Abstract
Abstract Nineteenth-century Italy witnessed the rise of nationalist politics, industrial capitalism, and colonialist adventurism. Intellectuals viewed political conquest and technological progress as barbaric and invasive, feeling alienated from a changing world dominated by bourgeois materialism and by the lower classes seeking economic advancement. This isolating tendency represented a desire to rise above mediocrity, to be greater than the common man. Progress was viewed with cynicism, and writers met with despair the failure of ideals in the post-Risorgimento world. Once the guiding hand of the populace, intellectuals now lost their way, as well as their ability to reconcile the profound contradictions in society and their cultural expectations. This article explores how Italian decadentismo as a spiritual reaction to progress occasioned an escape from reality. It also touches on the dichotomies present in the literature, illustrating the despondency of Italian writers at the fin de siècle.
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