Metamorphosis of Narcissus Metamorphosis of Narcissus Metamorphosis of Narcissus (1937) is an oil-on-canvas painting by the Spanish surrealist Salvador Dalí. This painting is from Dalí's paranoiac-critical period. According to Greek mythology, Narcissus fell in love with his own reflection in a pool. Unable to embrace the watery image, he pined away, and the gods immortalized him as a flower. Dalí completed this painting in 1937 on his long-awaited return to Paris after having had great success in the United States. The painting shows Narcissus sitting in a pool, gazing down. Not far away there is a decaying stone figure which corresponds closely to
For Esmé—with Love and Squalor of the war". Deeply moved, he immediately begins a recovery from his descent into disillusionment and spiritual vacancy, regaining his "faculties". As the war receded in memory, America was embracing an "unquestioned patriotism and increasing conformity", and a romantic version of the war was gradually replacing its devastating realities. Salinger wished to speak for those who still struggled to cope with the "inglorious" aspects of combat. "For Esmé—with Love and Squalor" was conceived as a tribute to those Second World War veterans who in post-war civilian life were still suffering from so-called "battle fatigue" – post-traumatic stress disorder. The story