As I initially began reading the text, I thought the main theme would be around the inability to sleep, and how the mind can race at night much to one’s dismay. Ideas of lucid dreaming or sleep paralysis came into my mind. Early on, Proust mentions the thought of falling asleep waking him up, this is something I am sure many people, including myself, can relate to. The constant state of feeling the need to be asleep unintentionally ends up stopping you from the goal. Although the writing went to other places and touched upon many things, the main thing I took away from it was the importance of rituals and how fragile routines are, and even though the main focus was not always entirely on sleep, for me, that was the main takeaway.
I heavily sympathized with Proust as he discussed his anxiety around not getting his mothers goodnight kiss. The text was beautifully descriptive and painted a clear picture of what the feelings and energy at this dinner were like, it put me in a place where I felt like I was watching over this family and their guest enjoy the evening. Even though I did not understand everything that was said, the main idea of needing this nighttime ritual was undeniable relatable. The roller coaster of emotions that the author went through when he was sent to bed, writing his letter, and eventually met with his mother and father in the hallway had me heavily hoping that the young boy would get his goodnight kiss. I did not expect to be rooting for something while reading this text before I begun. A motto my dad always thought me to live by is “in x amount of time, this likely won’t matter anymore” and I will always use this in situations where something in the moment is unpleasant, or I am dwelling on something out of my control, and Proust discussing how in the morning all of his anxiety from the night will be gone reminded me of this. I think it is interesting how although we are all different from each other, there are many human universals, one of which being anxiety. This text coming from a different time of life, as well as a different country, also by someone from a different social world than I am, still carried so many emotions that I have felt. Of course, everyone experiences these emotions in different degrees, but it is natural that we all find ourselves dreading things beyond our control, and feeling uneasy at the thought of it. From there, then coming up with different ways of coping. This got me thinking, 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? It does seem as though we must, it seems almost impossible to prevent, however, it would be nice if it wasn’t this way.
Hey Laura!
I agree with you in the fact that a lot of Proust’s descriptions painted a clear image in my head as to what was going on in the story. I also love how you brought up the idea that everyone can bond over shared experiences/emotions because sometimes when dealing with those emotions, it can feel as though that you are the only one who feels that way. It’s a good reminder that everyone has certain points in their life they struggle, no matter who they are or where they are from.
Hi Laura,
I like how you brought up the comfort that people find in routine. Sometimes going off of these rituals can feel like the the end of the world, but you make a good point about using different coping techniques. I feel like these disruptions will always cause us to feel uneasy, but it is how we handle it that will determine how much of an impact it has on our emotions.
hi laura, I like your thoughts on routine and it’s importance in the story. I think there’s definitely a connection between sleep and routine as well – though sleep isn’t the main subject of most of the book, its what starts us off in the beginning, and it also acts as a sort of ‘deadline’ as to when to get mother’s kiss. Sleep is also (usually) part of everyone’s routine, no matter of wealth, race, differences – sleep is always constant. And so when routine is disturbed, we can see that its a major cause of anxiety, similarly when sleep is disturbed (by insomnia or such) it leads to a dismay of ritual.