Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust (10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, critic, and essayist who wrote the monumental novel In Search of Lost Time (À la recherche du temps perdu), originally published in French in seven volumes between 1913 and 1927. He is considered by critics and writers to be one of the most influential authors of the 20th century.
Begun in 1909, when Proust was 38 years old, À la recherche du temps perdu consists of seven volumes totaling around 3,200 pages (about 4,300 in The Modern Library’s translation) and featuring more than 2,000 characters. Graham Greene called Proust the “greatest novelist of the 20th century,” and W. Somerset Maugham called the novel the “greatest fiction to date.” André Gide was initially not so taken with his work. The first volume was refused by the publisher Gallimard on Gide’s advice. He later wrote to Proust apologizing for his part in the refusal and calling it one of the most serious mistakes of his life. (Wikipedia)
Proust and the Modernist Novel
It aims to shake us out of our habits, so we become more active readers, and as such better readers.
See also the conversation video: On Marcel Proust.
Proust Videos
Marcel Proust’s Childhood Home in Illiers-Combray, France:
Magic lantern in Proust’s Remembrance of Things Past (In Search of Lost Time) Geneviève de Brabant:
“Proust for Beginners” with Caroline Weber:
On Marcel Proust
BTS: On Strong Misreadings
Instead of reading faithfully or correctly, how about we try (like Proust narrator’s mother) to read wonderfully?
The scene in which Proust’s narrator dips a madeleine (a small cake) in a cup of tea is one of the most famous in world literature. He is suddenly invaded by a “delicious pleasure” that at first he cannot explain. He assumes it is connected to what he is eating and drinking: “I drink a second mouthful, in which I find nothing more than in the first, a third that gives me a little less than the second. [. . .] Clearly, the truth I am seeking is not in the drink, but in me” (45). And yet without the drink, the sensation and the long-buried memory that follows soon after would have remained dormant, trapped in his unconscious. The drink (and its accompanying snack) dislodges something, sets something in motion, and enables the narrative to unfold. The stimulated body is primary: affect drives reflection and thought.
- Eliot, T S. The Waste Land. Ed. Michael North. New York: Norton, 2001.
- Pound, Ezra. The Cantos of Ezra Pound. Revised ed. London: Faber and Faber, 1975.
- Rimbaud, Arthur. Complete Works. Trans. Paul Schmidt. New York: HarperCollins, 2000.
- Shklovsky, Victor. “Art as Technique.” Literary Theory: An Anthology. Ed. Julie Rivkin and Michael Ryan. 2nd ed. Oxford: Blackwell, 2004. 15-21.
Modernist Visual Culture
- Masolino da Panicale: Healing of the Cripple and Raising of Tabitha (1424)
- Leonardo da Vinci, The Last Supper (1490s)
- Edvard Munch, The Scream (1893)
- Henri Matisse, Woman with a Hat (1905)
- Pablo Picasso, Girl with a Mandolin (1910)
- Marcel Duchamp, Fountain (1917)
- Kasimir Malevich, Suprematist Composition: White on White (1918)
- René Magritte, The Treachery of Images (1929)
- Piet Mondrian, Composition with Red, Blue, and Yellow (1930)
- Salvador Dalí, The Persistence of Memory (1931)
- Salvador Dalí, Lobster Telephone (1936)
- Meret Oppenheim, Object (1936)
Proust discussion
On Wednesday, January 17, 2024, in class (via Zoom) we had some discussions about Proust, plot, and events. Here are the notes we took:
Proust Questions
- What difference, if any, would it make if this book started at page 49 (the second part of the “Combray” section)? What purpose do the previous pages (“Combray,” part one) serve?
- How does the narrator read? What does he have to say about reading?
- What signs or effects of modernity are referenced or discussed in “Combray”?
- What does “Combray,” part one, have to say about identity? How is it constructed? Who is the narrator? Who is M. Swann?
- What is the role of writing in the episode the evening that M. Swann comes to visit?
- Why does the narrator call this episode “the beginning of a new era” (38)?
- How should we “read” the madeleine? (How does the narrator?) Is it a “symbol”?
- Describe the characteristics of Aunt Léonie. And her relationship with her servant, Françoise.
- What is the relationship between inside (or indoors) and outside (or outdoors) in Combray?
- Combray is in part based on the town of Illiers (where Proust used to holiday as a child), which in 1971 changed its name to Illiers-Combray. What does this say about the relationship between fiction and the real?
The following questions are taken from your blog posts…
On Writing and Reading:
Why is it important for Marcel to describe how he sleeps and wakes up at the start of the chapter?
Whenever you are given a new piece of literature, what is the first thing you do when trying to read the text or understanding the messages the author may have implied within it? Do you try to get into the mindset of the character? To immerse yourself in the environmental surroundings of the character? Has it helped you understand the text better? Why do you think that is the case?
Did you enjoyed part 1 reading and if so, why?
Were there any segments of the book that you personally related to?
What was one thing that you learnt/was made more evident while you read Proust’s Swann’s Way?
How is the writing of the text similar or dissimilar from the way you think?
Whenever you are given a new piece of literature, what is the first thing you do when trying to read the text or understanding the messages the author may have implied within it? Do you try to get into the mindset of the character? To immerse yourself in the environmental surroundings of the character? Has it helped you understand the text better? Why do you think that is the case?
Was there any one character so far that stood out from the others in terms of interest, relatability, likability or even dislike? If so, why?
Which was your favorite single sentence from the whole book?
Why does this text, or does Proust feel the need to, contain so many misleading features on the way to discovering the story at hand?
Why would Proust choose to write over 40 pages to depict the narrator’s sleep and anxiety, and how does it connect to the rest of the parts in Combray?
What were your first impressions of this book, and has this changed over time?Regarding the madeleine dipped in tea; have you ever had an instance like this, when a seemingly random scent or taste had brought you sudden waves of nostalgia or happiness?
Do you believe that the novel benefits more than it suffers from the author’s unique writing style? In other words, does this approach more effectively convey the emotions within the story?
On Translation:
Do we think that there are any differences in the writing or in how we interpret it due to the act of translating the text? Would it be an easier read in its original language?
Motifs and Images:
I’m curious about your interpretations of Proust’s use of light in this text. Did his descriptions of a “black sun” (66) or “a wave of blue light” (181) prompt you to ponder a deeper meaning, as they did for me?
I wonder why madeleines for Proust remain a key figure for his recollection with his aunt Leonie? Could it be because he shares fond memories with his aunt and his mother over the consumption of madeleines or was it because he liked the sugar rush perhaps?
What is Proust’s motive behind exploring the character’s psyche and melding time with memory the way he does in this narrative?
Another motif (beyond death, illness and anxiety) that I noticed was the sky, but I wasn’t sure what to make of it. Does anyone have their own interpretation of what it might represent?
Were you, as a reader, a) surprised by the narrator’s commentary on class, caste and social status? and b) what did you make of these observations? (page 21).
(On the passage about the garden): Is there a correlation between why the father would send his son to read in his room when it rained too much and the father’s interest in the weather? The grandmother on the other hand argued that “especially that boy, who so needs to build up his endurance and willpower” (pg.11) leads me to wonder why the father didn’t believe the same position considering the novel was written in the early 1900s.
How do you feel about describing the past as a prison? Do you think this description is accurate when it comes to Proust?
Why do you think he yearns to return to Combray? Was it the ties we have as children to certain places and the emotion that it may evoke or something different entirely? Why might it be that we still yearn for places or moments that may be tied to stressful memories?
Characters:
Who was your favourite character and why? Like which one would you be friends with, not which one was most interesting to you.
What is the significance of M. Swann’s character in this book and the development of the young boy?
Why is the first introduction to the main character as a thief? Wouldn’t making Silvio a thief make readers hate the narrator? So why introduce him as such? why do you think Silvio betrayed Rengo? Silvio used to find joy in theft, so why the sudden change of heart?
How does Silvio’s tranquillity toward the end reveal his outlook on life?
Why did Senor Souza (the occult doctor) not give Silvio a job? Why did he call him “mad” (surmenage)? What was the purpose of the scene with Silvio’s interaction with the man at the hotel? Was it to show the different lives of outcasts in Buenos Aries?
What was the purpose of Enrique’s character? He was shown in part 1 but never makes an appearance again, other than in the conversation between Lucio and Silvio.
Whenever Silvio said someone with a higher status than him looked at him with “part curiosity, part mockery” what do you think he meant by this? Do you think it was because he’s poor? young?
What elements of Roberto Arlt’s use of language and narrative style influence your understanding and perception of the characters and settings in “Mad Toy”? Do you think they help serve to make the themes of searching for identity in one’s youth universally resonant?
Another question I have is whether Silvio’s previous life in crime influenced his decision to turn in Rengo to the police, what was the pivoting point when he made his decision? Why did he decide to turn Rengo in and was this another turning point in finding his identity and morals?
Relationships:
To what extent is the narrator’s relationship with each of his parents normal and/or healthy?
In these sections of Proust’s novel, do we judge the narrator’s age, as well as his dependence / reliance on his mother?
Why do you think Proust decided to use this infatuation with Mama to explore the complex emotions that are tied to familial bonds?
Do we find the relationship between the narrator and his mother innocent?
What does the relationship between the narrator and his mother indicate about the story?
What do we think may have led to the narrator’s need to be strongly connected to his mother?
Do you think the affection a mother shares with her child would cause them to later lack initiative, individuality or confidence?
How far should parents go to provide comfort to a sensitive child without enabling and encouraging their dependence?
Why was his father always so upset and/or bothered by the fact that he wanted a kiss from his mother goodnight? This could be stemmed from a number of things. Jealousy perhaps? Resentment, either towards his wife or his son?
Why does his father, who apparently found his son’s desire for a mother’s love to be unacceptable usually, make an exception once and tell her to sleep in his room? What caused the narrator to be scared that he would be sent away if he was caught doing something so simple as asking for his mother to say goodnight to him?
I wonder if during the time and location the story took place if it was common that parents were not overly affectionate with their children, as when the mother gives the narrator a goodnight kiss, it would irritate the father. Why would the father be irritated by a simple goodnight kiss, especially when he keeps the narrator at home reading, instead of outside?
Do you think that the desire for your child to grow up manly is an excuse for judgmental parenting and harsh rules? In other words, do you think that Marcel’s dad was a good father or was he too harsh and deserves Marcel’s resentment?
Topping it off with ‘the greatest desire I had in the world, […], was too contrary to the necessities of life and the wishes of others for its fulfillment’ (p.43), I propose a question. Does our own comfort come at the cost of others. Is it right to seek such a comfort?
Going back to the scene of the narrator refusing to go to sleep without a kiss from his mother. My question to the class is: Were the narrator’s parents in the right to set these boundaries for their child? Or is it more important to tend to the child’s emotional wellbeing?
How much does childhood trauma and the pressure of maturity affect an individual?
How do you think a child that receives so little affection that is also so inconsistent while growing up affects their development later on? Do they seek out more love in efforts to feel what they missed growing up… or is it so unfamiliar that the thought cant be imagined?
If his father was not as strict about being affectionate do you think the narrator could have been less heavily dependent on his mother?
Do you think the narrator’s parent’s treatment and the expectations they have for him are justified? Would his age at the time also affect your answer?
I’m wondering what observations can readers make about the narrator based on his imaginative vision of other characters, particularly in the passage discussing Swann’s wife and daughter? Further, how does his imaginative perspective provide insights into his character emotions?
Do you think that his mother not wanting to give him a goodnight kiss made sense or not?
What about the author’s obsession with his mother’s kisses had him so distraught as a child? Why does the kisses mean the most to him?
Time and place:
How do you think the use of time in this novel is used as a tool towards a greater message?
Do you think the placement of time is an integral part of Combray?
Did you enjoy reading as the roles constantly kept on shifting from past to present and if there was one line that really stuck with you, what would it be?
How, in your opinion, is time used in this book to convey a larger point?
Intertextualities:
For those of you who have read Dostoevsky, have you found any other similarities (other than the toothache reference on p. 28) between Swann’s Way and Notes from the Underground?
What are your own sensory triggers for memory? What other novels utilize this writing methodology?
Love and other emotions:
Do you think that grief goes hand in hand with love? Did you get a different understanding of the novel than I did? What could you comment that would enhance this idea of multiple perspectives?
Was Marcel actually in love or did he only love the idea of feeling love and loved? Is there a difference between the two?
The narrator experiences high levels of anxiety before bed, leading to my question “What makes the character so anxious before bedtime? Is it external factors (such as his family) or internal factors (such as the fear of being alone)?” Ever since his Uncle Octave (Léonie’s husband) died, his aunt has been “always lying in an uncertain state of grief, physical debility, illness, obsession, and piety (p. 50).” This leads me to wonder if the narrator’s anxiety was perpetuated by his aunt’s mental health, as she was plagued with the belief of getting sick.
What emotion did you find that you could relate to in this story?
Do you think a person’s life is destined from the moment he is born?
Memories & Remembering (and dreaming):
Proust’s “Combray” specializes in sleepy memories. For instance, goodnight kisses from mom, little Madeleine cake from aunt, etc. pull the narrator into memories over and over again. I’m curious what memories symbolize to you? If you had to describe your memories in terms of an object, scent, or anything, what do you think it would be? and why?
What does the narrator’s tone in describing their memories tell us about their attitude towards change?
What was the importance of memories and how can remembering the past affect our present reality?
Is everyone or almost everyone able to recall a certain scent or flavor that brings them back to a certain time in their past?
What do you think the narrator’s in-depth reflection of his childhood indicates? Do you think it suggests his past torments him? Do you believe the nightmares he describes at the beginning of Part 1 are a result of his complex relationships with various members of his family?
Which part of his memories gave you the most vivid image? Do you think there is a reason why he drowned himself in memories?
Is there some kind of narrative logic behind the return to these memories? Are they simply a way of creating the desired atmosphere?
Do we as humans see the objective truth in memory or the romanticized version we want to see?
What is Proust’s motive behind exploring the character’s psyche and melding time with memory the way he does in this narrative?
What kind of weird dreams have y’all had about the past have been brought up lately?
Is time and it’s measurements as accurate as we believe it to be, or can we define spaces and moments in different and creative ways to understand our memories better as humans?
If our memories deceive us, would we rather have an unbiased view of our past, or is the natural way which we view ourselves protective of our mental stability?
To what degree do our early senses and memories determine who we’ll one day become?
What does the narrator’s tone in describing their memories tell us about their attitude towards change?
What is the value of remembering the past? Is it better to remember, or to forget?
Combray made me wonder about how our interpretation of the real world around us is influenced by our spatial imagination of places that we consider “home” or “safe” (such as our childhood room) in our dreams. Also, how do our memories of these places change over time, as we move away from the familiar feeling that these places evoke? Do we end up mixing memories of things that happened in the past with imaginations of how we would have liked them to be?
How do you think Proust uses the memories of the first section to influence the reality of the second section?
Was everything that Proust recalled true? Maybe part of his recollection was altered or even made up. That can leave us the question, does it really matter? Is the point of memory to be exact and accurate?
Do you think Marcel’s obsession with the past reflects how we live as a society? Do we also focus too much on the past? or is it just him who takes it a little to far?
Can you relate to any childhood fears that have left a lasting impression on your memories?
How much you think of the story is tangible memory and how much was it embellished/made up?
Have you ever experienced an event that made you feel an intense feeling of nostalgia?How do seemingly unrelated moments converge to shape our recollections? Can the mere taste of a madeleine or a disruption in routine serve as a portal to the past, where memories lie dormant until awakened?
In your experiences, have you ever encountered disruptions in your routine leading to a cascade of memories reminiscent of Marcel’s encounter with the madeleine?
Have you ever dramaticized an emotional event as a child, only to realize, in hindsight, that it wasn’t as serious as you initially thought?
Psychology and Psychoanalysis:
When it is said “our social personality is a creation of the minds of others” do we think this is a school of thought Marcel carries with him in the future, or something he rejects?
The Oedipus complex concept from Freud was developed in 1899 and this book was published 1913, so it is possible that maybe the author was trying to convey this idea?
Is it inevitable that when our routines, our rituals, the things that bring us the most peace get disturbed, that we must feel anxiousness and worry?
How does Proust’s exploration of these themes grow your understanding of human psyche, and do you see similarities or differences between his insights and your own observations in the real world?
How do our childhood memories and experiences shape our adult perceptions and relationships? Can the nostalgia and sentimentality associated with these memories sometimes distort our understanding of the past?
Do you think there is an underlying issue of childhood trauma for the narrator?
What is your steeple? What is something (or someone) that through time has been a constant in your life, keeping you grounded?
About the author & the Autobiographical:
Do certain objects in Combray symbolize Proust’s childhood and its associated memories? If so, what are they and in what ways?
On the “puzzling timeline of the story”: Did Proust do this intentionally?
What is Proust’s motive behind exploring the character’s psyche and melding time with memory the way he does in this narrative?
Why is Proust so attached to his mother and why is this image of a child needed there mothers comfort so bashed on?
What part of the reading could you most connect to your life or other readings the most?Did the narrator feel relatable to you at all? Did it feel like you knew the narrator as a person at the end of the text? If so, in what way?
Modernism:
Does modernism allow us to create ideas and thoughts without constraint? Is a “modernistic approach” aligned with the “limitless nature” of Romance studies?
How does the construction of a literary world through dreams relate to the notion of modernism, and how does this impact the way that the text is read?
Why do you think people write, or what is the purpose of writing a novel/book? What do you think Proust’s view was?
Style:
After reading “Combray,” reflect on Proust’s complex and detailed description, how does his meticulous attention to detail enhance or hinder your reading experience? Do you find his writing style immersive, or does it present a challenge?
If I was able to peer into your mind (of the author), and how it was working while writing this book, would it appear as confusing as the words on the page, or would I be able to see how your mind made it that way?
What traits did he have (curiosity, etc) that made the story more/less compelling to read through his eyes? What did you think about the story being told, at first, through the eyes of a younger narrator?
Do you think today’s novels have a different style of writing, narration, or literature in general as compared to that of Proust?
How did people feel about how Proust constantly shifted the viewpoint in the novel?
Do you enjoy reading books such as this one with much more flowery, descriptive language or one with a more clear plot that is straight to the point?
Do you think Proust’s Combray is still applicable today? In what ways? How is it similar, how is it different? Or more specifically, what parts of Combray did you find yourself relating to the most and why?
Do you think Proust is an author who wants you to feel on the verge of getting lost constantly, or is he trying to achieve something with his writing style? Would you say everyone would be puzzled by this text?
Marcel Proust’s unique writing style, how does this contribute to or challenge your engagement with Combray? Does this enhance the storytelling or create challenges for the reader? How does it shape your understanding of the characters and dynamics within the narrative?
What rating would you give Combray and why?
Is content just as important as writing style to you, or do you think an author could get away with a mediocre plot line by having a way with words that strikes a chord with you?
What struck you in “Combray”? Did you find Proust’s exploration of memory relatable, or did it feel distant? How did you navigate the complexity of his prose?
How did everyone here find themselves taking a note of what was going on? Were you just as lost as me?
How did Proust’s writing style stand out to you? What was intriguing about it and what was challenging?
Other theories
How do you see the concept of “Darwin’s struggle for life” playing out in this novel?
