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First of all, I actually found Proust quite challenging to read. There was so much happening in the story that... read full post >>

Marcel Proust is often cited as a crucial contributor to modernist literature. His chapter on “Combray” is a remarkable study of the fragile nature of memory and remembering. Upon first glance, Proust draws the reader in by the using words … Continue reading → read full post >>

The first thing that came to mind when I read Proust’s ‘Combray’ was a sense of nostalgia. I grew up reading a lot of classics, especially from Victorian England writers and the language that the English translation of ‘Combray’ uses is very familiar to some of that used in those books I used to read. […] read full post >>

 After reading the first part of Swann's Way, I have mixed feelings. I unfortunately found it more difficult to read than I had expected. It wasn't the hardest text i've ever read, but I definitely found myself having to re-read sentences and even whole pages. The author uses extremely long sentences, as well as extensive imagery at which some points I had a hard time picking up on. I guess this just proves I need to spend more time with a book in my hand! Despite being a challenging read, I did enjoy the content of the novel. I believe in the first few pages of the book, the author is going in and out of sleep, and describes the dreams and memories that return to him while in this state. Marcel seems to cling to memories of his childhood, specifically his life in Combray. He speaks about family experiences, and the emotions he felt during those times. 

One particular aspect of the novel really stood out to me, is the attachment Marcel has to his mother as a child. Throughout the novel, he refers to all of his family as "grandfather, grandmother, father" etc, while referring to his mother as "Mama". This already proving the bond he had with her. Marcel speaks emotionally about how the only thing that would bring him comfort before bed, was a goodnight kiss from his mother. He would look forward to this soft moment with her so much that the thought of her returning downstairs afterward would fill him with sadness. He would even dread days when their family had company over because that meant his mother would not even bother to come upstairs to kiss him goodnight. On page 23, Marcel even expresses that Swann's company brought him pain because of this. Though Marcel's mother thought sharing this tender moment with her son was important, his father thought otherwise, suggesting it would inhibit him from being tough and independent. This result in resentment towards his father. 

I think this really stood out to me because I find it somewhat relatable. When I was a young child I used to sleep in my mothers room because i was absolutely terrified of the dark. Some nights she would leave me in her room to watch TV in the living room. As silly as it sounds, I would be so scared sitting in the dark alone, that I used to count every single second until she would come back to check on me. When she finally would, i would be overwhelmed with a sense of comfort. That being said, to some degree I could truly feel the emotion that Marcel would when his mother came to his room for a kiss. 

My question for the class: Do you think the affection a mother shares with her child would cause them to later lack initiative, individuality or confidence?

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 After reading the first part of Swann's Way, I have mixed feelings. I unfortunately found it more difficult to read than I had expected. It wasn't the hardest text i've ever read, but I definitely found myself having to re-read sentences and even whole pages. The author uses extremely long sentences, as well as extensive imagery at which some points I had a hard time picking up on. I guess this just proves I need to spend more time with a book in my hand! Despite being a challenging read, I did enjoy the content of the novel. I believe in the first few pages of the book, the author is going in and out of sleep, and describes the dreams and memories that return to him while in this state. Marcel seems to cling to memories of his childhood, specifically his life in Combray. He speaks about family experiences, and the emotions he felt during those times. 

One particular aspect of the novel really stood out to me, is the attachment Marcel has to his mother as a child. Throughout the novel, he refers to all of his family as "grandfather, grandmother, father" etc, while referring to his mother as "Mama". This already proving the bond he had with her. Marcel speaks emotionally about how the only thing that would bring him comfort before bed, was a goodnight kiss from his mother. He would look forward to this soft moment with her so much that the thought of her returning downstairs afterward would fill him with sadness. He would even dread days when their family had company over because that meant his mother would not even bother to come upstairs to kiss him goodnight. On page 23, Marcel even expresses that Swann's company brought him pain because of this. Though Marcel's mother thought sharing this tender moment with her son was important, his father thought otherwise, suggesting it would inhibit him from being tough and independent. This result in resentment towards his father. 

I think this really stood out to me because I find it somewhat relatable. When I was a young child I used to sleep in my mothers room because i was absolutely terrified of the dark. Some nights she would leave me in her room to watch TV in the living room. As silly as it sounds, I would be so scared sitting in the dark alone, that I used to count every single second until she would come back to check on me. When she finally would, i would be overwhelmed with a sense of comfort. That being said, to some degree I could truly feel the emotion that Marcel would when his mother came to his room for a kiss. 

My question for the class: Do you think the affection a mother shares with her child would cause them to later lack initiative, individuality or confidence?

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Combray was quite an enjoyable read for me. I enjoy books that provide a deep insight into a character’s psyche even if there isn’t a clear plot or a whole lot of events taking place. Our minds barely hold on to one thought for too long, and Proust did a great job demonstrating this. In the beginning, the character tells us in detail his thoughts and perceptions as he goes in and out of sleep. And how he would fall asleep unable to differentiate between reality and what he was reading which is definitely something I, and probably most other readers, relate to. This also reflects how sensitive and in touch with his thoughts and feelings the character is. We learn more about this when we read about his childhood, his mind riddled with uncertainty and anxiety that he can identify as such but fail to keep under control. He is a child who longs for his mother’s goodnight kiss every night. He knows that seeing his mom before bed will ease his mind, he knows this for certain that he decides he just would not possibly be able to sleep without seeing her. He also knows that his parents will not be very understanding of this and that he might get into trouble. To him, the trouble is worth it, his mom and only his mom can calm his racing thoughts and the anxiety flowing through his body. This gives us some insight into the kind of parents they are, but as we were told earlier in the book, people are who we perceive them to be and many times our knowledge of who they are is not comprehensive and as a result, our perception is often inaccurate. 

I sympathize with this character whose name I don’t even know. I understand his anxious brain and that his parents don’t always know how to address his needs. I was surprised that his dad encouraged his mom to sleep in his room to soothe him. I was even more surprised how his mom was such a great comfort to him not just due to her mere presence, but she knew exactly what to do to soothe her child. I say I was surprised because of how scared he was at staying up to see his mom or kiss her too many times in the presence of company, he thought she would be furious and she nearly was. This makes me wonder, how far should parents go to provide comfort to a sensitive child without enabling and encouraging their dependence? In my opinion, there is nothing lonelier than a child trying to make sense of their feelings alone, at night, in their bedroom. 

This book was beautifully written, many times I would reread sentences just to appreciate their beauty. And then I realized, this is a translated version! How beautiful must the original be. Here’s a quote that particularly stood out to me:

“…I would put beforehand into this kiss, which was bound to be so brief and furtive everything that my own efforts could muster, would carefully choose in advance the exact spot on her cheek where I would imprint it, and would so prepare my thoughts as to be able, thanks to these mental preliminaries, to consecrate the whole of the minute Mamma would grant me to the sensation of her cheek against my lips, as a painter who can have his subject for short sittings only prepares his palette, and from what he remembers and from rough notes does in advance everything which he possibly can do in the sitter’s absence.”

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Combray was quite an enjoyable read for me. I enjoy books that provide a deep insight into a character’s psyche even if there isn’t a clear plot or a whole lot of events taking place. Our minds barely hold on to one thought for too long, and Proust did a great job demonstrating this. In the beginning, the character tells us in detail his thoughts and perceptions as he goes in and out of sleep. And how he would fall asleep unable to differentiate between reality and what he was reading which is definitely something I, and probably most other readers, relate to. This also reflects how sensitive and in touch with his thoughts and feelings the character is. We learn more about this when we read about his childhood, his mind riddled with uncertainty and anxiety that he can identify as such but fail to keep under control. He is a child who longs for his mother’s goodnight kiss every night. He knows that seeing his mom before bed will ease his mind, he knows this for certain that he decides he just would not possibly be able to sleep without seeing her. He also knows that his parents will not be very understanding of this and that he might get into trouble. To him, the trouble is worth it, his mom and only his mom can calm his racing thoughts and the anxiety flowing through his body. This gives us some insight into the kind of parents they are, but as we were told earlier in the book, people are who we perceive them to be and many times our knowledge of who they are is not comprehensive and as a result, our perception is often inaccurate. 

I sympathize with this character whose name I don’t even know. I understand his anxious brain and that his parents don’t always know how to address his needs. I was surprised that his dad encouraged his mom to sleep in his room to soothe him. I was even more surprised how his mom was such a great comfort to him not just due to her mere presence, but she knew exactly what to do to soothe her child. I say I was surprised because of how scared he was at staying up to see his mom or kiss her too many times in the presence of company, he thought she would be furious and she nearly was. This makes me wonder, how far should parents go to provide comfort to a sensitive child without enabling and encouraging their dependence? In my opinion, there is nothing lonelier than a child trying to make sense of their feelings alone, at night, in their bedroom. 

This book was beautifully written, many times I would reread sentences just to appreciate their beauty. And then I realized, this is a translated version! How beautiful must the original be. Here’s a quote that particularly stood out to me:

“…I would put beforehand into this kiss, which was bound to be so brief and furtive everything that my own efforts could muster, would carefully choose in advance the exact spot on her cheek where I would imprint it, and would so prepare my thoughts as to be able, thanks to these mental preliminaries, to consecrate the whole of the minute Mamma would grant me to the sensation of her cheek against my lips, as a painter who can have his subject for short sittings only prepares his palette, and from what he remembers and from rough notes does in advance everything which he possibly can do in the sitter’s absence.”

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My first attempt at reading Marcel Proust’s “Combray” was difficult, to say the least. I started off with the scanned pages posted to the course website, but between Proust’s long-winded sentences and my eyes feeling strained from staring at my laptop screen, I wasn’t able to immerse myself in the reading. Luckily, I was able […] read full post >>

So, I have just finished reading Proust’s Combray. In my opinion, I would say that this is a compelling novel that is relatively complicated and dense at times. It was not one of my favourite books. Nevertheless, there were many different aspects to the novel in which I found interesting, thought-provoking, and allowed me to […] read full post >>

Hello everyone! My name is Daisy Storey, I’m a third year student in Psychology at UBC. Although it is my third year or my undergrad, it is my first year here at UBC as I recently transferred from the University of Ottawa. So far, I have truly loved living in Vancouver. The change in climate and the beautiful nature surrounding the city is most definitely what I have most enjoyed about living here. But, attending school at UBC is surely second. I've really fallen in love with the campus and my classes here, as well as my professors. Either I have gotten really lucky to date, or the professors at this university are truly awesome. 

The main reason I stumbled across this class was while I searched for the literature requirement portion of my degree, however RMST stood out to me in contrast to the other classes listed. There was definitely a sort of mystery to this class that appealed to me as I have never heard of this genre of course before. I think that I was also drawn more towards this class because of my love for piano. Since I was little, I have been playing piano of all sorts of genres and by all different types of musicians. However, about five years ago I stumbled across a cute little piece by the title “Sonatina in G major Romance- Allegretto - L. van Beethoven. This opened the door to many more pieces from Beethoven where I always found interest in the ones tied to romance. 

I expect this class to be relatively heavy on readings and potentially difficult at times, however I am up for the challenge. This class is much different than any of my psychology classes or electives I have taken to date so I expect there to certainly be a sort of shock initially when beginning this class. I can see myself potentially having difficulty trying to make sense of what the text messages are and what they are trying to relay to the reader, but again, this is just a wild guess! And I will see as I go. After having watched the first lecture, it is certainly a topic a bit more out of my comfort zone and perhaps abstract than classes I have taken in the class. But I think with time, a sort of familiarity with the type of content will come, making the class a little bit more comfortable. 

Also, a few years back my family and I traveled through Peru and did a massive hike to Machu Picchu where I was introduced to Inca Kola! It is quite yummy! 

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