‘Nadja’ – André Breton

As a surrealist text set in early twentieth century Paris, Nadja takes readers through a story of love and infatuation in a relationship scattered with madness. Upon reading, my first thoughts were that, while there were definitely some elements of this text which I found difficult or jarring to read, I was hooked, from start to finish, unable to put the book down until I had devoured every word. I found this story particularly interesting in how it frames the relationship between the narrator and the titular character. Nadja is a young woman, floating through the streets of Paris, who captures the interest of a surrealist writer who narrates the story. It is through his perspective that we as readers are transported into the narrator’s experience of being involved in a romance with Nadja, a young woman, of captivating experience and poetic thoughts and expression, while also suffering from many tribulations, and “a certain inner conflict”, as described on page seventy nine. However, in raptures over her curious mind and appetite for consuming the world in its simplest form, the narrator is unable to stray too far, and shares with readers what time spent with Nadja felt like. 

However, while the two share deep feelings for one another, I couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable with what appeared to me to be a concerning power dynamic between the two. While reading, I felt as though the narrator was very self-important and therefore viewed Nadja, a young woman of delicate character, as an overly-romanticized phenomenon. By this, I mean that in some ways it appeared to me that he loved the constant curiosity he felt in her presence, as well as the fact that she thought of him as something truly incredible, rather than anything beyond. It is clear when reading descriptions of days spent with Nadja that something isn’t quite right in her mind, and I feel as though there are certain instances where that seems to be the main attraction for the narrator, almost drawn in by it, as if her strange thoughts and mind of chaos were something romantic, like a poem.He claims that Nadja views him “as a god” on page one hundred and eleven, while it seems that he is more interested in her seeming to need him in her delicate mental state. 

Overall, this book was the first text I’ve read in a while that kept me fully involved in the story and while I don’t necessary love every aspect of the plot line, I did thoroughly enjoy both reading the text, and writing this blog post, simply because it allowed to me expand and elaborate on the thoughts that I had while reading. My discussion question to everyone is what do you think about the relationship between the narrator and Nadja? Would you agree on my take of the narrator’s self-importance, or did you view it differently? Please feel free to comment and let me know!