French literature dedicated to Morocco has experienced a great boom since the major European powers decided to extend their domination over the country. Au Maroc by Loti is a part of this artistic movement of the 19th century that has generated a plethora of travel narratives celebrating the Orient and fostering enthusiasm for Orientalism.
Loti, like other travel writers, brought back from his stay in Morocco a narrative in which he expresses his astonishment and fascination for the beauty and harshness of this country whose customs appear strange and so different from those of Westerners.
From the outset, he compares the country he encounters with Europe, thus emphasizing the superiority of the West, testifying to a clear chauvinism and nationalism. He then lets his feelings express themselves according to his moods to convey his sense of disorientation and enchantment, creating both realistic and dreamlike portrayals of the city of Fez. He emphasizes the Moroccan archaism that he dominates in this imperial city and seems enchanted by the medieval majesty of the paintings he examines with delight, giving his readers the impression that the city has not changed for a very long time. He evokes the houses of Fez, its sky, its walls, its ugliness, its sadness, and even the benevolent peace that emanates from it.
In Au Maroc, Loti oscillates between excessive enthusiasm, wonder, and joy on the one hand, and a dark and gloomy literary register on the other hand; between the disgusting and the magnificent. And that is precisely the main characteristic of the writer. Thus, Fez is sometimes a city full of lights, a gloomy city, but which, nevertheless, inspires poetry and creation. Through his narrative, the writer simultaneously manifests his abomination and his wonder.