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Abstract
The article attempts to explain literary Décadence, a literary phenomenon of the mid- to late-nineteent century, by applying analytical categories to it that are derived from Umwelt theory. Having outlined the theoretical approach, which centres upon the concept of Lebenswelt, it is applied it to Hugo von Hofmannsthal's Ein Brief. I shall show that what is presented in this text is the collapse of the Lebenswelt as well as an attempt to rebuild it through conscious efforts. My claim that this is precisely what lies at the root of Décadence as a literary phenomenon will be put to a test in the subsequent attempt to explain essential features of Décadent writing.
Published Online: 2008-09-01
Published in Print: 2008-August
© 2008 by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, D-10785 Berlin
