Frankly, that was not the easiest read!! I found many of the descriptions were hard to follow and quickly lost my interest. A particularly difficult one for me was the seemingly neverending description of the church around p. 81 – 90. However, the parts that I DID really enjoy I decided to read closely, and in those moments I enjoyed the flowery tone of the writing.
For example, the descriptions of rain and storm really pulled me in. I love rain, it’s my favourite weather and for that reason, p.14 – 16 were my favourites in the whole book and the grandmother is definitely my favourite character (followed by Françoise). The line “At last one can breathe!” on p. 14 completely relates to me. Rain always brings me such a beautiful feeling of relief that only a small number of people I know relate to. P. 143 when the grandmother leaves for a walk in the rain and Françoise says she’s “off her head” made me giggle. I also love p. 185 when the grandma says that one shouldn’t waste time visiting people when you’re by the seaside and tells the narrator to go outside and enjoy the sea. I also feel sorry for her since it’s hinted that her husband is, or at least was, an alcoholic, and that her sister antagonizes her. Although she doesn’t show up much in the story the grandmother is by far my favourite character!
Marcel himself seems to not hate the rain, although the thing in nature he seems most enamoured with is flowers. The descriptions of flowers were my second favourite parts of the book. The hawthorns in particular were a big focus of the story. I looked them up while was reading and, man, I get it Marcel, they’re so gorgeous!
Another thing I noticed from the very beginning was how odd Marcel’s descriptions of women are. He seems to try very hard to describe them as sexual, but always ends up drifting off to some other description of flowers or something else. When he meets women in real life and decides that they aren’t nearly as good as they are in his head, it made me giggle. This book largely actually seems to center around women, I noticed how little he focuses on the male characters, besides Swann and M. Vinteuil. The most standout characters were his mother, his aunt, Mlle. Vinteuil, the Duchess of Guerrmantes, and Mlle. Swann. This makes sense since it’s in a way a coming-of-age story. But again, the way he describes women is like I’ve never seen before, it seems to balance awkwardly between sex, adoration, and hatred? I can’t quite place it
I definitely found this was a really good read with some really beautiful passages (even if it was tiring sometimes).
My question is: who was your favourite character and why? Like which one would you be friends with, not which one was most interesting to you.
I’m glad that (at least sometimes) you were giggling. I think there’s a lot of humour here, though it’s subtle.
“This book largely actually seems to center around women, I noticed how little he focuses on the male characters”
This is an interesting comment. Of course, Swann is an important character (giving his name to the book; and he will become more important as the work proceeds). But I think you’re right, that women are at the heart of what we’ve read so far. The father and grandfather, for instance, hardly get a look in.
Hi Dalia! The things you commented on in your reflection are super interesting and I hadn’t given them much thought. I think your adoration of the grandmother is incredibly warranted and she also seemed to me one of the most interesting characters in the story. I think your comments about Proust’s approach to writing about women is super intriguing, especially when you consider the fact that he was gay. Loved reading what you had to say!
Hey Dalia- I had a similar experience reading Combray, and found it was at times a love hate relationship with this book. I agree that it was overall a beautifully written piece of work, if a little overdone at times. I really enjoyed Francoise’s character – she seems like a very closed off person but someone who is extremely loyal to her close friends and family, and maybe a little more fun once you get to know her.
Hi Dalia! I definitely related to your experience of reading the descriptions of women in this novel – I didn’t really get what he was trying to say, but it was interesting that he did mention so many women and yet it felt like they didn’t live up to his expectations in a way. Anyways, maybe we’ll unpack all of that in class, but it’s cool that you found a character to like and felt was a kindred spirit! Keep it up, Maia