Decadence is a literary movement especially of the late 19th-century France and England characterized by refined aestheticism, artifice, and the quest for new sensations. It first emerged in France in the mid-19th century before spreading to the rest of Europe. For France and England, the end of the 18^th century and the 19^th century were tough times. During the late 18^th century, France was going through the French Revolution and the government was failing to meet the needs of its people.