Romantic writers had found in Christianity a poetic cult of the
imagination, an assertion of the spiritual quality of beauty in an
age of vulgar materialism. The decadents, a diverse movement of
writers, were the climax and exhaustion of this romantic tradition.
In their art, they enacted the romance of faith as a protest
against the dreariness of modern life. Ellis Hanson teases out two
strands--eroticism and aestheticism--that rendered the decadent
interest in Catholicism extraordinary. More than any other literary
movement, the decadents explored the powerful historical
relationship between homoeroticism and Roman Catholicism. Why,
throughout history, have so many homosexuals been attracted to
Catholic institutions that vociferously condemn homosexuality? This
perplexing question is pursued in this elegant and innovative book.
Late-nineteenth-century aesthetes found in the Church a
peculiar language that gave them a means of artistic and sexual
expression. The brilliant cast of characters that parades through
this book includes Oscar Wilde, Charles Baudelaire, J.-K. Huysmans,
Walter Pater, and Paul Verlaine. Art for these writers was a
mystical and erotic experience. In decadent Catholicism we can
glimpse the beginnings of a postmodern valorization of perversity
and performativity. Catholicism offered both the hysterical symptom
and the last hope for paganism amid the dullness of Victorian
puritanism and bourgeois materialism.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
