اورلیا/سیلوی

by Gérard de Nerval, شهلا خسروشاهی (Translator)

اورلیا/ سیلوی دو داستان بلند از ژرار دو نروال، نویسنده‌ی رومانتیک فرانسوی

Contains Aurélia and Sylvie, two books by Gérard de Nerval

Genres: France, Fiction, Literature

152 pages, Paperback

Published October 1, 2024

About the author

Gérard de Nerval was the nom-de-plume of the French poet, essayist and translator Gérard Labrunie, one of the most essentially Romantic French poets.

Gérard de Nerval, nom de plume de Gérard Labrunie, écrivain et poète français. Figure majeure du romantisme français, il est essentiellement connu pour ses poèmes et ses nouvelles.

Reviews

[Talie · Rating 3 out of 5]

خورشید سیاه بر  دونروال ظاهر می‌شود. در رویاهایش در جنونش. اورلیا می‌میرد. شیون‌های سوگوار زنی به گوش می‌رسد. دونروال همزادش را میبیند ابتدا فکر می‌کند که مرگش است. بعد در او راهنمایی میبیند که می‌خواهد  او را از گناهانش نجات دهد. دونروال در غروب مرگ خود را میبیند.  بدنبال جاودانگی است به دنبال رهایی است. میخواهد ستارگان را در مدار راست خود بگذارد. 
ایزیس/ مریم/ مادرش نجات دهنده‌ی او هستند. دونروال در جنونش خود را تعیین‌کننده ی حرکت ماه می‌داند.

[Sarah Rigg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nerval is a French Romantic writer, perhaps better known for his plays and poetry than his prose. He struggled with mental illness for the last decade of his life. He fell into obscurity after his death, but the Surrealists liked him and sort of "rehabilitated" his reputation in the early 20th century.

These two novellas both center on the same theme: the author's real-life infatuation with an actress named Jenny Colon and his other failed love affairs. "Sylvie" is the more traditional novella with more of a standard plot, and while it has some autobiographical elements, it is fiction. Our main character has a childhood sweetheart named Sylvie, and he is wishy-washy about her, doting on her, then focusing his attention on another girl, then coming back to Sylvie, and ultimately losing her because of his weakness and his preference for fantasy women over the reality of the woman at hand.

"Aurelia" is more closely autobiographical and talks in detail about Nerval's periods of madness and hallucination. I've rarely read any description of mental illness as lucid and beautiful as Nerval's. It has fantastic imagery, like a giant woman's body being torn asunder, and a huge llama with wings being infused with molten metal to bring it alive (mystical steampunk llama!!!). This was especially interesting to read just after having read "Byron in Love," because I'm pretty well-versed in the English Romantics but knew very little about the Romantic movement in France or other countries. I enjoyed it, but I'd only recommend this to people who have some patience with experimental fiction or people who are interested in first-hand accounts of mental illness (probably either schizophrenia or schizo-affective disorder).

[Denis Mačor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uprostřed nádhery všeho toho haraburdí, jež bývalo v té době zvykem shromažďovat a jímž bývala restaurována starodávná podoba příbytků, skvěly se novým nátěrem renesanční perleťové hodiny, jejichž pozlacená klenutá stříška s figurkou Času je podpí- rána karyatidami v medicejském slohu, sedícími na vzpínajících se koních. Historická Diana, opřená o jelena, je na reliéfu pod ciferníkem, na němž jsou bílé smaltové číslice na černém podkladě. Strojek, patrně výborný, nebyl natažen už dvě století. – Nekoupil jsem v Tourainsku tyto hodiny na to, abych věděl, kolik je hodin. (p. 17).

Pokoj byl vyzdoben prostě, ale nábytek byl moderní; zrcadlo se zlatým roubením vystřídalo starodávné zrcadlo nástěnné, na němž býval idylický pastýř, podávající modré a růžové pastýřce hnízdečko. Sloupková postel, cudně zastřená starým květovaným kartounem, byla vystřídána ořechovou postýlkou se záclonkou na tyči; v okně v kleci, v níž bývaly pěnkavy, byli teď kanáři. Byl bych rád co nejdříve vyšel z toho pokoje, v němž jsem nenalézal nic z minulosti. „Dnes nebudete dělat krajky?“ zeptal jsem se Sylvie. „Ach, já už nepaličkuji; nikdo to už nekupuje. (p. 39).

[Teriteriri · Rating 4 out of 5]

The most accurate description to me is that his book felt like reading a fog, although it doesn´t make sense.
There are some really beautiful parts and thoughts, in other parts there is sadly very noticeable the progress of mental illness.

[Paul H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting insofar as Nerval’s prose had a massive influence on Proust, but weak tea overall.

[Ida Rabinovich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. The madness writing and revisiting itself.

[m]

Horrible rambling

[Keith Miller]

Aurelia Followed by Sylvie by Gerard De Nerval (1993)