Nadja is introduced as a mysterious woman who is characterized ambiguously and seems to float above the ground. She is never clearly defined and uses different names with different people. While Nadja's own identity is unclear, she has a dramatic effect on those around her, including the narrator. One example is when Nadja predicts a window will turn red after being black, and when the narrator looks again it has changed color, allowing his reality to be altered. Nadja does not literally change things, but has the power to influence people's states of mind and convince them to see the surreal. She acts as a guide from the real to the surreal for those she encounters.

1. Nadja
Chris Mascioli
March 22, 2010

2. In his Surrealism and Painting, Andre Breton states that “everyone is
in a position to accompany an ever more beautiful Alice to Wonderland.”
This concept of Alice as an almost Virgil-esque guide to a new state of mind
perfectly encapsulates the concept of Nadja. Whether Nadja actually exists
is irrelevant; the effect of her on the protagonist and those around her is
more important than anything about Nadja herself.
When Nadja is first introduced, she is characterized ambiguously in a
manner befitting of a specter as “carr[ying] her head high, unlike everyone
else on the sidewalk. And she looked so delicate that she scarcely seemed
to touch the ground as she walked. A faint smile may have been wandering
across her face.” In addition to her ghost-like appearance, it is noteworthy
that Nadja is defined by her differences; throughout the book she is never
described as similar to something else and is always set apart. She is never
concretely defined, in fact, she is not even known by one name (her American
friend, one of only two friends, calls her Lena) and the very few personal
anecdotes Nadja shares about herself are described in such a manner that
their veracity is unascertainable. This unknowability is not lost on the
narrator as he “ask[s] one question which sums up all the rest, a question
which only I would ever ask, probably, but which has at least once found a
reply worthy of it: ‘Who are you?’” While this question sums up the sense
of mystery around Nadja, perhaps “What are you?” would have been more
appropriate.
While Nadja’s personhood is in doubt, the effect she has on people and
events around her is not. One particularly poignant account of Nadja’s
“powers”can be seen in a story the narrator recounts where
Nadja’s eyes sweep over the surrounding houses. “Do you see
that window up there? It’s black, like all the rest. Look hard. In
a minute it will light up. It will be red.” The minute passes. The
window lights up. There are, as a matter of fact, red curtains.
This ability has a dramatic effect on the narrator who is now willing to
accept Nadja’s new reality as “[he] should never forgive [him]self for taking
sides: I confine myself to granting that this window, being black, has now
become red, that is all.” This effect is not just limited to the narrator; Nadja
also affects those around her such as the waiter who, when serving Nadja
and the narrator, “glances up [and] seems to have a dizzy spell.”
Given people’s reactions to her, “Nadja is not at all surprised. She
knows her power,” but this power is an illusion. Nadja does not have the
innate ability to change places or things, only states of mind. This can be
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3. most clearly demonstrated in the aforementioned example concerning the
window; Nadja did not actually turn the window red, but instead convinced
the narrator to believe that this window had become red. Nadja, therefore,
can be seen as the catalyst that allows the narrator and those around her
to travel from the real to the surreal.
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