Fragmented Hope

Hi all! 

Hope you all had a good read! I picked Nadja as my book for the week because I was quite intrigued about this mysterious woman. I was waiting and waiting for her to appear and it took about a third of the book for her to make her very first appearance. I kept thinking that the next woman Breton mentioned would be Nadja. Though that was not the case, the wait for her appearance was worth it. I also think that in a way, the first ⅓ of the book is there to set the stage and also for Breton to not seem overly obsessed with Nadja (he was pretty obsessed with her either way *-*). I loved that the lecture explored the idea that Breton is self-searching and exploring his own limits through the life of Nadja and his obsession with her is a way of expressing his narcissistic character. I would also agree with the lecture point that he chose to not get her transferred or out of prison at the end of the book because I believed he would be able to find her without any effort, like how he found her hotel after their first few interactions. He chose not to get her out because he feared she would push him too far and they would fall off the edge of sanity. Oh on that note, I would like to believe that on their train trip out of town, she hallucinated the man in the hat and he too was so wrapped up in the moment and thought that he actually saw someone. 

I had my suspicion that things would not always be so easy for Nadja and that she may be a bit mentally unstable. Given that Breton is married, Nadja did not seem like the type to stick around. The representation of herself as a siren is quite fitting as she knows she attracts. She mentioned it several times and kids also adore her. This could also signify her uncontrollable ability in luring children as she may seem angelic at first glance. If you believe that children are like white cloth, maybe this is Breton’s way of telling us that he’s not the crazy one and it’s entirely Nadja. It may also be a way of self justification on why he was having an affair with Nadja too. But in the end, Nadja’s strange character will live on.