Nightwood: La Somnambule Summary & Analysis

Matthew lives in a square near the Church of St. Sulpice in Paris. He is well known in the square, particularly to the proprietor of the local cafe, which is where he brings Felix a few weeks after their first meeting. Felix likes Matthew because he seems valuable—there’s an aura about him that reminds Felix of a servant of an extinct noble family—even though he’s a liar. After a long silence, Matthew remarks that the Irish and the Jews often meet somewhere in the middle as the one moves up and the other down. Matthew notes that while the Irish are common, they have a great imagination because they’ve been pushed down and then lifted up again. However, a Jew is, at best, a meddler. Matthew then says that while Jews meddle, the Irish lie.

Matthew explains that nurses know more about medical science than doctors, the best of which simply forget all they’ve studied and pray to God for help. Matthew says that nobody needs a cure for their “individual sickness” but that they should look to their “universal malady.” Felix notes that this sounds like dogma, which causes Matthew to launch into a monologue about how the things that work for or mean something to one person might be different for another. For example, “any man’s smile would be consternation on another’s mouth.” Staring at his hands, Matthew suddenly asks why he feels like a bride whenever he hears music. Felix suggests neurasthenia or impatience and Matthew agrees that the Irish are impatient. Felix notes that Vienna developed an impatience after coffee was introduced there in the 17th century and that every city has its own special drink associated with it.

A bellhop from a nearby hotel runs up to Matthew and Felix and tells Matthew that there’s a woman in one of the rooms who fainted and won’t wake up. Matthew tells Felix to pay the bill and follow him, which Felix does. When they get to the hotel, the men see an unconscious woman lying on a bed surrounded by plants. The woman herself smells vaguely of fungi and there even seems to be a glow around her head, which seems to indicate that she’s a “born somnambule.” Out of delicacy, Felix steps behind some of the plants while Matthew, afraid that the police will be called and find out he’s unlicensed, throws water on the woman’s face. The woman comes to momentarily and Felix catches Matthew rummaging through the cosmetics on her dresser, ultimately pocketing a hundred-franc note. Felix knows he’ll always like Matthew despite the theft.

When Felix looks back to the woman, she’s awake and evidently recognizes Matthew from the café. Felix is taken by the woman’s bright blue eyes, which seem more like a wild animal’s than a human being’s eyes. Some women are like animals that are transforming into humans, and their actions evoke memories of a forgotten experience. These kinds of women are “carrier[s] of the past,” and Felix picks up on this feeling. The woman quickly dismisses the two men, saying they can visit when she feels better. On the way out, the bellhop tells them the woman’s name is Robin Vote. Matthew and Felix go back to the café and Matthew, sensing that Felix just had a powerful experience, asks if Felix has ever thought about getting married. Felix explains that he wants to have a son who will share his feelings about the past.

Matthew laughs and remarks that “Fate and entanglement” are starting again and then asks what nobility is. Before Felix can answer, Matthew says that the nobility are just the few people whom so many people have lied well about that they become immortal, and a king is just someone who is so scandalous that people must bow to him. Kings and nobility are set apart from other people, most of whom do all the same things in the same places. Somewhat troubled by this, Felix says that paying homage to the past is unique because it includes the future. This is why Felix wants a son. Matthew leans forward and tells Felix that the last child born to any aristocracy is often insane. After this warning, Matthew raises his glass to Robin Vote, noting that she can’t be more than 20 years old.

Felix tries to visit Robin four times before he finally sees her, and that happens entirely by accident when he runs into her on the street. Robin suggests that they take a walk in the Luxembourg Gardens and Felix agrees. While they walk, he brags about how much money he earns and how many languages he speaks. Robin doesn’t talk much and walks a little way ahead of him, but Felix is happy with her. In the following days, they spend a lot of time together. Felix is somewhat taken aback by the fact that Robin has a real enthusiasm for cheaper items in addition to nicer ones, and she touches everything with her hands. Felix realizes that he primarily loves Robin because through her Felix can quickly fulfill his destiny. Still, he asks her to marry him and is surprised that she accepts as if she’s unable to refuse.

Felix takes Robin to Vienna hoping that he’ll be able to show her something that really moves her. Felix tells her that she’s a Baronin now that they’re married and tries to explain what Vienna was like before the war. One evening in their hotel, Robin opens the blinds and sits in a seat while Felix tells her about Emperor Francis Joseph. As he talks, Felix feels weighed down by his compulsion to recreate greatness until, looking up, he notices that Robin is asleep. As he watches her, Felix realizes that he can’t turn her into what he wants her to be on his own. A few days later, they return to Paris and Felix hopes that Robin’s Christian leanings will help her become more like the wife he wants her to be. Despite his hopes, Felix realizes her mind always seems to be elsewhere.

Felix finds himself repeating his father’s tragic story, trying desperately to make Robin understand the great destiny he has already chosen for her: namely, to have children who would share Felix’s reverence for the past and greatness. Thinking of a child, Felix wonders why he and Robin haven’t had one yet and abruptly runs to Robin to ask her. Robin quietly prepares herself to have a baby and, feeling like there is “some lost land in herself,” begins going out and staying out for hours or even days without sending word of her whereabouts. Robin suddenly converts to Catholicism and is seen in churches all over the place. She thinks about the fate her child will be born into and tries praying, but her prayers are abnormal because they leave no room “for damnation or forgiveness.”

Felix comes home one evening to find Robin asleep with a memoir by Marquis de Sade in her hand. When Robin wakes up Felix tries to pull her to him, but she pushes him away and they stare at each other without a word. A short time later, Robin goes into labor, cursing Felix when he tries to comfort her. After an intense labor during which Robin seems furious, she gives birth to their baby, whom they name Guido after Felix’s father. Within a week of leaving her bed, however, Robin seems lost, as if she’s done something terrible. One night, Felix sees her raise their baby high into the air as if she wants to throw him down, but she doesn’t.

Robin and Felix’s son is small and lethargic, sleeps too much, and rarely makes noise above a whimper. Robin starts wandering again and is rarely home, and Felix, overwhelmed by sorrow, doesn’t know what to do. One night, Robin tells Felix that she never wanted to have a baby and asks why they don’t keep him secret. Felix asks what they should do, and Robin says she’ll leave. For months, people wonder where Robin is. When she eventually comes back, she’s with Nora Flood and doesn’t tell anyone where she’s been. Matthew, however, believes that Robin was in America, where Nora’s from.