translate English to French: After an existential crisis in 1891, during which he was plagued by irrational feelings - the so-called 'night of Genua' - the workings of the human mind became Valéry's main area of interest.
C'est assurément après sa crise existentielle de 1892, la 'nuit de Gênes' au cours de laquelle il fut assailli par des sentiments irrationnels, que le fonctionnement de l'esprit humain devint le principal sujet d'étude de Paul Valéry.