Surrealism

Surrealism was an avant-garde movement, born in Europe in the 1920s. André Breton, author of Mad Love, was also the other of the Surrealist Manifesto, issued in 1924. Breton is often credited as the founder of surrealism. Surrealism is based on ideas of "automatism," the way by which the unconscious mind could be exposed and channeled into artistic expression. In addition to drawing on Freudian theories of the unconscious, surrealism drew on Marxist theories of class struggle.

Nadja

Nadja is Breton's major work that predated Mad Love. In Nadja, another semi-autobiographical book, Breton explores a relationship with a woman who later turns out to be mentally unstable.

The Found Object

There are two key found objects in Mad Love. They are the mask and the spoon found by Breton and Giacometti at the flea market in Section 3. Giacometti bought the mask, which is a metal half-mask with strange...