In this essay I trace the historical theme in Djuna Barnes?s Nightwood, stressing the importance of the concept of forgetfulness in the text. Read alongside Nietzsche?s On the Use and Abuse of History for Life as well as his later thoughts on genealogy, the novel can be seen to concern itself with that same dilemma of history that he articulates in his philosophy. That is: how not to be overburdened by historical knowledge to the point where it petrifies life and prevents any real and novel action, and how at the same time, to make oneself conscious of ones own historicity, so as not to be governed to much by the past.I argue that Robin inhabits what Nietzsche would call the unhistorical state, whereas the other characters, in contrast, struggle with their relation to the past.

The inhuman element in Djuna Barnes?s works has been widely acknowledged. So far the research has, however, concerned itself primarily with animality, thus neglecting the importance of things and thingliness in her texts. In this essay I outline a new way of approaching Barnes were things are taken into account as a vital element in her literary world, using theories on prostheses, fetishes and souvenirs. In Nightwood and four of the short stories, ?A Night Among the Horses?, ?Aller et Retour?, ?Cassation?, and ?The Grande Malade?, I examine clothing, interiors, collections, statues and dolls as objects that in different ways harbour meaning, dream, riddle, memory, history, longing and desire.