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Abstract
This chapter considers the relationship between decadence, individualism, and science at the end of the nineteenth century. Individualism was considered key to the decadent style, yet it was also widely understood by sociologists and scientists to be symptomatic of nervous disease and social decline. This chapter argues that the overly civilized, nervous, and exhausted heroes of decadent literature result from the widespread understanding of the human being as an energy system, subject to the recently formulated laws of thermodynamics. As isolated systems, these characters use up their energy in increasing disorder, "continually suffering deductions, [until] these unceasing deductions finally result in the cessation of motion" (Herbert Spencer, "Progress: Its Law and Cause," 1880). Thus, many decadent texts can only end with nothing other than the death of their protagonist.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | The Oxford Handbook of Decadence |
Editors | Jane Desmarais, David Weir |
Place of Publication | Oxford |
Publisher | Oxford University Press |
Pages | 600-616 |
Number of pages | 17 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9780190066956 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 13 Jan 2021 |
Publication series
Name | The Oxford Handbook of Decadence |
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Publisher | Oxford University Press |
Keywords
- thermodynamics
- Walter Pater
- decadence
- individualism
- entropy
- Joris-Karl Huysman
- Oscar Wilde
- Kate Chopin
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Dive into the research topics of 'Science: entropy, degeneration, and decadent self-destruction'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Activities
- 1 Invited talk
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'Structures of Suicide: narrative and female suicide in nineteenth-century fiction’
Jordan Kistler (Speaker)
30 Nov 2023Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk