Decadence and Aestheticism :: History Historical Papers

Decadence and Aestheticism Many may wonder if the era of the 1890’s was the beginning, end, or change of a new age. The era can often be described as modern, advanced, and different. Many people were experimenting, inventing, and trying new things. Decadence and Aestheticism arose. Decadence emerged as a dark side of Romanticism in that it involved forbidden experiences. Decadence was referred to as moral, social, and artistic. As Beckson says, "The dark side of Romanticism derived from Poe and other writers who defined it as strangers united with beauty"(Page 40). The distinguishing feature of a Decadent is the retreat of reality. For example in "The Importance of Being Earnest" by Oscar Wilde, Algernon and Jack have a pretend character that they often used as an escape from reality. Decadence represented Symbolism and Impressionism. Also known as fin de siecle, Decadence is described by Arthur Symons, a participant observer who said, "it has all the qualities that mark the end of great periods, the qualities that we find in the Greek, the Latin, the Decadence, an intense self consciousness, a restless curiosity in research , and a spiritual and moral perversity."(Altick Page 296). In Aestheticism, life is viewed as an art. Aesthetes found beauty in art and in whatever was attractive in the world. Altick said, "The connecting link was Rosetti, whose poetry and painting inspired the Aesthetes"(page 291). Art’s purpose for the Aesthete was for pleasure. The Aesthetics interpreted his artistic aim as the pursuit of beauty separated form social meaning. Oscar Wilde’s theory towards Aestheticism was that the only reality worth seeking was not material goods but the individual experience. And so Aestheticism involved a complete revulsion against received standards of values. Aesthetics found that through their great interest in beauty, pleasure that is derived form objects of art is more beautiful than other pleasures. The truth about an Aesthete is that the mind is usually more active in a creative sense in the appreciation of nature than in the enjoyment of a finished work of art. An Aesthete has a great appreciation for nature. One may look at an object, place, or person and perceive it a different way than another person may perceive it. He does not actually see them the way they appear but his imagination gives his perception a memory picture of them. For an Aesthete to obtain pleasure, "it is the perspectives of perception that is necessary to an understanding of both appreciation and creation"(Langfield page 24).