Pre­symbolist origins of the dramatic expressionism : Gérard de Nerval

Abstract

The aim of the article is to show that some motifs and concepts which can be found in the expressionist dramas – emerged in the early part of the XXth century – have already been explored by Gérard de Nerval (1808‐ 1855) during the last years of his life. The paper analyses in particular the last – and unfinished – Nerval’s récit entitled Aurélia in which analogies with some techniques used by expressionist authors such as the exploration of the universe of dreams and soul or the research of the true identity of man are more than surprising.