Author Archives: mdueck01

About mdueck01

Hi! My name is Maia and I'm a second year arts student. I created this website for the purpose of RMST 202.

“Combray” – Through the Eyes of a Child

What struck me most while reading “Combray” – other than the fact that I had to reread several sentences before they computed in my brain – was the perspective of the narrator, and the way the memories were framed through the lens of a child. The way Proust writes definitely puts the reader in the narrator’s shoes, whether through the description of the scenery and the flowers – I’m also wondering if Proust himself loved flowers, because there were lots of descriptions on all of those walks – or through the description of everyday life. Some of the characters’ little bits of dialogue stuck out to me because I felt like I could see them playing out in everyday life, especially the short exchanges between the narrator’s parents or the family’s gossip about the neighbors. 

The writing felt almost so realistic at times that I wondered whether this was a recollection about Proust’s own life, or if he based characters off of real people, before coming to the conclusion that the narrator was, rather, a fictional character. After watching the videos, this made me think about the relationship between art and real life – how it can sometimes blur the lines and how good writing can put you in the shoes of the character or at least make you think about their perspective on the world. 

That being said, it did take me a long time to get through “Combray” and to try to follow along with all the different characters being mentioned, but I actually really enjoyed the writing style because it was very descriptive and provided insight into the characters that made them feel fleshed out and more “human” in a way. I tend to drag my own sentences on, so reading sentences and paragraphs that were essentially streams of consciousness was comforting in a way. It felt familiar. 

The narrator as an adult looking at his memories as a child was a really unique point of view to examine time, memory, and family dynamics. I felt like I didn’t fully track how everyone was connected, particularly the neighbors or Swann’s family/love life, but I also felt like the narrator was in the same boat at times – trying to track how everything was connected and just beginning to form his own opinions about life at Combray and how he fit into the swing of things. 

Also, side note, but some of the descriptions/encounters with the female characters were… interesting. I don’t know how to describe it very well but some of it rubbed me the wrong way – specifically on page 80 where he talks about the woman being there to enrich the lives of men. Just an observation but maybe something other readers noticed as well. 

One question/topic for discussion that interested me would probably be what people’s observations were about the narrator. 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? 

My memorable quote: “You have a lovely soul, of a rare quality, an artist’s nature, don’t ever let it go without what it needs” (70-71).

That’s all for now!

Peace,

Maia

An Introduction

Hi to everyone in RMST 202!!

My name is Maia Dueck (she/her). I’m currently in 2nd year general arts, with interests in creative writing, english, and history. My hope is to be an author (specifically for the YA genre) and to be involved with script writing/film production. I am always down to talk about books or the latest book-to-screen adaptations, and I love getting to know new people!

To be entirely honest, I had no clue what to expect about this class before I watched the lectures and attended the first class, but I am super excited to be delving into these topics and to be learning alongside all of you! My expectations of this course are to challenge my own thinking, read some books and perspectives I wouldn’t otherwise be exposed to, and to expand how I view literature and its place in history. I expect myself to complete my contract, to engage with the topics at hand, and to be present in the classroom. I hope for and expect the classroom to be a safe place to explore thinking and discuss themes with classmates.

As for the lecture and conversations video, I enjoyed the definition of literature as something that forces us to pay attention to the way languages operates. Books and stories contain so many themes underneath the surface that can be further explored and dissected, and using the words “pay attention” encapsulates what I want to be doing in this course and when I read: to catch the nuances of writing and the message that the author is trying to convey and to draw something out of the text. While I do agree that sometimes “a cigar is just a cigar,” as we talked about in class, I also like to hear and think about what other people think about texts or if they found any symbolism that I missed, and to think about the landscape or culture that shaped the authors who wrote them. It was helpful to write down my own perceptions of where the Romance World is before the answer was given – I definitely would’ve guessed Italy, Rome, Europe, and Latin America, but it’s interesting that these languages are “mutants” of one root language, not tied to any one territory. I hadn’t thought before about where these languages came from, nor how closely related some of them are. Thinking about these languages as a family helps put into perspective how tied together they are, and also how those ties overlap. Bringing in the added layers of politics or languages being powerful or power influencing the growth and expansion of new languages helped name some of the forces at play in how languages shift or change over time and throughout history.

That’s all for now!

Peace,

Maia