One who seeks to discover the brutal reality of fin-de-si cle French bourgeoisie society, will find it here, in Huysmans's melancholy tale. Class struggles form the background of this harrowing tale; Huysmans uses steadily devolving arguments over family fortune to comment on interclass inequality in 19th century France. The greed of bourgeoisie men prevail: their dilemma vastly disparate to those of lesser fortune. A truly mordant tale, A Dilemma reflects the deeply depressing reality of class prejudice. This translation is brought to you by Aaron J. Clarke, whose tireless work allows this story to be read here, in contemporary Australia. Clarke sees the value of this profoundly moving tale and its ironic prevalence today.