Ecstasy, A Study of Happiness: A Novel

The novel centers on a quietly reflective woman whose domestic routines and social contacts become the setting for close psychological observation. Through episodic scenes—arranged in four complementary sections—it follows intimate moments of longing, daydream, and subdued passion as relationships with relatives and acquaintances reveal shifting moods of contentment and unease. Couperus examines the fragile nature of happiness, the lure of aesthetic sensation, and the tension between social duty and inner longing, using delicate sensory detail and interior monologue to map small psychological changes across years. The result is a subtle study of temperament, memory, and the ways ordinary life yields fleeting ecstasies and slow disenchantments.