There's a difference between ennui and boredom.

 I know what boredom is.

 Ennui I'm not so sure about.

 Ennui is supposed to be that feeling of 'I've seen it all, nothing surprises me, in fact, I can hardly care'. Some online dictionaries [1, 2] define ennui as annoyance [ennui = annoy, geddit?], particularly an annoyance with tedium. This is an unsatisfactory definition, as it leaves out the quality of world-wearniess. The way these dictionaries have it, an assembly-line worker can feel ennui at seeing yet another piece of dough heading for the oven, another circuit board waiting to be stuffed, another car body awaiting seats and interior trim. A novice in the back room at Gregg's or Dunkin' Donuts can feel ennui on the basis of an extremely narrow experience. Hardly the kind of thing that exemplifies my understanding of the word.


 Since the dictionary is not particularly helpful, one must turn either to experience or to the imaginative renderings of novelists. Since I hardly ever see a novel, and have no basis for referring to Paul Bowles' description of John Malkovich and Debra Winger as they wander round North Africa, I cannot say that the characters express a sense of ennui any more clearly than I already have. However, they have a better shot at it than the doughnut maker.



 ^{Next:world-weariness}