who we choose to love, may drive us crazy

Nadja, by André Breton, begins with a diary-entry-like format depicting the daily life living in France. The narrator talks about his favourite movies, places he’s visited, people he sees, plays he’s attending, and so on. However, suddenly the focus changes, becoming all about a newfound obsession. A girl named Nadja.

I found the relationship between Nadja and the narrator (or should I say the author) interesting, and somewhat frightening. It displayed the damage that can come with loving the way it feels to save someone, or being in love for the sole purpose of gaining introspection. It took me a while to realize what kind of relationship the two had. Before, I didn’t know what to make of it. Was she manipulating him? Was she some evil presence entering his life? Or, were they just a regular couple? Only after watching the lecture I began to realize that all the small details in the writing had greater meaning. When she begins showing signs of paranoia and delusion, for example, I realized truly how damaged Nadja is.

I think the narrator falls in love with the satisfaction and gratification that comes with “saving” Nadja. He describes enjoying the feelings of “frivolity and fervor” (p. 93) which come with his alleviating her anxiety, through gifting her money. I get the sense that he loves the brokenness about her, and the fact he feels like he can potentially save her. She sees him as a god, sees him as the sun, and there is beauty and sadness to this fact.

I find it hard to pinpoint exactly what causes him to begin to fall out of love (or obsession) with Nadja, but I suspect the novelty of her character disappears, and a suspicion that who she is, is not what he expected. She tells him stories of her past which begin to haunt him, and he soon realizes that he should no longer see her, even if he can.

Soon she is gone, and perhaps that is for the best.

In the lecture it is mentioned that the book is an attempt at a self-analysis, starting off with, “Who am I?” (p.11). The narrators love for Nadja is a reflection on his own character, rather than any infatuation with her particular traits. I think maybe the narrator is suffering from low self-esteem (yes I am a psych major), which is causing him to fall for Nadja, in a way which may not be healthy. His relationship with her is self-serving, making him feel good when he is able to help her, learning about himself, and feeding an incessant need to feel validated and powerful. A relationship of this type can begin feeling great, but may end up leaving one party victim to all the byproducts of co-dependency, resulting in a path of self destruction.

Question: What do you think the author learned about himself at the end of this relationship? Was writing this novel truly therapeutic, and a successful exercise at self-discovery?

-Rhys