
Mirror of the Marvelous
The Surrealist Reimagining of Myth
Pierre Mabille(Author)
Inner Traditions Bear and Company (Publisher)
2nd Edition
Published on 17. May 2018
Book
Paperback/Softback
320 pages
978-1-62055-733-4 (ISBN)
Description
A surrealist exploration of the marvelous in ancient, classic, and modern works from around the world
* Reveals the "marvelous" in works from William Blake, Edgar Allen Poe, William Shakespeare, Chretien de Troyes, and Arthur Rimbaud; legends and folktales from around the world; classics from Ovid, Plato, and Apuleius; Masonic ritual texts, Mesopotamia's Epic of Gilgamesh, the Popol-Vuh, Lewis Caroll's Alice through the Looking Glass, Solomon's Song of Songs, and Goethe's Faust
First published in French as Miroir du merveilleux in 1940, Mirror of the Marvelous has long been considered one of the most significant and original books to have come out of the surrealist movement and Anais Nin suggested it as a source of inspiration, far ahead of its time.
Pierre Mabille defines "the marvelous" as the point at which inner and outer realities are joined and the individual is simultaneously one with himself and with the world, thus recovering the true sense of the sacred. He shows how "the marvelous" goes beyond simply being a synonym for "the fantastic" to engage the entire emotional realm. Mabille cites a far-reaching range of texts, from the classic to the obscure, from Egyptian myth to Voodoo initiation ceremonies, from the ancient epic to the modern poem, from the creation myth to more contemporary visions of apocalypse. He includes surrealist analyses of works from William Blake, Edgar Allen Poe, William Shakespeare, Chretien de Troyes, and Arthur Rimbaud; legends and folktales from Egypt, Iceland, Mexico, Africa, India, and other cultures; classics from Ovid, Plato, and Apuleius; Masonic ritual texts, Mesopotamia's Epic of Gilgamesh, the Popol-Vuh, Lewis Caroll's Alice through the Looking Glass, Solomon's Song of Songs, and selections from Goethe's Faust.
* Reveals the "marvelous" in works from William Blake, Edgar Allen Poe, William Shakespeare, Chretien de Troyes, and Arthur Rimbaud; legends and folktales from around the world; classics from Ovid, Plato, and Apuleius; Masonic ritual texts, Mesopotamia's Epic of Gilgamesh, the Popol-Vuh, Lewis Caroll's Alice through the Looking Glass, Solomon's Song of Songs, and Goethe's Faust
First published in French as Miroir du merveilleux in 1940, Mirror of the Marvelous has long been considered one of the most significant and original books to have come out of the surrealist movement and Anais Nin suggested it as a source of inspiration, far ahead of its time.
Pierre Mabille defines "the marvelous" as the point at which inner and outer realities are joined and the individual is simultaneously one with himself and with the world, thus recovering the true sense of the sacred. He shows how "the marvelous" goes beyond simply being a synonym for "the fantastic" to engage the entire emotional realm. Mabille cites a far-reaching range of texts, from the classic to the obscure, from Egyptian myth to Voodoo initiation ceremonies, from the ancient epic to the modern poem, from the creation myth to more contemporary visions of apocalypse. He includes surrealist analyses of works from William Blake, Edgar Allen Poe, William Shakespeare, Chretien de Troyes, and Arthur Rimbaud; legends and folktales from Egypt, Iceland, Mexico, Africa, India, and other cultures; classics from Ovid, Plato, and Apuleius; Masonic ritual texts, Mesopotamia's Epic of Gilgamesh, the Popol-Vuh, Lewis Caroll's Alice through the Looking Glass, Solomon's Song of Songs, and selections from Goethe's Faust.
Reviews / Votes
"Pierre Mabille's Mirror of the Marvelous reflects on the strangely beautiful and often terrifying domains of visionary reality as expressed in world literature. His collection of classically unusual tales and sympathetic insightful interpretations provides the reader with an oasis for the Divine Imagination. Mabille's association with the Surrealists helped link their aesthetic with the great tradition of Western occult symbolism. I am thrilled that Inner Traditions has brought Mirror of the Marvelous to the English-speaking world at last." * Alex Grey, artist and author of Net of Being and Sacred Mirrors * "One of those monumental works which to leave unread would be to renounce, once and for all, any hope of comprehending the surrealist spirit." * Andre Breton, author of Manifestoes of Surrealism *More details
Edition
2nd Edition, New Paperback Edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Rochester
United States
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
5 b&w illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
499 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-62055-733-4 (9781620557334)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
04/2018
2nd Edition
Simon + Schuster LLC
€13.84
Available for download
Previous edition
Book
01/2000
Inner Traditions Bear and Company
€53.41
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Persons
Pierre Mabille (1904-1952) was a doctor, writer, and editorial director of the famous art review Minotaure. Working as a surgeon in the Caribbean during World War II he was appointed French Cultural Attache to Haiti at the war's end and helped establish the Haitian Bureau of Ethnology. Mabille is one of the most important writers to have participated in the surrealist movement, advancing surrealist concerns into the areas of medicine, hermetic traditions, and social structures. His major works include La construction de l'Homme, Therese de Lisieux, Egregores ou la vie des civilisations, and Conscience Pictoral, Conscience Lumineuese.
Content
Foreword: Drawbridges, by Andre Breton
Introduction
Creation
The Destruction of the World
Crossing Through the Elements
Crossing Through Death
The Marvelous Voyage
Predestination
In Quest of the Grail
Index of Book References
Index
Introduction
Creation
The Destruction of the World
Crossing Through the Elements
Crossing Through Death
The Marvelous Voyage
Predestination
In Quest of the Grail
Index of Book References
Index