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and narcotics are scraping the surface. He suggests that human beings are naturally so wretched and devious that the common evils we are desensitized to every day do not even burn a memory in our brains. We are the worst evil in the world, for we are only the catalyst to unleashing the darkest evils that are locked away in our subconscious.
Out of all the darkness that Baudelaire discusses, he says that
boredom, or ennui, is the worst--“it would murder for a moment’s rest/ and willingly annihilate the earth./ It’s BOREDOM [sic]. Tears have glued its eyes together” (35-37). Baudelaire entertains the idea that boredom is the gateway that opens on all evils. Denying yourself the will to find out who you are and exploring your mind can lead to nothing good. Fear and selfpity awaken ennui, so you cannot see the potential in life’s endless course.
Charles Baudelaire was influenced by the era he lived in and most
likely by unpleasant circumstances he experienced at that time. He found satisfaction in writing about the then controversial matters we now study. Baudelaire captures mankind’s nature candidly and speaks to the pessimist inside his readers--“you--hypocrite Reader--my double--my brother!” (40) According to Baudelaire’s message--that boredom is the worst evil--then the key to defeating evil would be to appreciate life and the never-ending possibilities of its mysteries. —Lance Johansen
Work Cited Baudelaire, Charles. “To the Reader.” The Norton Anthology of World Literature: Shorter Second Edition. Volume 2. Ed. Peter Simon, et al. Trans. Robert Lowell. Norton: New York, 2009. Print.