De man in jasmijn. Indrukken uit een geestesziekte

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In 1970, Unica Zurn, companion to Surrealist artist Hans Bellmer, tragically ended her life by jumping from their Paris apartment. Her suicide marked the peak of thirteen years of mental turmoil, vividly chronicled in The Man Of Jasmine, subtitled Impressions from a Mental Illness. Zurn's decline began when she met her childhood fantasy figure, "the man of jasmine," Henri Michaux. This encounter plunged her into hallucinations filled with desires, anxieties, and unresolved past events, disrupting her grasp on reality with alternating visionary and depressive episodes. Her narrative reveals a complex relationship with language, which she sought to navigate through compulsive anagram writing. These anagrams allowed her to dissect everyday language, uncovering hidden messages and evocations that reflected her inner turmoil. They served as a lens for understanding the divide between her inner and outer worlds. While The Man of Jasmine stands as a profound account of mental collapse, it transcends this, showcasing Zurn's engagement with Surrealist ideas and her remarkable clarity during distressing experiences. Her vivid descriptions elevate the work to a literary and psychological masterpiece.