Paul Valéry y lo “místico”: La lectura valeriana de san Juan de la Cruz

The article examines the particular reception Valéry made from the poetry of Saint John of the Cross, the Valerian conception of the “mystic” and the expression «Mystic without God». The main thesis of the article argues that the love crisis that Valéry lived in the so-called “Night of Genoa” (1892) is decisive for understanding both his reading of the poetry of Saint John of the Cross and his own conception of the mystic. The article is structured in three parts: first, we analize the reading that Valéry made of the poetry of Saint John of the Cross; second, following Charles Moeller' s interpretation, it is proposed that the so-called “Night of Genoa” is a key element to understand the possible limitation that shows his reception of the Spanish mystic, as well as his own conception of the mystic. Finally, an attempt is made to clarify how is to be understood the famous valerian affirmation «mystique sans Dieu», mystic without God.