Anemoia, nostalgia for a time you never knew.
It’s lunchtime and I’m about to take a nap. But I don’t want to sleep long or deeply, so I decided to search on YouTube for a song that might lull me to sleep and relax me.
So this is love covered by Sneha was the music I played. The YouTube algorithm took care of the rest and suggested a playlist called You’re a hopeless romantic but in the 19th century.
This title made me smile, and I began to dream of long dresses, puffed sleeves and garters.
I grew up reading Barbara Cartland novels, and I don’t know why, but I’ve always had a fondness for period films. As soon as there was any mention of frilly dress and corsets, I was fascinated.
Period books or movies have always provoked a kind of nostalgia in me. I wish I could have been there, but even more than that I feel a kind of regret at not having lived through those times.
But how can you feel nostalgia for an era you never knew?
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I recently found out that there’s a word for it: Anemoia. It’s a neologism coined by the writer John Koenig in his book The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, who aims to fill in the gaps in the English language’s ability to express certain complex emotions.
Anemoia is not based on personal experience but on imagination.
I often naively think that everything was better before, simpler. Yet I’ve never been there.
I am aware that it’s simply a feeling and not the reality.
And I’m happy to be able to visit those times from time to time, through books and films.
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Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it.
Tell me in the comments, do you feel Anemoia too?
