Le délire et les rêves dans la « Gradiva » de W. Jensen

Delusion and Dream in Jensen's Gradiva (German: Der Wahn und die Träume in W. Jensens "Gradiva") is an essay written in 1907 by Sigmund Freud that subjects the novel Gradiva: a Pompeian fantasy by Wilhelm Jensen, and especially its protagonist, to psychoanalysis. The novel is about a young archaeologist, Norbert Hanold, who comes to realize his love for a childhood friend through a long and complex process, mainly by associating her with an idealized woman he has seen in a Roman bas-relief. Freud considered the novel as providing a prime example of 'something which might be called "cure by seduction" or "cure by love"', as well as evidence 'that the Oedipus complex is still active in normal adults, too'.