“Combray” by Proust takes us through the nostalgia trip of our main character. This one was admittedly a harder read for me. I found myself passionately reading on and on with these very descriptive adjectives being thrown at me continuously. There were parts I found to be rather boring and others I found truly captivating.
I really adored the whole section where our main character discusses how this Madeline takes him back to times with his aunt. The way I could feel how our main character felt once he had consumed this Madeline dipped in tea and in this portion you could physically feel the passion of recalling old memories. I find that often we have these memories ourselves that are so important to us that a minor scent, taste, sound or texture can transport us back to simpler times and Proust does an amazing way of capturing this to make it in a way so exaggerated that it is quite relatable.
What I found really bizarre in my opinion is the whole portion of the main character and his mother at the beginning. I found that his yearning for his mothers affections were bordering freudian but maybe I am being rather closed minded and I do hypothesize that the social norms of the time combray was written differ what I am used to when it comes to familial roles. But what I did enjoy from this portion of the story was the way the narrator explains what books mean to him and I truly think it nicely wraps into where we are in the course right now.
Another thing that perplexes me is the relationship between Francoise and Aunt Leonie. It was quite a rollercoaster of emotions reading the whole portion on how Aunt Leonie would take turns belittling Francoise but also loving her in her own twisted way. It rather saddened me though was when Aunt Leonie died, Francoise could not bear to let her go (“Francoise did not leave her for an instant, did not undress, did not allow anyone else to care for her in any way and did not leave her body until it was buried”). This deeply saddened me honestly as even if at times Aunt Leonie was rather cruel to her, Francoise still gave her every ounce of care she had even beyond death.
Overall I thought Combray was a captivating enough read. I will say it was a little hard to start the course off with and everything did feel rather frantic at first. My question to you as my reader though is why do you think Proust decided to tell his story in such a way of snippets of memories? I know they are of his own memories but what do you think the back and forth with different memories and individuals did well and did badly? And or, why do you think Combray was so difficult for us to read?
I completely agree with you about the relationship between the narrator and his mother! I also found it a bit weird and immediately thought about Freud. I was also very interested in the relationship between aunt Leonie and Francoise, I wish the book talked about them a bit more.
To answer your question, I think the back and forth with the memories was done to show us how confusing memories can be. Memories are always subject to distortion and we can never truly remember everything perfectly, which can cause a sense of disorientation.
Hello Maxine! The Madeline sections seems to have been a favourite! I wonder if it’s because we can on some level empathize with the way a smell or taste can retrieve our own memories. Your reflection does an amazing job at paying detailed attention to interpersonal relationships between characters. I think one thing the two relationships you mention have in common is a sort of codependent validation based on needing love. Anyway, there are no right answers, just more reflecting!
Thanks for your comment!
Hey Maxine! I completely agree with your point. Often times, I was really interested in the plot but other times I catch myself being bored and daydream because I couldn’t process what is being discussed. To answer your question, part of this is because there wasn’t actually a good timeflow in the text, and what was discussed was just jumbled up (which honestly makes sense in the context of memory). I also think it was difficult because the text in general was extremely descriptive and lengthy so I didn’t know what information was actually important to the story I liked that Francoise and Aunt Leonie’s relationship was really complex, and made me think about the relationship I have with my Aunt and how similar it was.
Hi Maxene!
I found myself in a similar position to you, as parts of Proust’s text were complex and even boring, but some sections, such as the Madeline memory, were truly intriguing. I appreciate your honesty and awareness of your positionality and perhaps different perspective on social norms and familial roles compared to the individuals and characters during Proust’s time. After watching and listening to the lecture and conversation videos related to Proust, I think part of the reason why this was difficult to read and understand is because of the lack of time mentioned in the text. This is a parallel to the beginning of the section, where the narrator is drifting in and out of a sleepy state and is somewhat unaware of where he is in time and space.