In Praise of Melancholy

We’ve spent an entire semester exploring ways to define, reach, obtain, and/ or conquer happiness. But who says we’re supposed to be happy?

In Against Happiness, Eric Wilson argues, in a typically Romantic essay, that melancholia is not only good, but necessary for a thriving culture; “that it is the muse of great literature, painting, music, and innovation--and that it is the force underlying original insights. So enough Prozac-ing our brains. Let’s embrace our depressive side as the wellspring of creativity. It’s time to throw off the shackles of positivity and relish the blues that make us human.” On his blog, Wilson phrases that he is against the pop culture driven positiveness and aims to “challenge America’s addiction to superficial happiness and demonstrate the revelatory powers of melancholy.”

His worry, and I’ll admit it’s mine also, is that amid today’s cornucopia of antidepressants and self-help books (from “armchair philosophers and clinical psychologists to the Dalai Lama)--used to treat “mild sadness”--might make “sweet sorrow” an anachronistic expression.

This sorrow (which he does go to lengths to differentiate from severe depression, which needs medical intervention) is sweet because it flavors our world in making it more rich, more expressive, and more human. Thus, when we embrace ourselves, melancholy and all, we not only enhance our self understanding but we also enhance how we relate to each other and the “terrible beauties” of the world around us.

D: Wilson explores the link between sadness, artistic creation and depression, which has led to suicide in many well-known cases: Virginia Woolf, Vincent Van Gogh, Hart Crane and Ernest Hemingway, for instance. He says perhaps this is "just part of the tragic nature of existence, that sometimes there's a great price to be paid for great works or beauty, for truth."

Is melancholy a fair exchange for works, beauty, or truth?

My answer is perhaps, if the truth you are finding through your melancholy inspires you to reinvigorate, reevaluate, and remark at the world that surrounds you.

Some excerpts available:

http://books.google.com/books/about/Against_Happiness.html?id=KREKDJVDuo4C

Eric Wilson’s Blog

http://againsthappiness.blogspot.com