6:55 - I apologize for my déformation professionelle, but as a psychologist, this self-report would immediately ring my alarm bells for maniac episodes of bipolar disorder, and even more so if he ended up also being suicidal in other moments. Again, apologies for pathologizing... Anyways, I recently found your channel and I love it. Thank you for your content
Thank you so much for watching and commenting, my friend! 😃 No need to apologize. Nerval really gave us a lot of information about his issues and overall state of mind; he truly gave himself away in his writing, even more so than a "regular" author, so it's difficult not to analyze him. I'm so happy to hear you're enjoying the videos! Thanks again, and have a fantastic day!
I’m amazed to see Nerval has been translated into English. I love “Aurélia”. I love prose poems that form stunning pictures in my head - like the apocalyptic scene you’ve mentioned. And the narration blends masterfully boundaries between dreams, reality, memories, visions, hallucinations. It was courageous of him to broach this subject, as he was already taunted as a madman, with not a working neuron left to write anything worthy of attention, let alone coherent. “Friends” like Alexandre Dumas gossiped about his insanity and probably made up the homard-as-pet story. Never heard of this complicated version of Nerval’s pseudonym 🧐 I came across a more prosaic version - he inherited, from his mother’s family, a piece of land called “Clos Nerval” and took the name according to the aristocratic fashion: “de” (from) + “Nerval” (name of the estate). I knew he made up a genealogy for himself going back to a common ancestor with the Bonaparte, but this “Nerva” stuff is also new to me. (On 18th plans, his land is called “Clos Nerva” and became “Clos Nerval” on 19th plans, maybe that’s the supposed connection).
It really is amazing, my friend, and I'm so thankful that someone decided to translate him. 😃 The volume Selected Writings includes his poems and some short stories ("Sylvie" is there, of course), letters and travel writings. I read him years ago, and his work was a revelation to me. I regard Aurélia as his masterpiece. That's so interesting to know, about the lobster! I should have thought it might have been made up. About the pseudonym, I've read so many interpretations of it, it's incredible. The one you mention is part of it too. He just packed a lot of stuff into that apparently simple name. Thank you so much for watching, and for your amazing comments, my friend! Have a fantastic day!
Umberto Eco wrote a brilliant analysis of Nerval's story "Sylvie". So I read "Sylvie", "Aurélia" and the third part of "Voyage to the Orient". Only those works have been translated into my language. "Voyage to the Orient" had a significant influence on Tolkien while he was writing "The Lord of the Rings". But probably no one but me has read those two books, so no one knows how Tolkien came up with the names Sauron and Saruman, and the plot of The Lord of the Rings. 😁
Thank you so much for watching, my friend, and for pointing out these amazing connections! 😃 I'll confess I have not read The Lord of the Rings yet, but I plan to do something about that soon. "Sylvie," "Aurélia," and "Voyage to the Orient" are beautiful texts. I need to revisit other texts by Nerval, as it's been ages since I first read them. Have a wonderful day, and happy reading!
I didn’t know about Haerens’ essay on Nerval. Branding him as the only romantic is of course an unorthodox take on literary history. Maybe he thought Nerval was the only one ticking all the boxes ? * he wrote autobiographical, subjective material * he wrote about his region, his roots. Actually the way he writes about the Bonaparte’s estate and particularly its grounds (that were open to the public) near his childhood home must have influenced Proust : the childhood home, near Guermantes way… * he wrote about the artist as visionary, erudite, interested in esoteric stuff * he wrote in free style, no classic rules, no classic structure to his books. He’s amazingly modern in that respect. I love “Angélique” too in “Les Filles du feu” (short stories). The narrator has found part of a diary and is looking for the complete manuscript. He tells of his travels, the landscape, the history, the folk song…while going on about this detective work. It could have been be written yesterday.
Brilliant comment, my friend! 😃 Thank you so much for sharing. Kléber Haedens' comment seemed a bit extreme to me, but all of these points are valid. Now I want to reread "Angélique"! I can totally see the Proust connection here too. Memory played a very important role for Nerval, and in my edition of his works the back cover description mentions that Proust considered "Sylvie" to be a masterpiece. "Involuntary memory," and all that. Nerval definitely deserves more attention, for so many reasons. Thanks again, and happy reading!
@@JorgesCornerI side with you against Proust, lol, I favour “Aurélia” over “Sylvie”, there’s too much of literal Rousseau romanticism in “Sylvie”. But the atmosphere of a delicate by-gone era…no wonder Proust loved it. Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s been translated into Spanish or English, but Laure Murat’s “La Maison du Dr Blanche”, the asylum where Nerval was admitted when in crisis, is a fascinating read, especially the chapter about Nerval.
I should reread "Sylvie," but I remember I was not as enthusiastic about it as Proust right after I read it. The Laure Murat book sounds very interesting indeed! I can read French (not as well as Spanish or English), so maybe I should give it a try. Thank you so much for the recommendation!
I do not, my friend, but I plan to do something about that soon. I'm especially interested in Le Roman inachevé. 😃 Thank you so much for watching, and have an amazing day!
6:55 - I apologize for my déformation professionelle, but as a psychologist, this self-report would immediately ring my alarm bells for maniac episodes of bipolar disorder, and even more so if he ended up also being suicidal in other moments. Again, apologies for pathologizing...
Anyways, I recently found your channel and I love it. Thank you for your content
Ok you also end up talking about specific illnesses, I feel less guilty (: very interesting review!
Thank you so much for watching and commenting, my friend! 😃 No need to apologize. Nerval really gave us a lot of information about his issues and overall state of mind; he truly gave himself away in his writing, even more so than a "regular" author, so it's difficult not to analyze him. I'm so happy to hear you're enjoying the videos! Thanks again, and have a fantastic day!
I’m amazed to see Nerval has been translated into English.
I love “Aurélia”. I love prose poems that form stunning pictures in my head - like the apocalyptic scene you’ve mentioned. And the narration blends masterfully boundaries between dreams, reality, memories, visions, hallucinations.
It was courageous of him to broach this subject, as he was already taunted as a madman, with not a working neuron left to write anything worthy of attention, let alone coherent. “Friends” like Alexandre Dumas gossiped about his insanity and probably made up the homard-as-pet story.
Never heard of this complicated version of Nerval’s pseudonym 🧐 I came across a more prosaic version - he inherited, from his mother’s family, a piece of land called “Clos Nerval” and took the name according to the aristocratic fashion: “de” (from) + “Nerval” (name of the estate). I knew he made up a genealogy for himself going back to a common ancestor with the Bonaparte, but this “Nerva” stuff is also new to me. (On 18th plans, his land is called “Clos Nerva” and became “Clos Nerval” on 19th plans, maybe that’s the supposed connection).
It really is amazing, my friend, and I'm so thankful that someone decided to translate him. 😃 The volume Selected Writings includes his poems and some short stories ("Sylvie" is there, of course), letters and travel writings. I read him years ago, and his work was a revelation to me. I regard Aurélia as his masterpiece. That's so interesting to know, about the lobster! I should have thought it might have been made up. About the pseudonym, I've read so many interpretations of it, it's incredible. The one you mention is part of it too. He just packed a lot of stuff into that apparently simple name. Thank you so much for watching, and for your amazing comments, my friend! Have a fantastic day!
Umberto Eco wrote a brilliant analysis of Nerval's story "Sylvie". So I read "Sylvie", "Aurélia" and the third part of "Voyage to the Orient". Only those works have been translated into my language. "Voyage to the Orient" had a significant influence on Tolkien while he was writing "The Lord of the Rings". But probably no one but me has read those two books, so no one knows how Tolkien came up with the names Sauron and Saruman, and the plot of The Lord of the Rings. 😁
Thank you so much for watching, my friend, and for pointing out these amazing connections! 😃 I'll confess I have not read The Lord of the Rings yet, but I plan to do something about that soon. "Sylvie," "Aurélia," and "Voyage to the Orient" are beautiful texts. I need to revisit other texts by Nerval, as it's been ages since I first read them. Have a wonderful day, and happy reading!
I have read them both, but did not make the connection. Thank you.
I didn’t know about Haerens’ essay on Nerval. Branding him as the only romantic is of course an unorthodox take on literary history.
Maybe he thought Nerval was the only one ticking all the boxes ?
* he wrote autobiographical, subjective material
* he wrote about his region, his roots. Actually the way he writes about the Bonaparte’s estate and particularly its grounds (that were open to the public) near his childhood home must have influenced Proust : the childhood home, near Guermantes way…
* he wrote about the artist as visionary, erudite, interested in esoteric stuff
* he wrote in free style, no classic rules, no classic structure to his books. He’s amazingly modern in that respect.
I love “Angélique” too in “Les Filles du feu” (short stories). The narrator has found part of a diary and is looking for the complete manuscript. He tells of his travels, the landscape, the history, the folk song…while going on about this detective work. It could have been be written yesterday.
Brilliant comment, my friend! 😃 Thank you so much for sharing. Kléber Haedens' comment seemed a bit extreme to me, but all of these points are valid. Now I want to reread "Angélique"! I can totally see the Proust connection here too. Memory played a very important role for Nerval, and in my edition of his works the back cover description mentions that Proust considered "Sylvie" to be a masterpiece. "Involuntary memory," and all that. Nerval definitely deserves more attention, for so many reasons. Thanks again, and happy reading!
@@JorgesCornerI side with you against Proust, lol, I favour “Aurélia” over “Sylvie”, there’s too much of literal Rousseau romanticism in “Sylvie”. But the atmosphere of a delicate by-gone era…no wonder Proust loved it.
Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s been translated into Spanish or English, but Laure Murat’s “La Maison du Dr Blanche”, the asylum where Nerval was admitted when in crisis, is a fascinating read, especially the chapter about Nerval.
I should reread "Sylvie," but I remember I was not as enthusiastic about it as Proust right after I read it.
The Laure Murat book sounds very interesting indeed! I can read French (not as well as Spanish or English), so maybe I should give it a try. Thank you so much for the recommendation!
Do you have any experience with Louis Aragon?
I do not, my friend, but I plan to do something about that soon. I'm especially interested in Le Roman inachevé. 😃 Thank you so much for watching, and have an amazing day!
@ I’d recommend the novella Irene’s Cunt, personally.
I hadn't heard of it, but I'll look it up. The novella as a genre is kind of "my thing," so I'm intrigued. Thanks for the recommendation, my friend! 😃
Pardon my ignorance. I never imagined that mental health issues could be as severe as unrequited love.
And he experienced both. Hope all is going great for you, Leandro! 😃 Thank you for watching and commenting, and have an excellent day!