Nadja, pp. 37 to 51 Summary

The Theatre Moderne is one of Andre Breton's favorite theaters because of the absurd acting and small audiences. In the old, downtrodden theatre, his imagination runs wild. He manages to memorize one part of a woman's song, at the expense of paying attention to the horrors of the place. Brenton has always hoped to meet a naked woman in the woods. He does not believe such an encounter is beyond the realm of reality. He thinks if it had happened, his mind would have most likely stopped short. One afternoon, he does see a woman in a theatre, strolling from one row to the next. She is dead white, and Brenton finds the incident disturbing, if not extraordinary, since in that section of the theatre sexual acts are commonplace. The only play he ever really admired is called Les...