Ecstasy, A Study of Happiness: A Novel

by Louis Couperus

"Ecstasy, A Study of Happiness: A Novel" by Louis Couperus is a psychological novel published in 1892. The story follows widow Cecile van Erven and her complex relationship with Taco Quaerts, who sees her as an object of exalted love while she longs for something more earthly and human. Couperus explores themes of happiness and suffering through this tale of incomplete connections, glorifying a form of platonic love where spiritual devotion collides with unfulfilled desires, leaving his heroine caught between ecstasy and dissatisfaction.