Whereas Mirbeau had been increasingly drawn to unconventional plot narratives, disorienting because of their equivocal meaning and lack of linear structure (see Torture Garden and Les Vingt et un Jours d'un neurasthénique), his new project would require him to supply an abundance of explanatory background to contextualize the contemporary history his book was to treat, as if such historical reality was really accessible at all.
Le Bourgeois gentilhomme | Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme | Young Filipinas of Marigondon, early 1800s. From ''Aventures d'un Gentilhomme Breton aux iles Philippines'' by Paul de la Gironière | Manila fishermen, early 1800s. Original caption: ''Pêcheurs de Manille''. From ''Aventures d'un Gentilhomme Breton aux iles Philippines'' by Paul de la Gironière | Le bourgeois gentilhomme | Bridge of Binondoc in Manila, early 19th century. Original caption: ''Pont de Binondoc à Manille''. From ''Aventures d'un Gentilhomme Breton aux iles Philippines'' by Paul de la Gironière |