Re: While Baudelaire did not invent the notion of the flâneur, ...

On 6/01/2025 9:04 a.m., HenHanna wrote:

i'm a huge fan of the C.Nolan film [Following]
  flâneur -- was the notion invented by Baudelaire?
  [Post-Baudelaire Development]
          After Baudelaire, the concept of the flâneur continued to
evolve:
 Walter Benjamin, in the 20th century, further developed the idea in his
work "The Arcades Project," using Baudelaire's flâneur as a starting
point.
 The concept spread beyond Paris to other European cities, particularly
Berlin.
            In conclusion, while Baudelaire did not invent the notion of
the flâneur, his work was instrumental in shaping and popularizing the
concept as we understand it today. The flâneur's origins can be traced
back earlier, with significant development occurring during and after
the French Revolution.
   On Sat, 4 Jan 2025 9:17:49 +0000, occam wrote:

>
A flâneur (FR) is apparently "... an ambivalent figure of urban
affluence and modernity, representing the ability to wander detached
from society"
>
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fl%C3%A2neur
>
Wiki:  A near-synonym of the noun is boulevardier.
>
As there are not many boulevards in London, the synonym is not much
help.  The other suggestions - urban male "stroller", "lounger",
"saunterer", or "loafer" - also miss the mark somewhat.
"Lounger" and "loafer" for me are /indoor/ terms. A "saunterer"
describes a far more energetic activity than "stroller".
>
Is this one of those terms (like Schadenfreude) that we have to resign
to as eternally foreign?

I first heard/read this word as a youth; the phrase "flâneurs and dilettantes" sticks in my mind to this day. I had some idea what a dilettante was -- not a good thing to be called -- so flâneur was probably similar. But I did have to look it up. Since then it has lived in a quiet suburb of my vocabulary, not getting out very often.
Probably a little later I heard about Baudelaire. And then again in the 1980s some friends of mine were very excited about Walter Benjamin....
But not until today did I bother to look into its etymology. According to Dauzat, "flâner" is not terribly old (1645), and comes from Norman dialect, and thither probably from Scandinavian -- Norwegian flana 'to go here and there'. Like what the Vikings did.