
Decadent Subjects
The Idea of Decadence in Art, Literature, Philosophy, and Culture of the Fin de Siecle in Europe
Charles Bernheimer(Author)
Johns Hopkins University Press
Published on 26. August 2002
Book
Hardback
248 pages
978-0-8018-6740-8 (ISBN)
Description
Charles Bernheimer described decadence as a "stimulant that bends thought out of shape, deforming traditional conceptual molds." In this posthumously published work, Bernheimer succeeds in making a critical concept out of this perennially fashionable, rarely understood term. Decadent Subjects is a coherent and moving picture of fin de siecle decadence. Mature, ironic, iconoclastic, and thoughtful, this remarkable collection of essays shows the contradictions of the phenomenon, which is both a condition and a state of mind. In seeking to show why people have failed to give a satisfactory account of the term decadence, Bernheimer argues that we often mistakenly take decadence to represent something concrete, that we see as some sort of agent. His salutary response is to return to those authors and artists whose work constitutes the topos of decadence, rereading key late nineteenth-century authors such as Nietzsche, Zola, Hardy, Wilde, Moreau, and Freud to rediscover the very dynamics of the decadent.
Through careful analysis of the literature, art, and music of the fin de siecle including a riveting discussion of the many faces of Salome, Bernheimer leaves us with a fascinating and multidimensional look at decadence, all the more important as we emerge from our own fin de siecle.
Through careful analysis of the literature, art, and music of the fin de siecle including a riveting discussion of the many faces of Salome, Bernheimer leaves us with a fascinating and multidimensional look at decadence, all the more important as we emerge from our own fin de siecle.
Reviews / Votes
Effortlessly integrating his amazing archival research, Bernheimer gives readers the sense of being in a collegial seminar with him. Choice 2003 An excellent book by a well-known authority in the areas of European literature, culture, and psychoanalysis. -- Christopher S. Nassaar Pre-Raphaelite Studies 2005More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Baltimore, MD
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
3 s/w Photographien bzw. Rasterbilder, 7 s/w Zeichnungen
7 Line drawings, black and white; 3 Halftones, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 140 mm
Thickness: 21 mm
Weight
408 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8018-6740-8 (9780801867408)
DOI
10.1353/book.16010
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Charles Bernheimer | T. Jefferson Kline | Naomi Schor
Decadent Subjects
The Idea of Decadence in Art, Literature, Philosophy, and Culture of the Fin de Siecle in Europe
E-Book
07/2003
Johns Hopkins University Press
€37.99
Available for download
Persons
Charles Bernheimer was a prominent scholar in the areas of European literature, culture, and psychoanalysis. He taught Romance languages and comparative literature at the University of Pennsylvania and authored and edited several books, including Comparative Literature in the Age of Multiculturalism, part of Johns Hopkins' Parallax series.Naomi Schor is the Benjamin F. Barge Professor of French in the Department of French at Yale University.T. Jefferson Kline is a professor of French at Boston University.
Author
Editor
Boston University
Benjamin F. Barge Professor of FrenchYale University
Content
Contents: Decadent Subjects: The Idea of Decadence in Art, Literature, Philosophy, and Culture of the Fin de Siecle in Europe Editors' Preface Introduction Nietzsche's Decadence Philosophy Flaubert's Salambo: History in Decadence Decadent Naturalism/Naturalist Decadence Visions of Salome Decadent Diagnostics Freud's Decadence Appendix: Outline of Freud's Decadence