By Eliana Fulton
Creating an atmosphere in fiction writing is fun, but it isn’t easy. A good atmospheric book can immerse its readers in a world and mind set, allowing them to fully engage with the themes of the text. Oftentimes authors draw us into the mood of a time period, and that historical setting possesses a visual pull as well as a different socio-cultural mood. As a reader, it’s incredible to travel back in time to a story, but as a writer it’s a daunting task to create that atmosphere.
By pinpointing what makes these beloved stories feel a certain way we need to dissect them and find the qualities that construct that atmosphere. By understanding and implementing those qualities we can replicate them in our own writing.
In the last All About Atmosphere post, we explored Gothic Literature, and how both magical realism and fantasy lend themselves well to atmospheric tones. Atmosphere can also be a great tool to capture the energy of a historical time period or a social movement. As societies change the hoi polloi shares a voice that can approve or disapprove of certain cultural elements. The open conversation leaves its mark on the current literature and stains the way we think about that time period in the present.
Capturing the experience of historic figures is like lightning in a bottle. To understand what makes that feeling so electric, you need to study it. What was the mood of the masses? The elite? How did people adapt to changing times? What kind of language did people use? What was important to them?
There are details and major necessities that stand as pillars of their atmospheres that you’ll need to add when you're trying to emulate them.This series explores what makes up these atmospheres, so that we can recreate them.
Decadence
Despite the delicate sounding name, one I often confuse with decor and elegance, decadence focuses on the deterioration of morals and culture. The reason I, and others, confuse decadence, is because this decline in a society is marked by excessive indulgence in pleasures or luxury. It’s a critical atmosphere, but it’s a beautiful picture despite its negative inclinations.
In the late 1800s artists began to question the moral rigidity and utilitarianism of the Victorian Era. Consumerism wrapped around the elitists, and people’s priorities shifted as they resisted the stern hand of social rules. The result was entertaining and social art that appealed to a universal desire for an elegant and sublime, artistic aesthetic that is equally beautiful and humanizing.
Literature in the decadent style especially, marked a rebelliousness against high society culture and attitudes. The most popular example would be Oscar Wilde’s Picture of Dorian Gray. There was an emphasis on sexual deviance, luxuries, and, above all, “art for art’s sake.” A less popular, but crucial piece that embodies decadence was the periodical literary magazine called “The Yellow Book.” It featured illustrations, essays, poems and short stories in the decadent style and the cover art famously associated the decadence period with yellow and green.
Essential
Aesthetic Above Morality
Although a decadent story might focus on a decaying collection of characters, the art of the text and the imagery of opulence takes precedence. This is where “art for art’s sake” really comes into play. There is a loveliness in all things, even if those things are outside the traditional realm of moral pleasantry.
A popular image that might come to mind is a wilting rose. Although the flower dies after you pluck it, the image of it slouching and falling apart is elegant. Decadence appreciates the beauty of the image rather than the cruelty or the suffering of the object.
Above all, do not use every image to communicate a theme. The imagery of the text can focus on simple ideas like surfaces, cutlery, patterns, books, painting, flora or fauna.
Sensory Detail
As you’re emphasizing allure and glamour, the prose can turn a bit purple. In this case, emphasizing richness and synesthesia works to your atmosphere’s advantages. Food might taste like colors and weather might feel like gemstones.
Creative metaphors and similes are welcome. Comparisons should feel elevated and luxurious. Something as small as the smell of a room should seem out of touch to the ordinary person. Think of the candle scents that you don’t really understand
Sandalwood, patchouli, gold flakes, amber.
As we create this shiny and unreal world, there is a yearning to crawl into the grandeur if only to know what absinthe and rosewater feel like on our lips.
Critique and Satirical Comedy
As a big fan of satirical comedy, I have to bring up The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. Similar to how we might make fun of people who refuse to turn their fork over at a fancy dinner, the rebels of the Victorian Era enjoyed making light of the absurd social rules confining their activity.
This might involve turning morals on their heads or hyperbolizing the actions of real life figures. It’s a way of criticising silly social constructs without expressly stating that they’re silly. The work can also find humor in its own quality. How much the plot relies on this satire determines whether the work itself is light hearted, or if details of the text are humorous with a heavier theme of self-deprecation in the larger story.
It is important that the satire is subversive. In the Victorian Era, irony in the face of common social morals was a culture shock. In contemporary work social critique is common, but subtlety mirrors the tone of the time period.
Self Conscious Reflection
Just as Dorian, in The Picture of Dorian Gray, was obsessed with his image, characters in decadence need to have a cultic devotion to their personal aesthetic. The importance of art of social rules meant that self-image was vital as an expression of taste.
This time period bred the dandyism movement. Men dressed up in artificial refinement. The image has since taken over other movements, as a means of self expression through a unique appearance. It’s a rebellious aristocratic style that transcends class.
Your characters should be meticulous in their choices. A girl might brush through her hair exactly a hundred times, and a boy might re-tie his tie until it’s perfect. If there is a character that enjoys messiness or unalignment, they would stand out like a sore thumb amongst your cast.
In the same way, the setting itself sets up how the people in a dwelling wish to be perceived. The setting itself can vary, but the decor and cleanliness are notable in accordance with the descriptions of the house. Whatever it looks like, the narrative voice should celebrate its charm and allure.
Flexible
Exoticism and Mythic Imagery
On a micro scale, individual objects can hold intrinsic value and allure. The wealthy class that decadence explores is usually old money. In exploring heirs of class, everyday artistic objects like fashion accessories or nick-nacks can contribute to the atmosphere.
The plot doesn’t need to revolve around the porcelain vases or antique hair pins, but they can contribute to context and characterization. The items that characters inherit and choose to either hold close or store away say a lot about their personal beliefs. The mythic element is where this category gets quite flexible. Magical realism might focus on talismans and curses, but the objects do not need to be haunting to have a hidden meaning.
Morbidity and the Grotesque
In the same way that decadence focuses on the beauty in moral decay, it can also highlight glamour in literal rot. In a world where everything must come to an end, self conscious characters have a natural desire to hold on to fickle things. As those things wear out or die, there is a symbolic glow in its end, despite the morbid quality.
It’s not just rot for rot’s sake; the characters are denied permanence without artificiality. A plastic rose does not smell half as sweet as the real thing, but it will live forever. There is a range to how grotesque these implementations need to be. Authors should strive to find poetry in the perverse, whether that is a literal decaying body or the broken pieces a cuckoo clock.
Draw From Classics
The best writers read. That goes for any genre or atmosphere. In this case, it is especially necessary to understand the classic examples of decadence because their existence is part of what defines the atmosphere. Decadence doesn’t really have a foothold in literature without Oscar Wilde. He and his fellow decadent era authors established a style of prose that worships the ornate in style and imagery.
However, imitation is only good in small portions. The lovely thing about atmosphere is that it changes with contemporary styles, so understanding and emulating the cadence and prose of decadent era authors is preferred to sticking to strict genre rules.
Vocabulary
Within descriptions of lovely, ornate, fading possessions and perfections, words themselves can create an atmospheric feeling. Here are some words and phrases that decadent authors enjoy:
Opalescent
Gilded shadows
Velvet-draped
Opium
Necrotic charm
Crumbling
Grandeur
Artifice
Melancholy
Ache
Ecstasy
Intoxicating
Alabaster
Sublime
Serpentine
This is a great place to experiment with your personal prose. Online word banks, other decadence books, and AI can help you turn your usual voice into one focused on decadent vernacular.
Thus Fades the Final Glimmer of this Reverie…
In my final flourish of ivory and ink, I must request that every aging soul indulge in the opulence of a decadent manner no matter the consequence. Only those with an elegant demeanor can withstand the theater of cultivating an aesthetic ennui so satin-swathed and incensed laced that their readers pay no mind to gilded shadows of irony. My own writing is merely an echo of an attempt, withdrawing from illuminance with every stroke of my silver computer keys, possessed by my past writing attempts. Then, as the embers of this post dwindle, dancing amongst the cinders, I dearly hope you readers find the allure in decadent literature.
Next Time…
Keep an eye out for the next post in the All About Atmosphere writing series about surrealism.