Sexual Personae: Art and Decadence from Nefertiti to Emily Dickinson

From ancient Egypt through the nineteenth century, Sexual Personae explores the provocative connections between art and pagan ritual; between Emily Dickinson and the Marquis de Sade; between Lord Byron and Elvis Presley. It ultimately challenges the cultural assumptions of both conservatives and traditional liberals.

In this brilliantly original book, Camille Paglia identifies some of the major patterns that have endured in western culture from ancient Egypt and Greece to the present. According to Paglia, one source of continuity is paganism, which, undefeated by Judeo-Christianity, continues to flourish in art, eroticism, astrology, and pop culture. Others, she says, are androgyny, sadism, and the aggressive western eye, which has created our art and cinema. Paglia follows these and other themes, from Nefertiti and the Venus of Willendorf to Apollo and Dionysus, from Botticelli and Michaelangelo to Shakespeare and Blake and finally to Emily Dickinson, who, along with other major nineteenth-century authors, becomes a remarkable example of Romanticism turned into Decadence.

Book format	Audiobook
Fiction/nonfiction	Non-Fiction
Genre	Literature & Fiction
Publication date	November, 2017
Pages	0
Edition	Unabridged
Publisher	Tantor Media, Inc.
Original languages	English
Language	English
Edu focus	Art & Humanities
Educational level	College
Assembled product height	1.5 in
Assembled product weight	1 lb
Bisac subject heading	SOC028000