Breton and Nadja: Two peas in a pod?

I really enjoyed Nadja and how it included photos and drawings. Right at the start of the book, I noticed the question, “Who am I?” can correlate well with the themes of surrealism and the unconscious. Breton follows this question by suggesting parts of him “haunts” others. He clarifies that he doesn’t view himself undead, but alive, playing a ghostly part. I think this emphasizes how disconnected he feels towards others; we see how he seems to observe more than act, particularly when it comes to Nadja. He seems to accept people for who they are, coming off more passive than active in their lives. In this way, I resonate with Breton.

I like how we meet Nadja in the second half of the book alongside Breton. He describes meeting her on the boulevard in Paris randomly and spontaneously, being drawn toward her based on her vibes. Her eyes seemed important to him, too. The two converse on the boulevard where we learn she is self conscious about her status, seemingly poor (though we learn she is poor in the sense of mental health), and she tells Breton her name of which she came up with herself: Nadja. Russian for the beginning of the word “hope.”

It’s interesting how Breton ties this part of the story back to the opening question: “Just then she thinks of asking who I am (in the most limited sense of these words). I tell her.” (pg. 61). I like the lack of detail on his own introduction because it emphasizes how Nadja overwhelms and dominates the conversation, often talking about herself. The less detail about Breton is also nice because we heard so much about him in the first half of the book, and it’s a slight call back to his feelings of “haunting” others. I got the sense that he feels that he doesn’t seem to — or want to —  impact a lot of people, but Nadja seemed to impact him a lot. (Particularly when she was institutionalized and he distanced himself…)

I didn’t enjoy the lack of chapter breaks. I found it hard to choose when to stop reading because I felt no closure or sense of “end.” However, my own choice to pause felt spontaneous at times – which I think Breton would like. It’s puzzling though why he didn’t include any breaks.

I would love to talk about the last line of the book more in class: “Beauty will be CONVULSIVE or will not be at all.” I interpret it as beauty should be shocking, otherwise it’s non-existent. How else could be it interpreted?

It seems as though Nadja haunts Breton. Maybe he felt like he had to write about her to make her as tangible as she once was, especially since he doesn’t see her anymore. Perhaps he’s questioning whether or not she was real in the first place… hence my question: does Nadja feel real to him, or does he use her existence as prominent personification and metaphor of his unconscious?