A Beautiful Mind

When Nash and Alicia arrive in Paris, Nash is filled with “a heightened sense of purpose” and “a desire to cut himself off from all vestiges of his former social self” (270). Alicia tries to convince him to “give up on his ‘silly’ notions” (270) but without success. After a week in Paris, Nash travels to Luxembourg, enters the American embassy and “announce[s] that he no longer wishe[s] to be an American citizen” (271).

American citizens have the right to give up their citizenship, something that is usually used “to resolve cases of dual citizenship” (271). However, Nash intends to use this right to distance himself from America and become “a world citizen” (272) instead. An embassy official manages to dissuade him from this action.

Returning to Paris, Nash is undaunted and soon comes up with a new plan to travel to Switzerland and “obtain official refugee status” (273). Alicia travels with him but leaves almost immediately to stay with a friend in Italy. Nash spends five months in Switzerland writing letters and filling in applications, his pursuit of refugee status reflecting “an expanding feeling of alienation, a sense of persecution, and fear of incarceration” (273).

Nash struggles to make progress with his plans and is threatened with deportation by the Swiss authorities.