Let’s not forget, however, that Nerval was a fervent scholar of the occult, steeped in classical myth, Egyptian magic, medieval fables, Teutonic tales of Lorelei, the Gnostic wisdom of the Druses of Lebanon, alchemy, the Kabbalah, the Tarot, the secret teachings of the Illuminati, “the strange legends and bizarre superstitions” of the Valois countryside outside Paris, where he grew up; his work is hermetic, rich in arcane allusions and hidden meanings.
On the numerous potential meanings of Nerval’s pet lobster, from the occult to the marine-biological …
Nerval’s Lobster: Is walking a crustacean any more ridiculous than a dog? – Boing Boing
Absalom, Absalom! 