Divine Decadence: Dark Fantasy in 19th-Century Fiction

Pre-requisites for enrolment

No prior knowledge required, although the reading of the set texts is essential. Previous students will enjoy returning to study new book titles.

Content of Course

Although the 19^th century is commonly seen as the heyday of the great realist novel, there was an equally strong vein of dark fantasy that ran alongside it. From the dawn of the Romantic Era to the Decadence of the fin de siècle, authors explored this fantastical tradition in a variety of subversive and provocative ways. In such English and German Romantics as Beckford, Novalis and Hoffmann, these fantasies are explicitly supernatural in nature. In such 19^th century French authors as Balzac, Gautier and Barbey d’Aurevilly, they tend far more towards the erotic. For such turn-of-the-century authors as Huysmans, Wilde and D’Annunzio, fantasy is overwhelmingly psychological and the most dangerous adventures occur within the human mind. What all these authors have in common is the desire to push human experience into places it had never been before. That is the quest we seek to follow in this course.

Teaching method(s)

Lecture and class discussion.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

• Identify the main themes of fantasy fiction;

• Distinguish clearly between realist and fantasy writing;

• Describe the role of fantasy writing in the wider cultural context of the 19th century;

• Asssess the impact of 19th century fantasy on contemporary writing and popular culture.

Sources

Core Readings

Essential:

• Balzac, Honoré de (2012) The Girl with the Golden Eyes & Sarrasine, London, Penguin Classics.
• Barbey d’Aurevilly, Jules (2015) Diaboliques: Six Tales of Decadence, Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press.
• Beckford, William (2013) Vathek, London, Oxford World’s Classics.
• D’Annunzio, Gabriele (2021) The Flame, Jackson TN, Mint Editions.
• Gautier, Théophile (2005) Mademoiselle de Maupin, London, Penguin Classics.
• Hoffmann, E T A (2018) The Sandman, The Nutcracker and Other Dark Fairy Tales, Fort Wayne IN, Oldstyle Tales Press.
• Huysmans, Joris-Karl (2003) Against Nature (A Rebours), London, Penguin Classics.
• Novalis (2018) Henry von Ofterdingen, Greenwood WI, Suzeteo Enterpirses.
• Wilde, Oscar (2003) The Picture of Dorian Gray, London, Penguin Classics.

Class Handouts

Selected poems by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Algernon Charles Swinburne and Charles Baudelaire.

Queries

If you have questions regarding the course or enrolment, please contact COL Reception at Paterson's Land by email COL@ed.ac.uk or by phone 0131 650 4400.

Student support

If you have a disability, learning difficulty or health condition which may affect your studies, please let us know by ticking the 'specific support needs' box on your course application form. This will allow us to make appropriate adjustments in advance and in accordance with your rights under the Equality Act 2010. For more information please visit the Student Support section of our website.