Tuesday, April 5, 2011

The A-Z Blogging Challenge - The Letter E - Ennui

I have made it well known that the word ENNUI is my favorite word in any language. (My favorite word in English is 'poodle') It's one of those words that doesn't translate into English very well because ENNUI is not just being sad - it's being beyond sad.

It's a rainy day sadness that comes upon one on the sunniest of days. It physically changes one's body and is the most delicious kind of sadness. You can cry or mope around the house but those moods can be changed instantly by something good suddenly happening to you (like finding a Popsicle in the box that you thought was empty).

ENNUI is unbreakable pessimism about everything bad in this world. It's giving up before you even start.

ENNUI is nurtured over a lifetime. It's defeatist despair that prepares you to accept and deal with all the hits one takes in life. It's disappointment that actually feels good because you predicted correctly that something that was promised to be good, actually turned out bad - just like you knew it would.


This picture say it all when it comes to ENNUI. It from the 'Gashlycrumb Tinies', a work very much like this A-Z challenge by the genius Edmund Gorey. Check out the video to see how wickedly dark and Gothic this primer is. Just look at the sad little guy in the window. He is so sad that he just sighed one too many times and died. He died from being too sad.



Famous ENNUI sufferer - Eeyore. His gloom and doom attitude just fills my heart with joy.



ENNUE Hall of Famer - Edward Scissorhands. He can hurt you both physically and emotionally while breaking your heart. That is some fine ENNUI multitasking.

12 comments:

TS Hendrik said...

Eeyore is the man! Or donkey... I know you're love for ennui. It's a great word.

M. D. Jackson said...

Ennui is just the French's way of making depression seem cool. True "ennui" -- that whinging, self pitying, self involved thing is much more accurately portrayed by Marvin the Paranoid Android. Sure it's fun to watch and listen to until you're actually forced into a spaceship with him. Then you'll be lookin g for the nearest airlock and trying to decide if you want to throw him out or yourself.

Kal said...

I would press the WOOOSH button on Marvin pretty quickly. Less quickly than your average Frenchman. If I could I would get rid of him during the launch process. That one little fact made me 'unsuitable' for a mission to Mars according to some bullshit Nasa medical evaluators (and French lovers I suspect)

Sarah Mäkelä said...

Wow, I learned something new. Great header.

Rawknrobyn.blogspot.com said...

I know ennui well, but how is it pronounced? un-we? Great post, my friend. I was thinking of Eeyore for E too but got too depressed to write that one.
xoRobyn

Wings1295 said...

Eeyore is perfect for this one, that's for sure.

Eliza said...

Ennui, I'd never heard of this word, but I experience it occasionally :-)

Debra She Who Seeks said...

I always thought "ennui" just meant "boredom." Clearly it has emo depths of which I was unaware.

csmith2884 said...

Great post that clip was amazing a wonderful dark counterpoint to all the happy happy, hugs and prayers crap that fills my email daily.

Belle said...

Great E word. I didn't know what it meant until recently when I found it in a book and looked it up. Before I started blogging I would walk around the house sighing with boredom. I guess I had "ennui".

Kal said...

You had sweet, delicious Ennui. Doesn't it feel better that you know what to call it now.

Kal said...
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