In short, the Romantics grant an authority to feelings, to that inner psychological space, that all human beings possess. And those feelings are first and foremost genuine, pristine, and true guides to who human beings are. It is only society, with its petty rivalries, its competitiveness, and its artificial sophistication, that twists, perverts, and distorts those feelings. That is a key move in the path to the modern self, made more compelling by the fact that it is expressed in an artistic form rather than a philosophical argument.
