Before examining the characters and the effect decadence had on them it is crucial to put together a working definition of the genre. However, this is no easy task due to the inherent paradoxical nature of decadent literature. In the introduction to Decadence: An Annotated Anthology by Jane Desmarais and Chris Baldick a concise yet basic definition of the form is given to the reader. “Decadence represented a hedonistic embrace of self-destructive indulgence and a glorification of our ephemeral human sensibility”, later in the same paragraph they write, “…these writers resisted the clamor of ‘Progress’, and in their works we repeatedly encounter images of anxiety, boredom, destruction, and death” (Desmarias 5). Many readers will find this
