where the birds who sing are the birds of peace, the birds of paradise, the colored birds of desire which appear in our dreams

there are those who feared to be lost in this voyage without compass, barometers, steering wheel or encyclopedias

but Djuna knew that at this surrender of the self began a sinking into deeper layers of awareness deeper and deeper starting at the topsoil of gaiety and descending through the geological stairways carrying only the delicate weighing machine of the heart to weigh the imponderable

through these streets of secret sorrows in which the music was anonymous and people lost their identities to better be carried and swept back and forth through the years to find only the points of ecstasy...

registering only the dates and titles of emotion which alone enter the flesh and lodge themselves against the flux and loss of memory

that only the important dates of deep feeling may recur again and again each time anew through the wells, fountains and rivers of music...

The Four-Chambered Heart

THE FOUR-CHAMBERED HEART

MAIN CHARACTERS

Djuna: Lover of Rango, who offers the chaos that she lacks and with whom she trysts on a houseboat; tries to drown Rango and herself; by dreaming, attempts to avoid harsh realities. Based on what Anaïs Nin called the “mystic Anaïs” (see Mirages).

Rango: Guatemalan guitarist married to Zora; jealous lover of Djuna; becomes an unsuccessful revolutionary. Based on Nin’s longtime lover, Gonzalo Moré (see Fire and Mirages).

Zora: Dancer who uses her illnesses to control Djuna and Rango, her husband; leads Rango to chaos and destruction; attempts to kill Djuna. Based on Helba Huara, Gonzalo Moré’s husband (see Fire and Mirages).

Paul: Young man who gives a book of Jay’s paintings to Djuna, his lover. Based on William Pinckard (see Mirages).

Jay: Painter admired by Djuna and Paul; a book of his paintings has been published. Based on Henry Miller (see Henry & June).

Sabina: Woman whose fever and chaos are similar to Rango’s; she and Rango, with whom she clashes, compete to eat the most red chilies. Composite character based on June Miller and the aspect of Nin that sought to emulate her (see Henry & June).

Descriptions in part from Anaïs Nin Character Dictionary by Benjamin Franklin V

PUBLISHING HISTORY

The Four-Chambered Heart was originally included in Anaïs Nin’s contract with E. P. Dutton. However, after slow sales of Ladders to Fire (1946) and Children of the Albatross (1947), Dutton decided to wait four years before bringing out the next title. Instead of waiting, Nin gave the book to Duell, Sloane and Pearce, who finally published it in 1950. The Four-Chambered Heart was collected into Cities of the Interior (Anaïs Nin Press, 1959; Swallow Press, 1974).

—Paul Herron, Editor

INTRODUCTION