Starting off this course with Marcel Proust’s Swann’s Way was both a challenging yet very interesting start. Reading Combray for me, almost felt like reading a memoir. I felt like I could visibly see Marcel’s experiences with the interactions he would have with his family as well as the moments where he was left alone with his own thoughts. I will say that I definitely struggled reading some parts of this story due to Proust’s use of long sentences. However, I think that his constant use of commas as a way of extending his thoughts kind of pay tribute to the theme of memories and nostalgia. It is almost as if his sentences represent the constant flow of memories as they are evoked from anything as large and expansive as a cathedral, to something as small yet just as meaningful as a madeline. In a sense our memories our constantly flooding our minds like a run on sentence as we experience description after description of nostalgia.
One common theme I thought was very interesting is the idea of habit. Specifically in chapter 1, there is this constant mention of the lifestyle of Proust as being one that stuck to habit. One of those habits being that when company was over, he would accept the fact that he wouldn’t be receiving a good nights kiss from his mother. A memory that was of great pain for Proust since he would cherish those short moments he spent with his mother. However, it was upon breaking this habit of accepting he wouldn’t be seeing his mother, that evoked his memory. Perhaps that is all memories are, a break in habit, whether the result is painful or comforting.
For Proust I think the main sources of his memories come from food, architecture, and love. Food in the form of the soft madeline’s he would dip into his tea or the brioche buns that Francoise would bring them. Architecture in the cathedrals, or the churches, or the bedrooms that Proust would find comfort in describing with great detail. Finally love, his love for his mom, books, and theater. I think these are all forms of memory most people can relate to. However I will say that architecture has probably the least effect on memory for me, this could be because stained glass cathedrals are just not as common here as in France. Therefore I think it’s interesting to see how location of where you grew up also has such an adamant affect on what evokes memory.
“I did what we all do, once we are grown up, when confronted with sufferings and injustices. I did not want to see them.” (12)
I find myself heavily relating to this quote and I personally think that it can be applied to so many scenarios and situations we face today. Therefore my question would be: Do you think Proust’s Combray is still applicable today? In what ways? How is it similar, how is it different? Or more specifically, what parts of Combray did you find yourself relating to the most and why?