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Idols of Perversity: Fantasies of Feminine Evil in Fin-de-Siècle Culture (Oxford Paperbacks)
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Bram Dijkstra's Idols of Perversity explores the nature and development of turn-of-the-century misogyny in the works of hundreds of writers, artists, and scientists, including Zola, Strindberg, Wedekind, Henry James, Rossetti, Renoir, Moreau, Klimt, Darwin, and Spencer. Dijkstra demonstrates that the most prejudicial aspects of Evolutionary Theory helped to justify this wave of anti-feminine sentiment. The theory claimed that the female of the species could not participate in the great evolutionary process that would guide the intellectual male to his ultimate, predestined role as a disembodied spiritual essence. Darwinists argued that women hindered this process by their willingness to lure men back to a sham paradise of erotic materialism. To protect the male's continued evolution, artists and intellectuals produced a flood of pseudo-scientific tracts, novels, and paintings which warned the world's males of the evils lying beneath the surface elegance of woman's tempting skin.
Reproducing hundreds of pictures from the period and including in-depth discussions of such key works as Dracula and Venus in Furs, this fascinating book not only exposes the crucial links between misogyny then and now, but also connects it to the racism and anti-semitism that led to catastrophic genocidal delusions in the first half of the twentieth century. Crossing the conventional boundaries of art history, sociology, the history of scientific theory, and literary analysis, Dijkstra unveils a startling view of a grim and largely one-sided war on women still being fought today.
- ISBN-109780195056525
- ISBN-13978-0195056525
- PublisherOxford University Press
- Publication dateSeptember 29, 1988
- LanguageEnglish
- Dimensions10.06 x 7 x 1.06 inches
- Print length480 pages
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About the Author
Bram Dijkstra is Professor of Comparative Literature at the University of California, San Diego, and author of several books, including Cubism, Stieglitz and the Early Poetry of William Carlos Williams, A Recognizable Image, and Defoe and Economics.
Product details
- ASIN : 0195056523
- Publisher : Oxford University Press (September 29, 1988)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 480 pages
- ISBN-10 : 9780195056525
- ISBN-13 : 978-0195056525
- Item Weight : 2.19 pounds
- Dimensions : 10.06 x 7 x 1.06 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #666,462 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,286 in Arts & Photography Criticism
- #2,433 in Literary Criticism & Theory
- #3,555 in Art History (Books)
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Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2016
This is feminism as conspiracy theory, the portrayal of culture as sex war, and it's joyless nonsense. The imagery in question is often exotic and edgy - but that's what interesting art does. If Dijkstra understood the art he castigates so energetically - chiefly Decadence - then he might begin to see the argument that perhaps beauty and pleasure are legitimate ends in their own right. Which is surely better than this ideological axe-grinding.
I'm afraid I have to disagree with those who praise the quality of the research in 'Idols of Perversity'. The author leans heavily on a couple of slender sources which are clearly pretty radical for their day as if they show the misogynist character of an entire era. We could use the SCUM Manifesto to portray all women as homicidal loons. But most of us are a little more grown up than that and just laugh at it, as I did with this. Women portrayed powerfully are 'demonised', women not portrayed powerfully are being repressed. Apparently. If any of his subjects fail to provide visuals or commentary to support his screed, Bram happily 'knows' what they were thinking anyhow.
I reluctantly recommend this. Five stars for the lavish - and frequently rare - imagery. One for the politically-correct propagandising - an average of three with one on top for giggles. If you enjoy Symbolist or Decadent art, do buy it, but also look out for the out-of-print 'Dreamers of Decadence' which covers the same area and with more appreciation and less sanctimonious baggage.
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Incluído estão fotos do livro antigo junto com o novo, comprado por esse link. E a câmera ainda ajuda bastante a resolução ruim, pois ao vivo é pior. Com a qualidade baixa que foi entregue, recomendo pegarem o PDF e revelarem vocês mesmo. Provavelmente sairia mais em conta e mais barato. Estou extremamente decepcionada já que é um livro tão bom. O texto é incrivel e a qualidade física tira tanto disso.
Reviewed in Brazil on May 31, 2023
Incluído estão fotos do livro antigo junto com o novo, comprado por esse link. E a câmera ainda ajuda bastante a resolução ruim, pois ao vivo é pior. Com a qualidade baixa que foi entregue, recomendo pegarem o PDF e revelarem vocês mesmo. Provavelmente sairia mais em conta e mais barato. Estou extremamente decepcionada já que é um livro tão bom. O texto é incrivel e a qualidade física tira tanto disso.





