Absinthe Returns in a Glass Half Full of Mystique and Misery

Review of: Absinthe Returns in a Glass Half Full of Mystique and Misery

Student: Jesica Suparo, English Language IV

Author: EDWARD ROTHSTEIN

Published: November 12, 2007, New York Times.








Artists have a different perception of the world and the aspects of it. It is widely known that, through history, some well-known artists have used stimulants such as drugs and alcohol which “helped” them in producing stunning pieces of work. But there is one that had an outstanding role from the rest: Absinthe. A brief description of it would be that it is a highly alcoholic berverage (usually 68 to 80 percent) anise-flavored spirit derived from herbs including the flowers and leaves of the medicinal plant Artemisia absinthium, also called Grand Wormwood or Absinth Wormwood; together with anise, fennel, coriander, mint and other herbs. Absinthe originated in Switzerland as an elixir/tincture. In the 17th century it was used to treat venereal disease, intestinal worms and drunkenness. By the 19th century absinthe was used by French soldiers in Africa as an antiseptic, to ward off insects and to treat dysentery. Despite this, it was better known for its popularity in late 19th and early 20th century France, particularly among Parisian artists and writers. At the end of the 19th century absinthe was portrayed as a dangerously addictive, psychoactive drug. After connecting violent crimes supposedly committed under its influence, absinthe was banned in 1906 in Switzerland, and by 1915, it was prohibited in a number of European countries and the United States. The revival of absinthe distelleries took place in 2000, along with regulations and controlls over it.
But the controversy began much earlier along with its preparation rituals and myths that grew around it; when artists which consumed it began to feel the effects of this drink: such was the powerful effects that led Hemingway’s character Robert Jordan, in “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” to describe it as “(…) an opaque, bitter, tongue-numbing, brain-warming, stomach-warming, idea-changing liquid alchemy(...)”. This is, for sure, not just another drink. It has a special place in the history of modern culture. Poems were written about it under the names of: the green fairy, the green goddess, the green muse, the glaucous witch and the queen of poisons. Skip to next paragraphPicasso, Van Gogh, Manet, and Degas painted about it. It seems that absinthe raises an awakening of the consciousness along with the lulling, inevitable dumbness of drunkenness. As Oscar Wilde said: “After the first glass, you see things as you wish they were. After the second, you see them as they are not. Finally you see things as they really are, and that is the most horrible thing in the world.”


Sources:
www.nytimes.com/2007/11/12/arts/12conn.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&ref=arts
http://www.wikipedia.com/
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