Dupont contracted tuberculosis during his military service in 1901, which lasted until his death 13 years later. Les Heures Dolentes (The Sorrowful Hours, 1903-1905), featuring a set of fourteen movements connected via reminiscence motifs, evokes his suffering during his solitary confinement and self-exile, juxtaposed with occasional bittersweet brief visits by his doctor, his acquaintances, and his mother.