capes/) > [“I think God hands over to His apprentices the moulding of vessels that don't interest Him. ("The Accursed Cordonnier")”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-capes/i-think-god-hands-over-to-his-apprentices-the-moulding-of-vessels/) [Bernard Capes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-capes/) > [“(Decadent style) is ingenious, complicated, learned, full of shades of meaning and research, always pushing further the limits of language... forcing itself to express…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theophile-gautier/decadent-style-is-ingenious-complicated-learned-full-of-shades-of/) [Theophile Gautier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theophile-gautier/) ## More by Jean Lorrain > [“But that woman is an encyclopedia! Of all vices, ancient and modern, and terribly interesting to leaf through! ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-lorrain/but-that-woman-is-an-encyclopedia-of-all-vices-ancient-and-modern-and/) [Jean Lorrain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-lorrain/) > [“...the presence of others has become even more intolerable to me, their conversation most of all. Oh, how it all annoys and exasperates me:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-lorrain/the-presence-of-others-has-become-even-more-intolerable-to-me-their/) [Jean Lorrain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-lorrain/) > [“The beauty of the twentieth century is the charm of the hospital, the grace of the cemetery, of consumption and emaciation. I admit that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-lorrain/the-beauty-of-the-twentieth-century-is-the-charm-of-the-hospital-the/) [Jean Lorrain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-lorrain/) > [“His fame as an artist requires very tender care. Look what a mask of diplomacy is painstakingly formed by the whole of that fine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-lorrain/his-fame-as-an-artist-requires-very-tender-care-look-what-a-mask-of/) [Jean Lorrain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-lorrain/) > [“A strange girl, all phosphorous and cantharides, burning with every desire! And burning with every vice!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-lorrain/a-strange-girl-all-phosphorous-and-cantharides-burning-with-every/) [Jean Lorrain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-lorrain/) > [“There were charming ones as well as terrible ones, that I must admit. The painter was particularly entranced by Japanese masks: warriors', actors' and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-lorrain/there-were-charming-ones-as-well-as-terrible-ones-that-i-must-admit/) [Jean Lorrain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-lorrain/) > [“At this point, the sequence of my memories is disrupted. I sank into a chaos of brief, incoherent and bizarre hallucinations, in which the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-lorrain/at-this-point-the-sequence-of-my-memories-is-disrupted-i-sank-into-a/) [Jean Lorrain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-lorrain/) > [“The ring which you are holding, my friend, is identical to that one. I had it cut according to the model of the king's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-lorrain/the-ring-which-you-are-holding-my-friend-is-identical-to-that-one-i/) [Jean Lorrain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-lorrain/) > [The fancies that take their monstrous birth from the spinelessness and boredom of usurped wealth bring in their wake every defect ... and though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-lorrain/the-fancies-that-take-their-monstrous-birth-from-the-spinelessness/) [Jean Lorrain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-lorrain/) > [“The Marquis de V... - whose falsetto voice and little watery eyes I have always detested - was saying to me with a wicked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-lorrain/the-marquis-de-v-whose-falsetto-voice-and-little-watery-eyes-i-have/) [Jean Lorrain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-lorrain/) > [Her vice takes hold of her again, but she still refrains until some moment when, gnawed by some hideous caprice, she comes aground like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-lorrain/her-vice-takes-hold-of-her-again-but-she-still-refrains-until-some/) [Jean Lorrain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-lorrain/) > [The charm of horror only tempts the strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-lorrain/the-charm-of-horror-only-tempts-the-strong/) [Jean Lorrain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-lorrain/) > [“March 1898 What a strange dream I had last night! I wandered in the warm streets of a port, in the low quarter of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-lorrain/march-1898-what-a-strange-dream-i-had-last-night-i-wandered-in-the/) [Jean Lorrain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-lorrain/) > [“This Sarah Perez had the most beautiful eyes in the world, those green eyes spangled with gold that you love so much: the eyes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-lorrain/this-sarah-perez-had-the-most-beautiful-eyes-in-the-world-those-green/) [Jean Lorrain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-lorrain/) > [“I had, therefore, to resign myself to commissioning a duplicate from a jeweller in Madrid. They did the work very nicely. The claws are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-lorrain/i-had-therefore-to-resign-myself-to-commissioning-a-duplicate-from-a/) [Jean Lorrain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-lorrain/) [Explore all 39 Jean Lorrain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-lorrain/) ## More Decadence quotes > [One defining symptom of decadence is a fondness for vast and nonsensical extravagance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-silverberg/one-defining-symptom-of-decadence-is-a-fondness-for-vast-and/) [Robert Silverberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-silverberg/) > [“Like symbolism, decadence puts forth the idea that the function of literature is to evoke impressions and 'correspondences', rather than to realistically depict the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asti-hustvedt/like-symbolism-decadence-puts-forth-the-idea-that-the-function-of/) [Asti Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asti-hustvedt/) > [I think Illium can take care of himself.” “Not if he keeps flirting with you.” A fine, almost elegant tendril of heat, champagne and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nalini-singh/i-think-illium-can-take-care-of-himself-not-if-he-keeps-flirting-with/) [Nalini Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nalini-singh/) > [“(Decadent style) is ingenious, complicated, learned, full of shades of meaning and research, always pushing further the limits of language... forcing itself to express…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theophile-gautier/decadent-style-is-ingenious-complicated-learned-full-of-shades-of/) [Theophile Gautier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theophile-gautier/) > [“After two years' absence she finally returned to chilly Europe, a trifle weary, a trifle sad, disgusted by our banal entertainments, our shrunken landscapes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octave-mirbeau/after-two-years-absence-she-finally-returned-to-chilly-europe-a/) [Octave Mirbeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octave-mirbeau/) > [I definitely consider 'Poses' - the whole album in fact - to be kind of a miracle. Like the last breath of that moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-wainwright/i-definitely-consider-poses-the-whole-album-in-fact-to-be-kind-of-a/) [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) > [Content without style is propaganda or adolescence. Style without content is decadence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/content-without-style-is-propaganda-or-adolescence-style-without/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [Misgovernment is of four kinds, often in combination. They are: 1) tyranny or oppression, of which history provides so many well-known examples that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/misgovernment-is-of-four-kinds-often-in-combination-they-are-1/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [Fundamentalists believe that we don't believe in anything. In their view of the world, they are in possession of absolute certainties, while we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/fundamentalists-believe-that-we-don-t-believe-in-anything-in-their/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [The attraction of horror is a mental, or even an intellectual, excitement, but the fascination of the repulsive, so noticeable incontemporary writing, can spring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/the-attraction-of-horror-is-a-mental-or-even-an-intellectual/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [“He saw a chamber, broad and low, designed, in its every rich stain of picture and slumberous hanging, to appeal to the sensuous. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-capes/he-saw-a-chamber-broad-and-low-designed-in-its-every-rich-stain-of/) [Bernard Capes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-capes/) > [The history of prevailing status quos shows decay and decadence infecting the opulent materialism of the Haves. The spiritual life of the Haves is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-history-of-prevailing-status-quos-shows-decay-and-decadence/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I want my children to be bold,free,self-reliant and capable of changing the phase of that portion of the earth where they live. They may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amun-djoleto/i-want-my-children-to-be-bold-free-self-reliant-and-capable-of/) [Amun Djoleto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amun-djoleto/) > [“Evolution has no foresight. Complex machinery develops its own agendas. Brains — cheat. Feedback loops evolve to promote stable heartbeats and then stumble upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-watts/evolution-has-no-foresight-complex-machinery-develops-its-own-agendas/) [Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) > [“Conventional, organized religion, in its most decadent form, is an inert parody of the genuine religious experience as much as modern occult organizations are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zeena-schreck/conventional-organized-religion-in-its-most-decadent-form-is-an-inert/) [Zeena Schreck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zeena-schreck/) [Browse all 204 Decadence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decadence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It is a sort of quasi-monastic diabolical vision. 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