Remembered for his exploration of dreams and reality, Rue Gérard de Nerval carries the name of a great French writer. Who was Gérard de Nerval? He was born Gérard Labrunie in Paris in 1808. The street is in the 18th arrondissement. It starts at 10, rue Henri-Huchard and ends at 31, avenue de la Porte-de-Montmartre. It is 168 meters long and 16 meters wide.
Gérard de Nerval lost his mother at the age of two. His early life was split between Paris and Valois. He began writing poetry young. He was admitted to the Collège Charlemagne.
Nerval explored the subconscious. He explored dreams in real life. T.S. Eliot, Charles Baudelaire, Victor Hugo and Marcel Proust admired him. Nerval remains unknown by many.
He wrote twelve books before age 20. His translation of Goethe’s Faust impressed Goethe himself. Nerval collaborated on plays with Alexandre Dumas and Victor Hugo. He helped Heinrich Heine translate his poetry into French. Nerval founded a performing arts periodical. He traveled Europe and the Middle East. In 1830s Paris, Nerval walked the streets with a live lobster on a blue ribbon. He sang verses to himself.
French critic Eugene de Mirecourt described Nerval as gentle and timid. Nerval blushed when praised. He saw himself as humble. His clothes were inconspicuous. He was kind and modest.
Nerval fell in love with actress Jenny Colon. He founded a review devoted to her praise. Colon married a musician. She died in 1842. Colon’s impact on Nerval never ceased.
Nerval explored the themes of mythology and religion. He explored hallucination and the occult. Insanity fueled his creative energy.
His collection Les Chimères explores Greek mythology. It also explores medieval folklore and alchemy. The collection opens with El Desdichado. Nerval wrote it in a state of supernatural reverie.
Nerval traveled to the Middle East after Colon’s passing. Upon his return, he was institutionalized. His mental state impeded his work. He struggled to write even twenty lines a day.
The collection Les Chimères was first published in 1854. It is personal and unique. The second sonnet, Myrtho, is more apocryphal. It stands for an image of classical antiquity.
In Anteros, Nerval voices his experiences of unrequited affection. He expresses madness and its effects. There are mythical allusions to gods and religious meanings.
Nerval did not make his poetry a slave to beauty. He focused on capturing something volatile. He captured the intangible without losing mystery or charm. In Artemis, Nerval addresses the concrete and the ethereal.
The obscurity of the sonnets reflects Nerval’s state of mind. He saw plastic visions of antiquity drifting into form. The visions outlined themselves and seemed to represent symbols.
Nerval said it would be his last madness to believe himself a poet. Criticism never cured him. He deserves praise.
On January 26, 1855, Nerval was found hanging in the rue de la Vieille Lanterne. It is believed he committed suicide. The Rue Gérard de Nerval stands as a reminder of his troubled yet brilliant life. He was a true visionary.