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The essay is an attempt to a new critical approach to Lou Andreas-Salomé's works, whose interdisciplinary nature and nomadic style cast new light on the particular philosophical issue of her irrationalism. After so many articles on the influence she had on Rilke's poetry, the essay shows how much the poet's images and verses are present in her works and in their visual imagery. Thanks to a philological comparison between Rilke's and Andreas-Salomé's images, it also underlines the peculiar difference between them; while Rilke's images move towards the so-called "empty" word, those by Andreas-Salomé are still conceived as symbols.