Aurelia, Oder, Der Traum Und Das Leben
1910
''Aurelia, oder, Der Traum und das Leben'' is a novel by Gérard de Nerval, first published in 1910. Written in the mid-19th century, it explores themes of love, loss, and the metaphysical through the introspective journey of its narrator, who grapples with his emotions following the death of a beloved figure named Aurelia. The narrative blends memory and dream, offering a profound examination of the psyche as the protagonist navigates his inner turmoil and the boundaries between reality and dreams.
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“l'imagination m'apportait des délices infinies. En recouvrant ce que les hommes appellent la raison, faudra-t-il regretter de les avoir perdues...?My imagination gave me infinite delight. In recovering what men call reason, do I have to regret the loss of these joys?...””
— Gérard de Nerval
“Sleep occupies a third of our life. It is the consolation to the woes of our days or the woe of their pleasures; but I have never found that sleep was a rest. After a swoon of a few minutes a new life begins, freed from conditions of time and space, and doubtless like the life which awaits us after death. Who knows whether there does not exist a link between these two existences, and whether it is not possible for the soul now to bind them together?””
— Gérard de Nerval
“The first man who compared a woman to a rose was a poet, the second, an imbecile .””
— Gérard de Nerval
“One third of our life is spent in sleep. It is consolation for the troubles of our waking hours or atonement for their pleasures; but I have never experienced sleep to be mere repose. After a few minutes' lethargy, a new life begins, untrammeled by the limitations of time and space, and undoubtedly similar to that which awaits us after death...””
— Gérard de Nerval
“It is here that what I call the outpouring of dream into real life began. From that moment, everything took on a double aspect at times, and this occurred without my reason lacking logic and without my memory loosing the slightest details of what happened to me. But my actions, seemingly unconscious, were dominated by what human reason calls illusion.””
— Gérard de Nerval
“From the still heart of darkness two notes echoed forth, one low, one high- and the eternal globe immediately spun into motion. Blessed be the first octave that opened this heavenly hymn! Let it gather the days from sabbath to sabbath into its magic web. It sings from the hills to the valleys, from the springs to the streams, from the streams to the rivers, from the rivers to the seas; its music trembles through the air and sets the budding flowers ashimmer. The earth's quivering breast heaves a sigh of love, and the chorus of stars reverberates through infinity, now receding, now returning back on itself, now contracting, now expanding, scattering the seeds of new creations far and wide.””
— Gérard de Nerval
