'Medusa' by Caravaggio, 1597
'The Facts of Winter' is 'a series of dreams, all dreamed by people in and around Paris during the winter of 1881... It is a fictional account of the imaginary lives of people who may or may not be real, and who, in any case, lived a quarter of a century before the book was written in 1904'.
Passage du Désir
'Le 8 février, Mme F rêve qu’elle traverse le passage du Désir avec un jeune homme qui lui explique la loi sur le divorce. Soudain, son mari surgit devant eux et sort de sa poche la tête de la Méduse. "Retournez-vous, dit la tête, retournez-vous". Mme F se retourne, mais le jeune homme, préoccupé par son propre discourse, continue: "Même si vous n’avez commis aucun". Il ne bouge plus. Son bras est tendu comme s’il dansait au bal, et sa bouche est ouverte pour prononcer le mot "tort".'
'On February 8, Mme F dreams that she is walking along the passage of Desire with a young man who explains to her the law regarding divorce. Suddenly, her husband appears before them and takes Medusa's head from his pocket. "Turn around", the head says, "Turn around". Mme F turns around, but the young man, preoccupied with his own speech, continues, "Even if you have done no". He doesn't move any more. His arm is extended as if he were dancing at a ball, and his mouth is open to pronounce the word "wrong".'
'The Facts of Winter' by Paul Poissel, McSweeney's Books, 2005
