(Particular to Part 1)

First things first, this text had me truly puzzled and even felt chaotic at times.
Specifically, it hopped from describing one thing to another so quickly, almost without transition. It was difficult for me to stay focused and keep a general idea of what was occurring throughout all of my reading, with Proust getting into specifics of every single possible detail. There was a point that seemed like he was describing unnecessary elements of the story, just to purposely throw you off trajectory of what he’s actually trying to convey. An example of this that comes to mind is on page 12, where we go so far into Bathilde and her husband’s drinking problem. Maybe I just don’t see the connection to the rest of the story, but these parts of the text directed me away from continuing. However, although I did not feel the need to have these extra details, I did enjoy the diction and imagery that Proust used in these sections. He really brought these parts of the text to life and allowed me to imagine it, to feel as if I was overlooking these moments as they happened.

Being honest, I’m still having a hard time piecing together what I read and how it comes together as a part of a larger story. The density of each page and constant divulging into semi off-topic anecdotes kept pushing me away from retaining the actual important information to understand what was taking place. At one point, I was trying to discern if this was a recollection of a not-so-disturbing but baffling fever dream.

Though I must say it was not all bad. Some areas, such as the speaker’s mother approaching Swann about his daughter, were interesting and had me invested in how the characters would respond. I also found some aspects relatable, such as having guests over while I’m in my room just waiting on them to leave.

Also, I feel as if it may be partially my own doing on why I found this text difficult to follow. I didn’t read the entire chapter all in one sitting, so as I sat down the following couple days to continue reading I may not have retained the points that were crucial to grasp the ideas Proust was laying down.

A question I had as I read this amazingly confusing chapter of Combray was “why does this text, or does Proust feel the need to, contain so many misleading features on the way to discovering the story at hand?” Maybe with all components of this entire text it makes more sense, or maybe it’s on purpose – as a challenge. I look forward to further discussion on this topic and how others feel in relation to reading Combray by Marcel Proust.