Now entering the season of Jack-O-Lanterns, homework, dead leaves, and the abundance of both artificial and nature-made spiderwebs, Dark Academia—an online subculture (more commonly referred to as an “aesthetic”) valuing all things Ivy League, autumnal, and candle-lit—is taking hold of certain spheres of the internet, just as it has almost every year since the mid-2010s. Apart from their love for early 20th century fashion, members of this subculture also place emphasis on historical expertise, especially that which relates to ancient Greece and Rome. But what is it that draws so many young people into a subculture so focused on the past?
Donna Tartt’s 1992 novel “The Secret History”—a cornerstone work of Dark Academia—follows a small group of collegiate classics students around Hampden, Vermont, where they attend exclusive Greek and Latin lectures, conduct Bacchanalia to reach the Greek god Dionysus, and ultimately commit murder in the woods. (This is not a spoiler, as it is revealed in the first lines of the book.) Occasionally deemed a modern version of “The Bacchae,” an ancient Greek tragedy by Euripedes which details Dionysus’ becoming of a god, “The Secret History” proves to have major classical influences, which is an important reason for its popularity in the Dark Academia scene, with features like the fatal flaw, interaction with the spiritual realm, fate, and hubris. Even broader themes like death, love, and the overall human condition are present both in this novel and in other respected classical works.
Love for this “aesthetic” is rooted in the human desire to be connected with something greater. In the age of flimsy goods, single-use plastics, and a dozen years of same old, same old, it makes sense that some portion of our youth is turning toward the eras that even their grandparents could not remember, even if it is only in thought.
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