The extravagant Gérard de Nerval

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In addition to being a writer, Gérard de Nerval was a tireless traveler and adventurer. But he suffered from bipolar disorder, causing him to have mystical delusions and hear voices of biblical figures like Adam, Moses, and Joshua. He claimed to be a descendant of the Emperor Nerva, and his obsession with him was so intense that he changed his surname, Labrunie, to Nerval.

During one of his delusions, he threw money in the air in a Paris cafe and hit a stranger. He believed that he was surrounded by an army of ghosts, and when it began to rain, he thought that it was the Second Great Flood. He also insisted that he had divine powers and tried to heal other patients by laying hands on them.

He was committed to a psychiatric hospital where he remained for eight months. His last days were spent roaming the streets of Paris before committing suicide in 1855 with the manuscript of his autobiographical novel Aurelia in his pocket.
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