Romanticism: A Journey of Self-Discovery and Inner Conflict
General Characteristics of Romanticism
The term “romanticism” refers not only to a literary style but also to a way of being in the world. In contrast to the emphasis on reason and order prevalent in the 18th century, the romantic spirit prioritizes sensitivity, imagination, and freedom. This shift reflects a cultural malaise, a protest against the notion that reason alone can explain the world, to the detriment of the spirit and emotions. However, romanticism cannot be simply defined as the opposite of neoclassicism. Both movements have Greco-Latin roots and a fascination with classical characters, although Romantics particularly admired the tortured figures of tragedy and Greco-Roman mythology.
Some of the great romantic authors include the Germans (Goethe, Novalis, Hölderlin), the British (Byron, Shelley, Walter Scott), the French (Lamartine, Victor Hugo), and the Italians (Leopardi, Manzoni). In Spain, romanticism was a less exalted movement, but authors like Espronceda, the Duke of Rivas, and Larra explored the romantic malaise centered on the conflict of the self with itself and with reality. This struggle unfolds in a pessimistic world where disappointment and failure are driven by the incessant search for an unattainable ideal.
The romantic conception of reality is viewed through a troubled, dynamic soul, where intuition, passion, and the exaltation of feeling attempt to capture a new understanding. For example, the stylized nature of neoclassical poetry, with its focus on gardens and pools, contrasts sharply with the rugged and rough landscapes favored by romanticism. The storm, the raging sea, and the dark forest become the backdrop for the inner states of the romantic soul.
The romantic individual is isolated from their environment, aware of their creative power, and rebellious against all laws. In their quest for inner understanding, they seek refuge in their own ego, yearning for an ineffable ideal that remains elusive, leading to frustration and displacement. Conscious of living in a disharmonious and desecrated world, the romantic confronts their identity, feeling stifled by and distrustful of collective choices.
Deeply demoralized by the failure of the French Revolution’s political ideals, the romantic feels rootless. This self-imposed exile leads to dreams of earlier times, such as the Middle Ages, or exotic places like the East. They are fascinated by chivalric ideals, the anguish of Don Quixote, the pursuit of freedom, and the desire to return to a golden age. Their fascination with the Gothic and the mysterious characters of romances guides their imagination toward the unconscious.
In this struggle, the romantic feels a kinship with all those who are uprooted. Byron, a tormented soul full of melancholy and legend, oscillating between light and darkness, becomes the prototype. The romantic is fascinated by convulsed characters, alter egos, and different masks. Figures like Cain, Prometheus, and other demonic characters capture their attention. Women, too, become objects of fascination, embodying both angelic fragility and satanic temptation, leading the hero to a fateful end.
Eternal themes reappear, tinged with pessimism and negativity: unconditional love, freedom, death, the landscape as a reflection of the soul, and the search for the ineffable ideal.
The romantic’s yearning for answers about the meaning of life and their desire to escape to an idyllic, non-existent space is continuous. They protest against vulgarity, lack of ambition, oppression, and injustice. This displeasure is often expressed through the symbolism of nature in their work. Nature becomes a reflection of their inner conflict, a turbulent and kinetic force. The raging sea, ruins, the dark night, and the moon mirror the oscillations of their passions and the grandeur of their inner ghosts.
Ruins symbolize the conflict between the natural and the artificial. Nature is alive and its power is unquestionable, but the world of artifice—human creation, art, and history—is decaying. Empires crumble, leaving only ruins. While nature continuously regenerates, human impulses collide and break down. Contrary to the neoclassical belief in humanity’s ability to organize chaos, the romantic feels that everything is under demolition, that the foundations of civilization are crumbling.
The emphasis on night intensifies the stark coloring of death, creating a theatrical scene of cemeteries, tombs, and ruins—elements that remind us of the passage of time, the denial of self, and the rediscovery of baroque pessimism. While Rousseau believed that humans could break free from their chains, the romantic struggles to find the path to freedom.
Love, in romanticism, leads to melancholy. A mystique surrounds love, suggesting that its ineffability brings us closer to the absolute. However, this love is built on a utopian foundation, existing only beyond death. Passion leads to exacerbated feelings that destroy us in life; only after death can love be saved.
In short, the romantic individual stands naked before their masks, attempting to expel their inner ghosts. In their search for a new order, they reinvent the old code of chivalry, fighting for freedom and goodness, and denouncing social injustice. Their exaltation of all things human leads to frustration. They are frustrated humanists, aware that people are born free, but suffocated by civilization, the world, and their environment. They stand naked before their masks to expel their inner ghosts. In this intense praise of folly, they reveal their identity, alienated from the world and distant from the crowds.