Manifestoes of Surrealism

The first "Manifesto of Surrealism," published in 1924, outlines the philosophical underpinnings of the Surrealist movement. Compiled by André Breton, the manifesto is presented as a collaborative effort among multiple people involved in the Surrealist movement. The work begins with a criticism of rationality. Breton believes that the world is overly rationalized and “realistic.” He blames early philosophers, such as Saint Thomas Aquinas, with promoting rational realism over imagination. Because of this, scientific thought is prized, while superstition and contemplation are derided. As the world began to understand more about science, logic almost completely replaced imagination, to the detriment of creative thinking. Breton and his surrealist contemporaries hope to counteract the influence of logic. They believe that thinking and acting in a manner that is too structured and predictable damaged humans' ability to create new ideas. They are particularly critical of the modern novel and other creative works derived from realistic experiences. Breton writes, “It consistently feeds on and derives strength from the newspapers and stultifies both science and art by assiduously flattering the lowest of tastes; clarity bordering on stupidity, a dog’s life” (6).

Breton presents two major examples to argue that abstract, imaginative thinking is a natural human condition: children and dreams. He writes that children are not yet corrupted by reason and are free to explore their imaginations without the pressure to think rationally. Breton believes that adults lack imagination only because society told them to; without pressure to be rational at all times, humans would retain their vivid imaginations into adulthood. He cites people who have a severe mental health condition as an example: People with conditions that cause them to lose their ability for strictly logical thinking often think and act with a level of imaginative abstraction that is similar to that of children. Breton is also highly influenced by Sigmund Freud and The Interpretation of Dreams. He believes that dreams are overly discounted by modern humans; waking life is interpreted as reality, but dreams are not. Breton disagrees with this assumption. He argues that there is no way to prove that dreams are less real than the waking world. Instead, they offer a window into the breadth of human imagination that would be possible in waking life as well apart from the influence of logic and reason.

Despite the challenges that Breton sees in bringing wonder and creativity back to modern life, he is optimistic about the concept of freedom. He writes, “Among all the misfortunes to which we are heir, it is only fair to admit that we are allowed the greatest degree of freedom of thought. It is up to us to misuse it” (4). The "First Manifesto," along with the other texts in Manifestoes of Surrealism, shows that Breton believes that misuse of mental freedom is rampant. He sees this as a betrayal of the self and views Surrealism as a valuable means to achieve true freedom of imagination. Even those who experience mental illness and may be labeled as not being free to think as they desire are, in Breton’s view, usually victims of mainstream society’s justice and healthcare systems. In fact, he writes, they may be the most mentally free people, as they often live life without regard to the rules imposed on them by society.

In the second half of the "First Manifesto," Breton offers a specific definition of Surrealism:

Psychic automatism in its pure state, by which one proposes to express—verbally, by means of the written word, or in any other manner—the actual functioning of thought. Dictated by thought, in the absence of any control exercised by reason, exempt from any aesthetic or moral concern (26).

He also provides a list of various writers, thinkers, and artists throughout history who he believes were Surrealists in particular ways. He writes, for example: “Poe is a Surrealist in adventure”; “Hugo is a Surrealist when he isn’t stupid”; and “Roussel is Surrealist as a storyteller” (27). Breton recognizes that Surrealist thinking is not unique to himself and his contemporaries. What sets the Surrealist movement apart, he writes, is a wholehearted commitment to Surrealism as an artistic style, a basis for political belief, and a lifestyle. Becoming a Surrealist, he writes, is an unescapable change in thinking that dominates the Surrealist’s entire life.

"Soluble Fish" opens on a dreamlike scene: An expansive castle is set in a park bustling with myriad fantastical characters. They include figures like a 200-year-old phantom who “still speaks a bit of French” (52), a woman dreaming of black walnut trees, and maidservants wearing satin tights “the color of daylight” (52). The unnamed protagonist hopes to meet with the mistress of the mansion, who is described as “an American grapevine, of the sort most recently acclimated to France that produces seeds of that purple foxglove whose full flavor has not been savored” (53). The protagonist kisses the woman and is then transported through a series of visions, a cabaret, a crane “lifting packages heavenward that must have been hair” (54), and into the future.

Each section of "Soluble Fish" presents a different surrealist scene. In one chapter, Breton describes a large water trough where “at nightfall the disturbing animals and surprise-plants still left in Paris come to refresh themselves” (64). In another, a woman’s torso, which may or may not be a mannequin, floats down the Seine while an enormous wasp flies around the city and sings. Another passage describes a turkey standing on a dike, gazing into a Venetian mirror, while an enormous top hat full of jellyfish swings nearby.

Although "Soluble Fish" does not have a straightforward plot or narrative arc, certain imagery and themes appear repeatedly throughout the text. The most prominent of these is sexuality; almost every section uses imaginative erotic imagery to describe a woman or groups of women, who are often interacting with the protagonist. Erotic imagery is sometimes presented in a straightforward matter: “The woman with the breasts of ermine was standing at the entrance of the passage Jouffroy in the light of songs. She readily consented to follow me” (89). In other instances, it appears in more abstract contexts: “The young man, the one whose cigar ash was a young blonde who he could make out very well by lowering his eyes and who gave signs of unparalleled excitement, gave his arm to the second man, whose cigar ash, a brunette, had already fallen” (76).

Animals and insects of all types appear throughout "Soluble Fish." Often, the creatures are highly anthropomorphized: “I met the wasp with the waist of a pretty woman and it asked me the way” (56). Similar imagery describes non-human creatures that can think rationally and speak human language as well as any human that appears in the text. Animals are also used metaphorically and allegorically in passages such as the following: “Birds lose their form after they lose their colors. They are reduced to a spider-like existence so deceptive that I throw the gauntlet down far away” (57). This tendency is also evident in the following passage: “I shall one day be received by my brother, that charming mollusk who has the property of being able to fly underwater” (105).