📚English Novels Unit 7 – Aestheticism and Decadence in Victorian Fiction

Key Concepts and Definitions

• Aestheticism emphasizes the pursuit of beauty, art for art's sake, and the cultivation of refined sensibilities
• Decadence explores themes of moral decay, excess, artificiality, and the rejection of conventional values
  • Often associated with a sense of ennui, world-weariness, and a fascination with the morbid and perverse
• The Aesthetic Movement emerged in the late 19th century as a reaction against the utilitarian and moralistic attitudes of the Victorian era
• The term "fin de siècle" (end of the century) captures the sense of decline and cultural upheaval associated with the period
• Aesthetes and Decadents challenged traditional notions of art, morality, and gender roles
• The concept of the "dandy" embodies the Aesthetic ideal of a refined, fashionable, and self-consciously artificial persona (Oscar Wilde)
• Synaesthesia, the blending of sensory experiences, is a common motif in Aesthetic and Decadent literature (perfumes evoking colors or sounds)

Historical Context

• The late Victorian era witnessed rapid social, economic, and technological changes that challenged traditional values and beliefs
• The Industrial Revolution led to urbanization, consumerism, and a growing sense of alienation and disillusionment
• The rise of the middle class and the expansion of education created a new audience for literature and art
• The Aesthetic and Decadent movements were influenced by French literature, particularly the works of Charles Baudelaire and Joris-Karl Huysmans
• The Aesthetic Movement in Britain was closely associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, a group of artists who sought to revive the style and spirit of medieval and early Renaissance art
• The Decadent Movement in France was shaped by the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War and the Paris Commune, which led to a sense of national decline and cultural pessimism
• The trial of Oscar Wilde in 1895 for "gross indecency" marked a turning point in public attitudes towards Aestheticism and homosexuality

Major Authors and Works

• Oscar Wilde, the quintessential Aesthete, known for his wit, flamboyance, and subversive works such as "The Picture of Dorian Gray" (1890) and "The Importance of Being Earnest" (1895)
• Walter Pater, an influential art critic whose book "Studies in the History of the Renaissance" (1873) became a manifesto for the Aesthetic Movement
  • Pater's concept of "art for art's sake" and his emphasis on the cultivation of intense, fleeting sensations had a profound impact on Aesthetic and Decadent writers
• Joris-Karl Huysmans, a French novelist whose work "À rebours" (Against Nature, 1884) is considered a key text of the Decadent Movement
  • The novel features a protagonist who retreats from society to pursue a life of refined aestheticism and sensual indulgence
• Algernon Charles Swinburne, a poet known for his sensual and transgressive works such as "Poems and Ballads" (1866) and "Lesbia Brandon" (published posthumously in 1952)
• Aubrey Beardsley, an illustrator whose elaborate, grotesque, and erotically charged drawings epitomized the Decadent style (illustrations for Wilde's "Salome")
• Arthur Symons, a poet and critic who helped introduce French Decadent literature to English audiences through his translations and essays
• The "Yellow Book," a quarterly literary periodical (1894-1897) that showcased the work of Aesthetic and Decadent writers and artists

Aesthetic and Decadent Themes

• The pursuit of beauty and sensual pleasure as the highest ideals, often in opposition to conventional morality and social norms
• The cultivation of refined tastes, artistic sensibilities, and a life of leisure and luxury
• The exploration of forbidden desires, taboo subjects, and the darker aspects of human nature (sexuality, violence, drug use)
• The blurring of gender roles and the subversion of traditional notions of masculinity and femininity
  • Androgynous or effeminate male characters (Dorian Gray) and sexually assertive female characters (Salome)
• The fascination with artifice, masks, and the performance of identity
  • The idea that life should be lived as a work of art, with the self as the ultimate creation
• The sense of ennui, world-weariness, and the futility of existence in the face of a rapidly changing, industrialized world
• The tension between the spiritual and the material, the ideal and the real, and the desire to escape the constraints of bourgeois society

Literary Techniques and Style

• The use of ornate, sensuous language and elaborate descriptions to evoke moods and atmospheres
  • Lush, poetic prose that appeals to the senses and creates a dreamlike or hallucinatory effect
• The incorporation of symbolism, allegory, and mythological allusions to create layers of meaning and ambiguity
• The use of paradox, irony, and wit to challenge conventional wisdom and subvert reader expectations
• The experimentation with narrative structure, point of view, and the blurring of genres (prose poetry, the novel of ideas)
• The emphasis on the inner lives of characters, their psychology, and the exploration of altered states of consciousness (dreams, drug-induced visions)
• The use of leitmotifs, recurring images or phrases, to create a sense of unity and obsession
• The incorporation of references to art, music, and literature to create a rich, intertextual tapestry
  • The idea that all art forms are interconnected and that the highest form of art is the synthesis of multiple sensory experiences

Social and Cultural Impact

• The Aesthetic and Decadent movements challenged Victorian notions of morality, gender roles, and the purpose of art
• The emphasis on individualism, self-expression, and the pursuit of pleasure was seen as a threat to social stability and traditional values
• The Aesthetic Movement's influence on fashion, interior design, and the decorative arts (the "Aesthetic dress" movement, the popularity of Japanese art and design)
• The Decadent Movement's association with sexual transgression, homosexuality, and the underground culture of late 19th-century Europe
• The role of Aesthetic and Decadent literature in shaping public discourse on art, morality, and the nature of the self
• The contribution of Aesthetic and Decadent writers to the development of modernist literature and the avant-garde movements of the early 20th century
• The legacy of Oscar Wilde as a cultural icon and a symbol of artistic martyrdom, persecution, and the fight for individual freedom

Critical Reception and Debates

• The mixed reception of Aesthetic and Decadent works, with some critics praising their artistic innovation and others condemning their perceived immorality and decadence
• The debate over the relationship between art and morality, and whether art should serve a didactic or social purpose
• The accusations of obscenity, indecency, and corrupting influence leveled against Aesthetic and Decadent writers (the censorship of Wilde's works)
• The critical re-evaluation of Aesthetic and Decadent literature in the 20th century, with a growing appreciation for its artistic merits and its role in challenging social norms
• The feminist critique of the Aesthetic and Decadent movements' portrayal of women as objects of desire or femmes fatales
• The postcolonial critique of the Aesthetic and Decadent movements' exoticization and appropriation of non-Western cultures (the influence of Japanese art, the Orientalist fantasies in Wilde's "Salome")
• The debate over the extent to which Aesthetic and Decadent writers were subverting or reinforcing dominant power structures and ideologies

Legacy and Influence

• The lasting impact of Aesthetic and Decadent literature on modernist writers such as James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, and T.S. Eliot
  • The use of stream-of-consciousness techniques, the emphasis on subjectivity, and the exploration of the inner lives of characters
• The influence of Aesthetic and Decadent themes and styles on the visual arts, particularly Art Nouveau and Symbolism
• The role of Aesthetic and Decadent literature in shaping the cultural imagination of the late 19th and early 20th centuries
• The enduring fascination with the figure of the dandy and the cult of celebrity surrounding Oscar Wilde
• The revival of interest in Aesthetic and Decadent literature in the late 20th century, with the publication of critical studies, biographies, and new editions of key works
• The influence of Aesthetic and Decadent ideas on contemporary popular culture, fashion, and the arts (the neo-Victorian or steampunk aesthetics, the goth subculture)
• The ongoing relevance of Aesthetic and Decadent literature as a critique of consumerism, conformity, and the commodification of art and the self in the modern world