mal du siècle

The term mal du siècle, meaning "world-weariness" or "malaise of the century," is a concept in French literature that emerged during the Romantic period. French Romantic writers, deeply affected by the revolutionary turmoil and the Napoleonic era, felt a profound sense of distress and a burden of history. They often expressed feelings of exhaustion, emptiness, loss, and ennui, believing their century was fundamentally unwell. This sentiment contrasts with the earlier Enlightenment's faith in progress and the Neoclassical emphasis on order and authority. The phrase enfant du siècle (child of the century) was used to describe individuals acutely conscious of their historical context and its impact on their sensibilities. This literary and artistic climate of sophistication, escapism, and a sense of fashionable despair is also associated with the fin de siècle of the late 19th century.123