Nadja- André Breton

When I first started reading this novel, I was a little confused and intimidated by what the author was trying to convey. But as the story progressed, I found that the author was someone who was interested in poetry and loved writing about the events that occurred in his life or that he witnessed.

After reading the whole novel, I understood that it was the protagonist of the story, Nadja, a girl whom the author had met in the city of Paris, who really understood the author’s point of views in his books. She really seemed to enjoy his writings as she used to tell him what she found most appealing and what she didn’t really understand in his books. I believe that the author left the readers to decide upon whether Nadja really existed or not, whether she was a state of art, a vision or a mere portrayal of a girl suffering from grave financial issues that she couldn’t even pay for her medical expenses. But whatever the author tries to portray her as, she really does bring out the charm of the whole novel.

To me, Nadja was a happy going lovely girl who despite of her health and personal issues, happily and whole heartedly accepted the different gestures that men used to give her, made drawings of the author and paid great attention to the details of events happening around her.

I think these are the qualities that made the author completely obsess over her and eventually fall in love with her. He treated her with great respect, care and attention and even helped her with money when she needed it. The author obsessing over Nadja inspite of being married was a little strange to me when I first read it.

But looking from another perspective, you can’t really stop the other person from feeling a certain type of way or expressing their emotions even when it seems wrong.

Nadja seemed really fond of art and poetry as she exhibited a great deal of knowledge about drawings and paintings. Whenever she used to show the author her paintings, even though he did not understand some aspects of the drawings he still was never annoyed by it rather he was really sweet to her and made her feel that her work was acknowledged and appreciated. He didn’t do it out of pity for her instead he loved her so much that he could do anything to protect her and make her feel safe, warm, valued and cared for.

Discussion Question

Did the protagonist of the story, Nadja really exist or was she just portrayed as a simple, innocent girl with hardships and difficulties?