The Fascination of André Breton for the Arithmosophic Calculation in <i>Arcane 17</i> (The Number 1713 and Gérard de Nerval)

Spomenka Delibasic

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijla.20190705.12

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The Fascination of André Breton for the Arithmosophic Calculation in Arcane 17 (The Number 1713 and Gérard de Nerval)

Spomenka Delibasic

Published in International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 7, Issue 5)

Received: 2 August 2019 Accepted: 4 September 2019 Published: 19 September 2019

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Abstract

In surrealist researches and writings, recourse to the occult and the hermetic tradition goes hand in hand with the valorization of a set of esoteric knowledge which gathers at the same time mysticism, alchemy, arithmosophy and fictions which make an important place for mystery and the supernatural. Breton devoted himself from his first works to esoteric orientation and hermetism, consubstantially united with his poetry. We evoke the Breton text –Arcane 17, which has as its theme the arithmosophic calculation on its date of birth and that of Gerard de Nerval and, since no methodology can exhaust the meaning of this text, extremely rich in intertextual references, in images symbolic, mythical, in metalogisms, we propose to approach a methodologically open approach that gives absolute priority to the text. The presence of occultism and arithmosophy in Arcane 17, as indeed in all the other surrealist texts dealing with these domains, refers in fact to their poetic aspects. A set of Breton texts (Arcane 17, Le Surréalisme et la peinture, Perspective cavalière, Les Entretiens) invite us to examine how this author treats esoteric thought as the possibility of a deployment of reverie and poetic inspiration. This corpus attests, certainly, Breton’s concern for the deep links between numbers, letters and events as signs to be deciphered in his spiritual approach and remains an inspiration to the most innovative sensibilities of modernity. Breton was fascinated by the number 1713 (his initials A. B. constitue, by a precise graphical game, an equivalent by transforming the figures; in the text "Du poème-objet", Breton reflects at length on the historical and scientific events related to this year) and refers explicitly several times to Pythagoreanism and Gérard de Nerval. The aim of this article is to show that the persistent vitality of an esoteric conception on the world and on the human understanding that surrealism has always proposed itself contemplates the possible actuality of some aspects of Breton’s thought, such as evidenced by a recent study by Patrick Lepetit The Esoteric Secrets of Surrealism: Origins, Magic, and Secrets Societies (2014).

Published in	International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 7, Issue 5)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijla.20190705.12
Page(s)	98-104
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2019. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

André Breton, Esotericism, Arithmosophy, Arcane 17, Gérard de Nerval, 1713

References

[1]	Patrick Lepetit, The Esoteric Secrets of Surrealism: Origins, Magic, and Secret Societies, Inner Traditions, Rochester, Vermont, Toronto, Canada, 2014, pp. 85-86.
[2]	Richard Danier, L’Hermétisme alchimique chez André Breton; Interprétation de la symbolique de trois œuvres du poète, préface de Patrick Rivière, Villeselve, Collection dirigée par Philippe Pissier, Éditions Ramuel, 1997, p. 153.
[3]	Richard Danier, L’Hermétisme alchimique chez André Breton; Interprétation de la symbolique de trois œuvres du poète, préface de Patrick Rivière, Villeselve, Collection dirigée par Philippe Pissier, Éditions Ramuel, 1997, p. 158.
[4]	Suzanne Lamy, André Breton. Hermétisme et poésie dans Arcane 17, Bibliothèque Nationale du Québec, Les Presses de l’Université de Montréal, 1977, p. 31.
[5]	Laffont-Bompiani, Dictionnaire des œuvres de tous les temps et tous les pays (7 tomes), Paris, Robert Laffont-Bompiani, 1989, p. 34.
[6]	Laurent Jenny, “La surréalité et ses signes narratifs”, in Poétique n°16, 1973, p. 449.
[7]	S. Lamy, André Breton. Hermétisme et poésie dans Arcane 17, op. cit., p. 21.
[8]	Umberto Eco, La Structure absente; Introduction à la recherche sémiotique, Paris; Mercure, 1972, p. 350.
[9]	Roland Barthes, “Introduction à l’analyse structurale des récits”, Communications, n° 8, Recherches sémiologiques; l'analyse structurale du récit, 1966, p. 4, note 1.
[10]	S. Lamy, André Breton. Hermétisme et poésie dans Arcane 17, op. cit., p. 21.
[11]	Voir. M Riffaterre, “La Métaphore filée dans la poésie surréaliste”, Langue française, n°3, 1969.
[12]	André Breton, Œuvres complètes, t. III; Arcane 17 enté d’Ajours, Paris, Éditions Gallimard, Bibliothèque de la Pléiade, NRF, 1999, p. 113.
[13]	André Breton, Œuvres complètes, t. III; Arcane 17 enté d’Ajours, Paris, Éditions Gallimard, Bibliothèque de la Pléiade, NRF, 1999, p. 37.
[14]	André Breton, Œuvres complètes, t. III; Entretiens 1913-1952 (XV.–DE QUELQUES ESPÉRANCES ABUSIVES.–À PARIS LE SURÉALISME DOIT DÉJOUER DIVERSES MANŒUVRES D’OBSTRUCTION.–GAGES DE SA VITALITÉ.), op. cit., p. 558.
[15]	André Breton, Œuvres complètes, t. III; Entretiens 1913-1952 (XV.–DE QUELQUES ESPÉRANCES ABUSIVES.–À PARIS LE SURÉALISME DOIT DÉJOUER DIVERSES MANŒUVRES D’OBSTRUCTION.–GAGES DE SA VITALITÉ.), op. cit., pp. 558-559.
[16]	André Breton, Œuvres complètes, t. IV; Perspective cavalière (Le Surréalisme et la Tradition), Paris, Éditions Gallimard, Bibliothèque de la Pléiade, NRF, 2008, p. 946. This is the answer to an inquiry: "How can surrealism, through you, join the tradition (metaphysical and religious) through René Guénon that you quoted recently? from Jean Chevalier and Claude Galocher.
[17]	Minotaure, n°5, 5, mai 1934, p. 17.
[18]	Maxime Alexandre, Mémoires d’un surréaliste, La Jeune Parque, 1965, p. 106.
[19]	André Breton, Œuvres complètes, t. IV; Le surréalisme et la peinture; IV. Environs (Du poème-objet), p. 693.
[20]	André Breton, Œuvres complètes, t. IV; Le surréalisme et la peinture; IV. Environs (Du poème-objet), p. 693-694.
[21]	André Breton, Œuvres complètes, t. I; Manifeste du surréalisme, Paris, Éditions Gallimard, Bibliothèque de la Pléiade, NRF, 1988, p. 340.
[22]	André Breton, Œuvres complètes, t. I; Nadja, op. cit., p. 651.
[23]	André Breton, Œuvres complètes, t. II; Les Vases communicants, II, Paris, Éditions Gallimard, Bibliothèque de la Pléiade, NRF, 1992, p. 167.
[24]	André Breton, Œuvres complètes, t. II; Les Vases communicants, II, Paris, Éditions Gallimard, Bibliothèque de la Pléiade, NRF, 1992, p. 171.
[25]	André Breton, Œuvres complètes, t. II; Les Vases communicants, II, Paris, Éditions Gallimard, Bibliothèque de la Pléiade, NRF, 1992, p. 174.
[26]	André Breton, Œuvres complètes, t. III; Arcane 17 enté d’Ajours, op. cit., p. 110.
[27]	André Breton, Œuvres complètes, t. III; Arcane 17 enté d’Ajours, op. cit., pp. 108-113.
[28]	Jean Richer (1915-1992), author of several works concerning Gérard de Nerval and Arithmosophy. (Gérard de Nerval et les doctrines ésotériques, Le Griffon d'or, 1947; Aspects ésotériques de l'œuvre littéraire; Saint-Paul, Jonathan Swift, Jacques Cazotte, Ludwig Tieck, Victor Hugo, Charles Baudelaire, Rudyard Kipling, O. V. de L. Milosz, Guillaume Apollinaire, André Breton, Dervy Livres 1980; Olivier Encrenaz et Jean Richer, Vivante étoile. Michel-Ange, Gérard de Nerval, André Breton, Paris, Minard, Archives des lettres modernes, n°127, 1971.)
[29]	Jean Richer, André Breton et le mouvement surréaliste, NRF, n°172, Gallimard, avril 1967, pp. 826-832.

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Spomenka Delibasic. (2019). The Fascination of André Breton for the Arithmosophic Calculation in Arcane 17 (The Number 1713 and Gérard de Nerval). International Journal of Literature and Arts, 7(5), 98-104. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20190705.12

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Spomenka Delibasic. The Fascination of André Breton for the Arithmosophic Calculation in Arcane 17 (The Number 1713 and Gérard de Nerval). Int. J. Lit. Arts 2019, 7(5), 98-104. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20190705.12

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Spomenka Delibasic. The Fascination of André Breton for the Arithmosophic Calculation in Arcane 17 (The Number 1713 and Gérard de Nerval). Int J Lit Arts. 2019;7(5):98-104. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20190705.12

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@article{10.11648/j.ijla.20190705.12,
  author = {Spomenka Delibasic},
  title = {The Fascination of André Breton for the Arithmosophic Calculation in Arcane 17 (The Number 1713 and Gérard de Nerval)},
  journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
  volume = {7},
  number = {5},
  pages = {98-104},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20190705.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20190705.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20190705.12},
  abstract = {In surrealist researches and writings, recourse to the occult and the hermetic tradition goes hand in hand with the valorization of a set of esoteric knowledge which gathers at the same time mysticism, alchemy, arithmosophy and fictions which make an important place for mystery and the supernatural. Breton devoted himself from his first works to esoteric orientation and hermetism, consubstantially united with his poetry. We evoke the Breton text –Arcane 17, which has as its theme the arithmosophic calculation on its date of birth and that of Gerard de Nerval and, since no methodology can exhaust the meaning of this text, extremely rich in intertextual references, in images symbolic, mythical, in metalogisms, we propose to approach a methodologically open approach that gives absolute priority to the text. The presence of occultism and arithmosophy in Arcane 17, as indeed in all the other surrealist texts dealing with these domains, refers in fact to their poetic aspects. A set of Breton texts (Arcane 17, Le Surréalisme et la peinture, Perspective cavalière, Les Entretiens) invite us to examine how this author treats esoteric thought as the possibility of a deployment of reverie and poetic inspiration. This corpus attests, certainly, Breton’s concern for the deep links between numbers, letters and events as signs to be deciphered in his spiritual approach and remains an inspiration to the most innovative sensibilities of modernity. Breton was fascinated by the number 1713 (his initials A. B. constitue, by a precise graphical game, an equivalent by transforming the figures; in the text "Du poème-objet", Breton reflects at length on the historical and scientific events related to this year) and refers explicitly several times to Pythagoreanism and Gérard de Nerval. The aim of this article is to show that the persistent vitality of an esoteric conception on the world and on the human understanding that surrealism has always proposed itself contemplates the possible actuality of some aspects of Breton’s thought, such as evidenced by a recent study by Patrick Lepetit The Esoteric Secrets of Surrealism: Origins, Magic, and Secrets Societies (2014).},
 year = {2019}
}

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T1  - The Fascination of André Breton for the Arithmosophic Calculation in Arcane 17 (The Number 1713 and Gérard de Nerval)
AU  - Spomenka Delibasic
Y1  - 2019/09/19
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JF  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
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VL  - 7
IS  - 5
ER  -

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Spomenka Delibasic

Department of French Language and Literature, Faculty of Philology, University of Montenegro, Niksic, Montenegro

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Spomenka Delibasic. (2019). The Fascination of André Breton for the Arithmosophic Calculation in Arcane 17 (The Number 1713 and Gérard de Nerval). International Journal of Literature and Arts, 7(5), 98-104. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20190705.12

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Spomenka Delibasic. The Fascination of André Breton for the Arithmosophic Calculation in Arcane 17 (The Number 1713 and Gérard de Nerval). Int. J. Lit. Arts 2019, 7(5), 98-104. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20190705.12

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Spomenka Delibasic. The Fascination of André Breton for the Arithmosophic Calculation in Arcane 17 (The Number 1713 and Gérard de Nerval). Int J Lit Arts. 2019;7(5):98-104. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20190705.12

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@article{10.11648/j.ijla.20190705.12,
  author = {Spomenka Delibasic},
  title = {The Fascination of André Breton for the Arithmosophic Calculation in Arcane 17 (The Number 1713 and Gérard de Nerval)},
  journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
  volume = {7},
  number = {5},
  pages = {98-104},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20190705.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20190705.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20190705.12},
  abstract = {In surrealist researches and writings, recourse to the occult and the hermetic tradition goes hand in hand with the valorization of a set of esoteric knowledge which gathers at the same time mysticism, alchemy, arithmosophy and fictions which make an important place for mystery and the supernatural. Breton devoted himself from his first works to esoteric orientation and hermetism, consubstantially united with his poetry. We evoke the Breton text –Arcane 17, which has as its theme the arithmosophic calculation on its date of birth and that of Gerard de Nerval and, since no methodology can exhaust the meaning of this text, extremely rich in intertextual references, in images symbolic, mythical, in metalogisms, we propose to approach a methodologically open approach that gives absolute priority to the text. The presence of occultism and arithmosophy in Arcane 17, as indeed in all the other surrealist texts dealing with these domains, refers in fact to their poetic aspects. A set of Breton texts (Arcane 17, Le Surréalisme et la peinture, Perspective cavalière, Les Entretiens) invite us to examine how this author treats esoteric thought as the possibility of a deployment of reverie and poetic inspiration. This corpus attests, certainly, Breton’s concern for the deep links between numbers, letters and events as signs to be deciphered in his spiritual approach and remains an inspiration to the most innovative sensibilities of modernity. Breton was fascinated by the number 1713 (his initials A. B. constitue, by a precise graphical game, an equivalent by transforming the figures; in the text "Du poème-objet", Breton reflects at length on the historical and scientific events related to this year) and refers explicitly several times to Pythagoreanism and Gérard de Nerval. The aim of this article is to show that the persistent vitality of an esoteric conception on the world and on the human understanding that surrealism has always proposed itself contemplates the possible actuality of some aspects of Breton’s thought, such as evidenced by a recent study by Patrick Lepetit The Esoteric Secrets of Surrealism: Origins, Magic, and Secrets Societies (2014).},
 year = {2019}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - The Fascination of André Breton for the Arithmosophic Calculation in Arcane 17 (The Number 1713 and Gérard de Nerval)
AU  - Spomenka Delibasic
Y1  - 2019/09/19
PY  - 2019
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20190705.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijla.20190705.12
T2  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JF  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JO  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
SP  - 98
EP  - 104
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2331-057X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20190705.12
AB  - In surrealist researches and writings, recourse to the occult and the hermetic tradition goes hand in hand with the valorization of a set of esoteric knowledge which gathers at the same time mysticism, alchemy, arithmosophy and fictions which make an important place for mystery and the supernatural. Breton devoted himself from his first works to esoteric orientation and hermetism, consubstantially united with his poetry. We evoke the Breton text –Arcane 17, which has as its theme the arithmosophic calculation on its date of birth and that of Gerard de Nerval and, since no methodology can exhaust the meaning of this text, extremely rich in intertextual references, in images symbolic, mythical, in metalogisms, we propose to approach a methodologically open approach that gives absolute priority to the text. The presence of occultism and arithmosophy in Arcane 17, as indeed in all the other surrealist texts dealing with these domains, refers in fact to their poetic aspects. A set of Breton texts (Arcane 17, Le Surréalisme et la peinture, Perspective cavalière, Les Entretiens) invite us to examine how this author treats esoteric thought as the possibility of a deployment of reverie and poetic inspiration. This corpus attests, certainly, Breton’s concern for the deep links between numbers, letters and events as signs to be deciphered in his spiritual approach and remains an inspiration to the most innovative sensibilities of modernity. Breton was fascinated by the number 1713 (his initials A. B. constitue, by a precise graphical game, an equivalent by transforming the figures; in the text "Du poème-objet", Breton reflects at length on the historical and scientific events related to this year) and refers explicitly several times to Pythagoreanism and Gérard de Nerval. The aim of this article is to show that the persistent vitality of an esoteric conception on the world and on the human understanding that surrealism has always proposed itself contemplates the possible actuality of some aspects of Breton’s thought, such as evidenced by a recent study by Patrick Lepetit The Esoteric Secrets of Surrealism: Origins, Magic, and Secrets Societies (2014).
VL  - 7
IS  - 5
ER  -

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