Abstract
The kind of Decadence noted in this study did not imply, in the period circumscribed, a corresponding decline in literary quality. It would certainly be a mistake in this case to associate the decline in values with a decadence in literary creativity, for the contrary occurred. The representative and renowned novels which emerged from this wavering Western society are monuments, constructed by a narrative art which is strong and powerful in depicting ‘decline’.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Notes and References
William Barrett, ‘Existentialism as a Symptom of Man’s Contemporary Crisis’, in Stanley Romaine Hopper (ed.), Spiritual Problems in Contemporary Literature (New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1957) p. 139.
György M. Vajda, ‘The Structure of the Symbolist Movement’, in Anna Balakian (ed.), A Comparative History of Literature in European Languages, vol. 2 (Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1982) p. 29.
See David Lodge, The Language of Fiction (New York: Columbia University Press, 1966).
Zola, Oeuvres Complètes, vol. 10, ed. Mitterand, p. 1201.
See Gerard Genette, Narrative Discourse (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, rpt and trans. (1980).
See Tzvetan Todorov, Poétique de la prose (Paris: Editions du Seuil, 1971).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 1984 Suzanne Nalbantian
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Nalbantian, S. (1984). The Decadent Style. In: Seeds of Decadence in the Late Nineteenth-Century Novel. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-10450-5_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-10450-5_7
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-0-333-47400-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-10450-5
eBook Packages: Palgrave Literature & Performing Arts CollectionLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)