Un « compendium » du Voyage en Orient La Santa-Barbara

Important because of its central role in Voyage en Orient and for the way it echoes the Odyssean model, the “La Santa-Barbara” section was used by Nanteuil to create the poster for Scènes de la vie orientale. Using a compendium, following Chateaubriand’s example, is a procedure that Nerval employs to poetically develop one episode. It is not just a summary. It is anthology material, a distillation of creativity, a game of literary rhythms.