Towards the end of the 19th century a new, scientific view that understood alcoholism as a Towards the end of the 19th century, a new scientific view that understood alcoholism as a disease became prevalent. Various theories about the heredity of alcoholism emerged, which was also reflected as the atavistic elements of literary works of the end of the century. The character of the drunkard was described strictly from the moralistic worldview, which began to change in the following years. The inner world of the drunkard begins to be taken into consideration and even the possibility of such a character redeeming themselves is allowed. The attempt to understand the inner world of the drunkard in literature did not change the struggle of anti-alcohol fighters, who, in the light of hereditary theories, further aggravated their views, and their commitment to the complete abstinence of the nation.
The end of the First World War, however, brought great relief and paved the way for a completely different sense of life. Many indulged in all kinds of consumption; alcohol, syphilis, and nicotine, so to speak, ruled the world. Young people started dressing in the latest fashion, and both the young and the old attended dances late into the night. This was disturbing in the view of some bourgeois and Catholic moralists, among whom the widespread pre-war belief that society was morally declining grew even stronger.
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