L’ENNUI DES SYRTES OR THE BOREDOM OF EMPIRES

Abstract

The paper presents the phenomenon of boredom in Julien Gracq’s novel Le Rivage des Syrtes (The opposing shore). The book describes Orsenna, oligarchic city-state loosely based on Venetian republic and empire, which is in a state of phoney war with Farghestan, a mysterious country across the closed sea of Syrtes. The story, narrated by Aldo, young aristocrat assigned for civic duty on the outskirts of empire, depicts the collective mood of anxious anticipation and boredom of the citizens of Orsenna “waiting for barbarians.” The paper analyses Gracq’s novel as a literary illustration of the theories of civilization demise, primarily that of Oswald Spengler, and of the decadence state of society led by bored and languorous elite. In the article, I hypothesize that the demise of empires can be partially attribute to them being boring for their civic agents and subjects alike. The sense of meaninglessness and the feeling of interminable ennui seem to contribute to the attitude of carelessness in both these groups resulting in lack of loyalty and low morale. I suggest that Orsenna’s citizens suffer from societal existential boredom and that similar affliction might have been observed in late British Empire.