Les Fleurs du mal (1866) by Charles Baudelaire and Le Joueur (1867) by Fyodor Dostoyevsky are two literary works of art with common denominators: they both deal with themes of gambling, love, luck, moral degradation and great poverty. These two books are essential, produced in the era of Symbolism, the literary movement that swept Europe between 1860 and 1880. The main themes of Symbolism revolve around darkness, decadence; employing images full of symbolic metaphor. Symbolists often looked at the ideal and invested it in language that would require some interpretation and deciphering to understand. Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821-1881), for his part, came from the existentialist and symbolist movement in Russia. Although Russian Symbolism did not officially begin until 1895, Dostoyevsky is considered the Russian father of Symbolism who predated the movement through his writings. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayIn “The Little Old Women,” Baudelaire compares the old women in the game to the “vestals in love with the late Frascati.” Frascati was the only gaming hall in Paris that allowed female players to play. This image of old women gambling away their money, entranced by uncontrollable obsession, evokes the scenes of grandmother gambling away her fortune at the casino in The Gambler. Alexei reports that “at the casino, the grandmother seemed to be expected” (Dostoyevsky 2005). Taken by the passion to win, grandmother quickly becomes a regular at the casino. Frascati was a busy and popular show that attracted hundreds of players. Frascati's historic gambling parlor remained open until 1836 when the gambling houses' lease expired and was forced to close (Shelley). The main themes of Baudelaire's poem "Games of Chance" are associated with decadence, aging and death. In typical symbolist fashion, Baudelaire details the surroundings of the gambling parlor, paying particular attention to body parts and furniture. These female gamblers described in the poem are hopelessly addicted to the gaming tables, where they waste their hard-earned money on bets. In “The Game”, Baudelaire talks about the players “who come to waste their meager amount of sweat”. The players belong to the poor classes and regularly lose many bets; yet, they are inspired by the hope of improving their luck and earning more money. It's a never-ending vicious circle. They work for a few dollars and return to the casinos to gamble, lose, work for more money and return to the gambling houses. Dostoyevsky describes poor gamblers as “hungry and restless people gathered around the gaming tables” (Dostoyevsky 2005). Many loyal casino customers are broke, broke, in debt and desperate. Later, after experiencing the vicissitudes of the game, Alexei, addicted and desperate, admits: “I am in a worse situation than the least beggar. But what is a beggar? A fig for begging! I ruined myself, that’s all” (Dostoyevsky 2005). Poor money management, greed and recklessness lead to this crushing and inescapable poverty. As soon as one's fortune changes and one gains money, it is either wasted on frivolous attraction or used to pay the debts incurred. Alexei must depend on the people around him to get him out of prison, for food and shelter, while he finds himself trapped in the slavery of money and Polina. Baudelaire's poem, "Gambling", clearly describes the environment that prevails in gambling houses. where players wastetheir money. It evokes the scene of “tenacious passion”, of “funeral joy”, of “envy” (Baudelaire 2006). These feelings are commonplace in a gambling house where the passion to win and the desire to develop reside. The (lucky) number of other players competing provokes envy, just as the speaker of the poem admits to having feelings towards his suitors at the table. Baudelaire also characterizes and equates the passion for gambling with an “infernal fever” whose ultimate end is death and destruction. This image also connects the passion of gambling with the heat of sexuality and the excitement of winning. At the casino, Alexei is controlled by his passionate desires to win at roulette games. He says that he “suddenly became obsessed with the desire to take risks” (Dostoyevsky, 2005). This burning desire pushes him to make many absurd deals and take free bets at the casino. Around the table, Alexei observes the rich competitors, silently scrutinizes them and envies them. Even grandmother, when she begins to play, “trembles with excitement” (Dostoyevsky 2005). The urge to take risks and win floods his entire being and soon becomes crazy with anxiety about games. In The Gambler, when Alexei is introduced to the gambling parlor, he describes that “at first everything seemed so foul to him – so morally petty and foul,” and then alludes to “the misery that accompanies it” (Dostoyevsky 2005 ). This game setting is intentionally dirty because it attracts a dirty crowd blind to the moral decadence that surrounds it. The disgusting nature inherent in the casino poisons and drugs the clientele to such an extent that they keep coming back, powerless to stop the habit. Likewise, with Alexei, the casino is both repulsive and compelling. He is offended and fascinated by decadence. In Baudelaire's poem Les Fleurs du Mal, “Gambling,” filth, misery, and moral decadence go hand in hand. The women play in a dusty gambling parlor with "shabby armchairs", a "dirty ceiling", a "spooky safe" and "dead virtue" which undeniably tell a story of aging, obsolescence, corruption and of decadence. The players are old women who are nearing death and who, because of their vices, are rushing towards their own demise. The gaming lounge has fallen into an undesirable state. The women's past occupation as prostitutes further taints their character and tarnishes the general ambiance, so that it lacks the purity and cleanliness of its original state. The poem “Je t’adore” by Charles Baudelaire is linked to the relationship between Alexei and Polina. The first person of the poem applies to Alexei while his reluctant lover, Polina, is the focus of his relentless pursuit and unrequited love. Polina's physical and emotional distance is palpable throughout the novel The Gambler. She continually uses Alexei to achieve her own selfish ends and throws him away because she is in love with another. The speaker laments: "I love you all the more because you flee from me... and multiply the leagues that separate my arms from the infinite blue." At the end of the novel, Polina moves to Switzerland to try to escape Alexei's romantic advances. However, despite her repeated rebuffs and escapes, he continues to pursue her. The novel ends with Alexei busy at a gaming table trying to win money to follow her to Switzerland. He declares to an angry Polina, even more annoyed by his eternal love: “Am I afraid of a scandal or of your anger? Why should I fear your wrath? I love without hope and I know that from now on I will love you a thousand times more” (Dostoyevsky 2005). This passage corresponds in terms of feeling and action to Alexei's determination. He is never discouraged by her cold rebuffs or her furylivid. Polina's relentless cruelty is evident to everyone, even Alexei. Inflexible as stone, after Alexei declares his love for her, Polina retorts in an angry tone: “Why do I hate you! Yes, yes, I hate you! (Dostoyevsky 2005). Her hardened heart, unable to return Alexei's love, demonstrates her inability to reject him with sympathy for her feelings. She continues to take his gambling winnings and then refuses to love him or even show him respect and gratitude. The more Polina persists in rejecting him, the more Alexei's fervent love burns towards her. He tells Polina that "you will eventually make me love you, since you are who you are, I want to love you all the time and never be unfaithful to you" (Dostoevsky 160). Knowing fully his cold contempt always obliges Alexei to love Polina and be faithful to her forever, from all appearances, it seems that Alexei is even more seduced by Polina's cruelty. Chance and luck are key elements of the game and are common factors in The Gambler. and Les Fleurs du Mal. The characters' luck falters and proves either their ruin or their success. As mentioned previously, Baudelaire's "Les Petites Vieilles" mentions the Parisian gambling parlor Frascati. A player testifies that at Frascati, the only handicap. of the player is the law of chance. “Intuition led me to revere the law of chance as the highest and deepest law, the law that arises from the foundation A meaningless word can become a deadly thunderbolt. . A little noise could destroy the earth” (Brecht 1966). Roulette is the most popular game in the casino. Roulette, taken from French, means small wheel. In the game, you have to spin the wheels until a ball lands on a number. This game comes from the concept of the Wheel of Fortune where in mythology it is believed that the gods determined destiny by turning a wheel (The Meaning of the Wheel of Fortune). Chance and fortune correspond since the wheel of fortune meant either an improvement or deterioration in one's fortune (pun intended). Playing at the gaming table to cover Polina's urgent debts, Alexei wins several times and accumulates about two hundred thousand rubles. However, he and his grandmother lost fortunes, betting large sums of money in a desperate attempt to recoup their losses. At the casino, one of the De Griers characters says "the odds can change." One bad luck, and you will lose everything – especially with your game. It was terrible” (Dostoyevsky 2005). Translation: Your luck may change. But a bad stroke of luck, and you can lose everything, especially in gambling. It's terrible. The characters play against a formidable enemy, destiny, and throw it into the hands of chance. Roulette, one of the popular games in gambling houses, is based on chance. The intoxicating obsession to continue playing the game of chance pushes Alexei into more serious circumstances and heavier losses. He admits that while playing, “madness seemed to overtake me and, grabbing my last two thousand florins, I bet them on 12 of the first numbers – quite by chance” (Dostoyevsky 2005). Even in the game or rather the wager of love, Alexei puts everything on the line to be with Polina, making romantic advances towards her and courting her affection. However, he demeans himself to the point of becoming a willing slave and ultimately a scorned lover; However, luck and love are inextricable themes since the characters must risk something to pursue their heart's desire. Baudelaire's The Venal Muse also harmonizes thematically with Dostoyevsky's The Gambler since poverty, greed, and deception are omnipresent in both works. First, players are driven by need. The majority of players in Germany and, 1912.