Dream, death, and renovation:

how the surrealist vanguard contributed to the modernization of the novel

Abstract

This paper reflects on the status of the novel after the harsh attacks it suffered due to the publication of the Surrealist Manifesto, written by André Breton in 1924. The main goal of this paper is to examine how the Surrealist criticism of this literary form caused reactions which aimed at updating and legitimizing the novel as a relevant genre in the 20th century. In this sense, we confront the surrealist criticism with the alternatives offered by the Nouveau Roman and Milan Kundera to the Bretonian provocation. The comparison between the three attitudes reveals how the dialectic dynamics between aesthetic manifestations benefits the literary field as a whole and enriches the human experience.