4.8 (9 ratings)

Gradiva: A Pompeiian Fancy / Delusion and Dream in Wilhelm Jensen's Gradiva (Green Integer: 86)

Name: Gradiva: A Pompeiian Fancy / Delusion and Dream in Wilhelm Jensen's Gradiva (Green Integer: 86)
Rating: 4.8 (9 reviews)
Author: Wilhelm Jensen
ISBN: 189229589X

by Wilhelm Jensen

ghosts

About this book

Norbert Hanold is a brilliant young archaeologist living in a quiet German university town, but his academic life is upended by an obsession. After discovering a captivating Roman bas-relief of a woman with a distinctive, forward-striding gait, he names her Gradiva. His intellectual fascination soon curdles into a haunting fixation, spiraling into a vivid, terrifying dream that transports him back to the fiery destruction of Pompeii.

Seeking the truth behind his vision, Norbert travels to the ruins of the ancient city, only to encounter a woman who appears to be the living, breathing incarnation of his stone muse. Is she a ghost tethered to the ash of the past, or has his scholarly mind finally fractured into a beautiful, dangerous delusion? This ghostly romance blurs the line between historical reality and the fever dream of a repressed heart.

This unique volume pairs Wilhelm Jensen’s evocative novella with Sigmund Freud’s seminal psychoanalytic study. It is an essential read for those drawn to the academic trope, where the weight of history collides with the mysteries of the subconscious. Whether you are hunting for a haunting paranormal romance or a deep dive into the architecture of desire, this classic work offers a mesmerizing, atmospheric journey through time and obsession.

Publication Date: May 25, 2026
ASIN: 189229589X

Reader Reviews

... get Jensen's novella of an obsessive Archeologist with a bad memory and a thing for feet plus Vienna's greatest ...

May 19, 2015

A first-rate combo--you get Jensen's novella of an obsessive Archeologist with a bad memory and a thing for feet plus Vienna's greatest citizen, sans cigar, holding forth in a brief piece that is one part psychoanalysis and another part literary criticism. The perfect little volume for a course on the psychological novel, psychology and literature, or, for that matter, for a course on obsessions in literature. ) 3 people found this helpful

a charming little study

December 20, 2001

Freud shines here in a largely non-reductive analytic look at Jensen's well-plotted and psychologically rich but literarily mediocre novella Gravida: A Fancy, written about an archeologist who falls under the spell of a beautiful feminine image and travels to Pompeii to meet the authentic woman who reminds him of it. Or rather, the reverse.... Although I can't follow Freud's evocation of the dream censor, that device which scrambles images and feelings to keep them unconscious, or the...

This excellent product was delivered quite on time. My next supply will be with you again and again and again. I will even introduce more customers if the top quality service remains the same. )