The Decay of Sentiment by Agnes Repplier
"The Decay of Sentiment" by Agnes Repplier explores the decline of emotional expression and sentimentality in modern society. Repplier critiques the shift from a time when emotions were openly expressed and celebrated to an era where sentiment is viewed with skepticism and often dismissed as insincere or excessive. She contrasts the past, where figures like Sir Walter Scott and others were deeply moved by history, literature, and personal experiences, with the present, where such emotional responses are rare and often ridiculed. Repplier laments the loss of genuine emotional engagement, suggesting that the complexity of modern thought has led to a detachment from the simple, heartfelt sentiments that once enriched human experience. She argues that while past generations may have indulged in sentimentality, they also possessed a depth of feeling that is lacking in contemporary society. The essay reflects on how historical figures and literary characters once inspired profound emotional reactions, which are now replaced by a more analytical and less passionate approach to life and art. Repplier's work is a call to recognize the value of sentiment and to reconsider the role of emotion in a world increasingly dominated by rationality and skepticism.
By Agnes Repplier · First published 1907 · Genre: Literary Criticism, Essay, Satire · 6,756 words
First lines
That useful little phrase, "the complexity of modern thought," has been so hard worked of late years that it seems like a refinement of cruelty to add to its obligations. Begotten by the philosophers, born of the essayists, and put out to nurse among the novel-writers, it has since been apprenticed to the whole body of scribblers, and drudges away at every trade in literature. How, asks Vernon Lee, can we expect our fiction to be amusing, when a psychological and sympathetic interest has driven away the old hard-hearted spirit of comedy? How, asks Mr. Pater, can Sebastian Van Stork make up his mind to love and marry and work like ordinary mortals, when the many-sidedness of life has wrought in him a perplexed envy of those quiet occupants of the churchyard, "whose deceasing was so long since over"? How, asks George Eliot, can Mrs. Pullet weep with uncontrolled emotion over Mrs. Sutton's dropsy, when it behooves her not to crush her sleeves or stain her bonnet-strings? The problem is repeated everywhere, either in mockery or deadly earnestness, according to the questioner's disposition, and the old springs of simple sentiment are drying fast within us. It is heartless to laugh, it is foolish to cry, it is indiscreet to love, it is morbid to hate, and it is intolerant to espouse any cause with enthusiasm.
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The Decay of Sentiment is listed on Textopian as a short story by Agnes Repplier, dated 1907 CE.
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- Work type: Short story
- Author: Agnes Repplier
- Date: 1907 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Literary Criticism, Essay, Satire, Cultural History
- Length: 6,756 words
- Structure: 1 section, 37 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Difficult (College Level)
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- Work identity for The Decay of Sentiment by Agnes Repplier
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Genres
- Literary Criticism — The text provides an in-depth analysis of both historical and contemporary literary works, examining changes in literary sentiment and critique.
- Essay — The work takes on the form of a reflective essay, presenting a sustained argument on the decay of sentiment in literature.
- Satire — The text employs a satirical tone to mock the evolving tastes and excesses of sentimentality in literary culture.
- Cultural History — It situates literary sentiment within a broader historical context, tracing shifts in cultural and literary values over time.
Tags
Essays · Cultural Criticism · Social Commentary · Literature · Intellectual Inquiry · Philosophy · Modernity · Historical Analysis · Art Criticism · Cultural Change · Values · Civic Discourse