Abstract
This article explores the idea of experience in Surrealism through the writings of André Breton and Leonora Carrington. Breton's founding manifestoes of Surrealism and novel Nadja (1928) make the claim for a revolutionary experience of the everyday world. However, the feminine tropes he uses clearly valorize an experience based on masculine perception. Additionally, in the years leading up to and following World War II, Surrealism was decried for not engaging with history or politics. Carrington's narrative Down Below (1944) addresses both Breton's concept of experience and Surrealism's historical force by demonstrating a negotiation between Surrealist aesthetics and its nefarious gender politics; further, Carrington also relocates Surreal experience into corporeal and historical registers. By choosing Carrington for inclusion in his postwar Surrealist Anthologie de l'humour noir, Breton reveals the extent to which he addressed interwar Surrealist politics and tried to shape the future of Surrealism as a movement.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: Symposium: A Quarterly Journal in Modern Literatures
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
