Talk:Gradiva (novel)

As the article states, Freud did a study on this novel and concluded that the inspiration for the story came from a sister of Jensen who died in childhood. Freud wrote Jensen telling him this theory, but Jensen replied that he had no sister. However, he admitted that he had a beloved female playmate who died in childhood. So, Freud was almost right. Just recently I saw the movie "Happy Accident" which was essentially the Gradiva story but with one slight change: The dream maiden the hero was attempting to save from a dreadful death in the past was the spitting image of his sister! It seems like modern script writers are a little more erudite than we give them credit for. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.197.147.79 (talk) 01:16, 13 September 2012 (UTC)

The 3 Gradiva entries in the English WP
Right now the English WP has 3 entries dealing with the  Gradiva  (I will not consider here film adaptions, Dali’s painting etc.): 1.	Gradiva : one of three figures in the ancient Agraulide relief; 2.	Jensen’s Gradiva (novel); 3.	Freud’s essay Delusion and Dream in Jensen's Gradiva. My proposition : The three entries are mutually dependent on each other and should be combined under one lemma.

My argument is as follows: The ‘Gradiva’ is first and foremost a fictional character in Jensen’s novella. The protagonist gives this name to the first woman in the Agraulide relief he sees in the Vatican museum and transfers this name to a woman he meets. Result : The ‘Gradiva’ of the novel is dependent on the figure of the actual existing relief. At the same time – and through this act – one of the three Agraulide sisters (Herse,Pandrosos and Agraulos, ancient deities of the dew), is given the new name ‘Gravida’: the lemma of entry 1. concerning the relief depends in its turn on the novel. One without the other is incomprehensible.

Freud could not of course have written his essay without Jensen’s novella. On the other hand, Jensen’s story would have sunk into obscurity without Freud’s analysis. It was Freud who gave prominence to ‘Gradiva’, to link now forever in people’s mind the first relief-figure to her new name ‘Gradiva’, to inspire the surrealists works, and to prompt the WP entries.

Presently the ‘Gradiva’ is scattered over 3 entries and - to paraphrase the title of Hauser’s exemplary study of the relief (Hauser, 1903), alas! only accessible to German speakers – is presented as Disiecta membra der Gradiva. These three entries are inextricably linked and should be combined.

Please leave comments on the Talk:Gradiva page.--RM Vollmer 17:04, 10 September 2013 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by RM Vollmer (talk • contribs)