When I read the first one to two pages about her sleeping, it gave me feelings that were very empathetic as it started by describing how sleeping was disturbed or got comfortable by some actions. Especially, for instance, the sentence, “[…] the thought that it was time to try to sleep would wake me […]”, was very catching and relatable to the readers even today. And the other descriptions of obstacles about sleeping that those who sleep have are also relatable such as natural or industrial noises coming from outside. At the same time, this very detailed depiction of sleeping also shows that her solitude felt at midnight, which can be felt in the passage on page 6, about her Mama’s kissing before she goes to bed. She also writes about how safe she felt it was on page 13 in which this time her Mama kissed her before going to bed, which is a contrast to the beginning.

In the middle of the work, her writing moves onto the story of her family from her own sleeping topic, which seems kind of boring to me. However, as we read and read, it gives me some sense of what kind of society was there. For example, she writes about social mobility related to jobs and raised several stories about lawyers and stock traders which of social class is still remarkable today. And I think this is one of the great things we can get from that literature. These kinds of very detailed histories of people are frequently ignored in a history textbook and do not come out on the surface. But I think history, in general, is really human-centered except for natural disasters. Thus, the worth of this very detailed human history is valued.

Also, I enjoy reading her emotional transition between in her room and in front of visitors. It is like she has two faces; one for in her own room where she feels security and generates many kinds of thoughts, another one for which she has some kind of politeness or limitations for her own actions (even though she tried to get kisses from her mother at dinning).

At the end of chapter 1, her overall emotions about Combray, the title of the chapter, is spelled out in a way in which her emotional attachment to the place is written with involving her memory. What I like most about this part is that the spelling of her memory is centered around tea. I think tea and other description involving liquids such as water is a metaphor for life. Life has each original taste and flows as they are also many phases of boiling or chilling. The expression describing one’s life with liquid is a powerful way to conclude this chapter.

Here’s my question, what kind of transition of her personality do we see when she is in and outside of her room?