Jouve, P: Hecate

First published as companion volumes in France, Pierre Jean Jouve's novels Hecate and Vagadu trace the carnal and emotional liaisons of Catherine Crachat, a Parisian actress. Hecate recounts the debaucheries and betrayals of a vicious love triangle: Catherine Crachat and her young lover, Pierre Indemini, part ways in Paris, only to be drawn separately to Vienna and into the web of lust and intrigue cast by the Baroness Fanny Felicitas Hohenstein. Desired both by Fanny and by Pierre, Catherine must choose between joining in the threesome that Fanny is cultivating, or losing both friend and former lover. The deaths of Pierre and of Fanny force Catherine to explore the intersection of love, hatred, and spiritual striving which threatens her very identity.