Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/23581
Title: Declinism, nihilism and conflict avoidance in the novels of Michel Houellebecq
Contributor(s): Patrick, Sophie  (author)orcid 
Publication Date: 2016
Handle Link: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/23581
Abstract: Throughout his novels, Michel Houellebecq depicts capitalist society as individualistic and unfulfilling. Despite the unsatisfying nature of the Houellebecquian universe, his characters rarely fight for change, avoiding conflict and apathetically accepting their circumstances. This article seeks to make sense of this apathy by situating Houellebecq's novels within the discourse of declinism, a mouvance which, like Houellebecq's writing, has been labelled as nihilistic. This article will explore the validity of these labels, identifying clear parallels between declinist thinking and Nietzsche's nihilism, and building on existing scholarship which suggests that Houellebecq's writing is an example of passive nihilism; proposing that the conflict avoidance in Houellebecq's novels reflects a nihilistic declinist resignation that positive change in western society is not even possible.
Publication Type: Journal Article
Source of Publication: Essays in French Literature and Culture, v.53, p. 99-114
Publisher: University of Western Australia, Department of European Languages & Studies
Place of Publication: Australia
ISSN: 1835-7040
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008: 200511 Literature in French
Fields of Research (FoR) 2020: 470516 Literature in French
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008: 970120 Expanding Knowledge in Language, Communication and Culture
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2020: 280116 Expanding knowledge in language, communication and culture
280114 Expanding knowledge in Indigenous studies
Peer Reviewed: Yes
HERDC Category Description: C1 Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journal
Publisher/associated links: https://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=983204438141375;res=IELHSS
Appears in Collections:Journal Article
School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences

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