Decadence: Obscure literature of the fin de siecle and Belle Epoque - and other literary obsession

For the last several years, I've been obsessed with literature from the French Decadent Movement, with a bit of Symbolism tossed in. It’s why I started this blog.  The Fin de Siècle was a time of glittering beauty and pernicious darkness, with amazing social and technological progress creating both dizzying excitement and poisonous angst. In addition, the vitality of the period’s avant-garde art, music, and writing, and the beauty of its crafts, posters, and design aesthetics deeply appeal to me. So much so that, if I believed in so-called past lives, then I was a bohemian artist, writer, or journalist in the Fin de Siècle demimonde. Someone who died at a relatively young age without achieving fame. On a more grounded note, my exploration of French Decadent literature has given me insight into a question I've had since I was young: What happened during a mere 20 years in Paris to transform the arts from Hugo-Zola-Monet-Rodin-Debussy to Gide-Proust-Matisse-Picasso-Satie? The sta...

Aside from J.-K. Huysmans A rebours , another work was also instrumental in sparking my appreciation for French fin-de-siecle literature: the novella Bruges-la-Morte by Georges Rodenbach (author pictured). It’s an example of Symbolist literature, a movement which appears to have run concurrently with Decadence. I’m not entirely clear what the exact differences between the two movements are, and I often sense they overlap considerably. As with Decadent literature, Rodenbach's style is wordy and ornate, as if he is luxuriating in descriptions, vocabulary, and language.  Stylistically, however, Bruges-la-Morte falls halfway between poetry and prose. Imagery (symbols) convey more meaning than plot or characterization, and the novel maintains a darkly dreamlike tonality even when Rodenbach is describing something like a dance hall. How much of this is due to adherence to the Symbolist credo and how much is Rodenbach’s own style I’m not entirely sure, but I tend to think it’s more...

Since my first post cited Joris-Karl Huysmans' A rebours ( Against Nature or Against the Grain ) as my entree to Decadent literature, it seems sensible to blog about it right off the bat. Without question, A rebours is the Decadent novel and a must read if you're interested in the Decadent movement or French fin de siecle literature in general. That said, as fascinating and well-written as I found it, it’s not easy going. Note: I read Margaret Mauldon's translation published by Oxford and found it very accessible. (The painting at right is Portrait of J.-K. Huysmans by Adolphe Erneste Gumery, painted in 1884 - the year A rebours was published). A rebours is about Jean Des Esseintes, a wealthy aristocratic fop (the contemporary term was 'dandy'). He and his friends roam Paris indulging their sexual and sensual whims until Des Esseintes literally burns out on life in the fast lane. Disgusted with human society, he retreats to a house outside Paris and seals him...