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

For The Four-Chambered Heart I used the setting of the houseboat which was familiar to me. One of the themes of psychoanalysis had always appealed to me: the concept that we participate in our destructive experiences, that we are by our very temperaments and unconscious drives often allied with our tormentors, our jailers (figuratively speaking), our tyrants. The concept that Rango could very well be in accord (unconsciously) with his wife’s particular form of tyranny (hypochondria) never occurred in the diary, but it occurred to me first as a new concept which certainly could be applied to them in a fictionalized way. The psychological reality is that when we feel unequal or unwilling to confront a challenging experience, we take refuge in what the other demands of us. Rango, unable to face the discipline demanded of political commitments, used the illness of his wife as an alibi. Thus he was, unconsciously, at one with her aims, which were to keep him through dependency and need. I had also studied the psychological, subtle paradox that the irrational person often acquired greater power over another than the rational one, because the irrational mind cannot be detected or influenced or defeated when it is acting out an irrational need of our own that we do not wish to confront. It has what you might describe as a subliminal influence. It was like an undetected malady which affected the couple.