A Night Journey Round my Room

A Night Journey Round my Room

The narrator embarks on a fantastical journey through his room, transforming it into various landscapes and environments, including the moon, the sea, and the forest. He encounters mythical creatures and historical figures, blurring the lines between reality and fantasy. As he travels, the narrator reflects on the nature of imagination and the human experience, exploring themes of identity, morality, and the search for meaning. The journey is a metaphor for the inner workings of the mind, where the boundaries between dreams and reality are constantly shifting. Throughout the narrative, the narrator's observations and insights reveal his own character and worldview, offering a glimpse into the complexities of the human psyche.

By Xavier De Maistre · First published 1794 · Genre: Philosophical Fiction, Travel Literature, Autobiographical · 38 chapters · 19,519 words

First lines

In order to invest the room in which I made my Night Journey with some interest, I must acquaint the inquisitive reader how it came into my possession. Being continually interrupted in my work, in the noisy house where I lived, I had intended for some time past to look out for a more solitary retreat, when one day turning over a life of M. de Baffon, I read, that that celebrated man had selected an isolated summerhouse in his garden, which contained no other furniture except an armchair, the bureau on which he wrote, and no other work except the one on which he happened to be then engaged. The trifles about which I busy myself are so far removed from the immortal works of M. de Baffon, that the idea of imitating him, even so far, would certainly never have crossed my mind, if an accident had not compelled me to do so. While dusting the furniture, my servant fancied he saw a good deal of dust on a sketch in pastel which I had just finished, and he cleaned it so effectually that he completely removed all the dust which I had been arranging with so much care. After venting my anger against the fellow during his absence, but saying nothing about it on his return, according to my custom, I at once set out on an expedition and returned home with the key of a little room which I had hired on the fourth floor in the Rue de la Providence. That very day, I moved thither the materials necessary for carrying on my favourite occupation, and thenceforth passed the best part of my time, secure from domestic chatter and picture cleaners. In that retired abode the hours fled like minutes, and more than once, while there, my meditations caused me to forget the dinner hour.

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A Night Journey Round my Room is listed on Textopian as a novella by Xavier De Maistre, dated 1794 CE.

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Philosophical · Autobiographical · Travelogue · Literary · Experimental · Imaginative · Dreamlike · Symbolic · Allegorical · Psychological · Stream-of-consciousness · Poetic

Contents

More by Xavier De Maistre