enfant du siècle

The term "enfant du siècle" (child of the century) describes a feeling of distress and disillusionment prevalent among French writers in the post-Revolutionary and Napoleonic era. This sentiment, captured by Alfred de Musset in his autobiography La Confession d'un enfant du siècle, reflects a sense of being burdened by history and subject to constant change.12

French Romanticism, which developed later than in Germany or Britain, was deeply influenced by this historical turmoil. Writers grappled with themes of exhaustion, emptiness, and a shaken faith in progress, even as they retained ambitious literary goals. While some focused on aristocratic viewpoints of loss, others explored dynamism, albeit often frustrated. Alfred de Musset, a prominent figure, used extravagant Romantic effects but also treated them ironically, exploring themes of suffering and the self.132