La sensualité d'Ondine: Une femme fatale grotesque

Within the criticism and history of the prose poem, while Aloysius Bertrand's 'Gaspard de la Nuit', posthumously published in 1842, is usually valued for its pioneering formal experimentation, its thematic unoriginality is sometimes criticised, because of the presence of evident romantic themes and influences in the collection. This essay tackles this rather anachronistic accusation of unoriginality, by examining Bertrand's own and unique synthesis of the available literary material at his time and his own poetic experimentation, through the specific case study of the composition 'Ondine'. It proposes an examination of the intertextuality of 'Ondine' as a means to address precise interpretative questions. In particular, the following two issues are discussed: 1. Considering that traditionally the key characteristic of this aquatic sprite is her irresistible sensuality, why isn't Bertrand's Ondine as attractive as her mythical ancestors? 2. What is her understanding of the complex world of the human senses?