Reading Proust’s “Combray” was such a delightful experience, especially thanks to his wonderful use of descriptive language. One line that quite amazed me was this: “[…] she derived from this very constraint one more delicate thought, like good poets forced by the tyranny of rhyme to find their most beautiful lines […]” (24). The simile that was used in this line relates two quite complex ideas in such a meaningful way. As such, Proust’s use of imagery didn’t feel natural; it didn’t feel like what seemed to be the “norm” of most novels. However, it certainly was attractive and effective. Proust’s exceptional use of literary devices helped me engage into the reading not as a “reader”, but as an active “participant” of the story; I wasn’t reading to gain information but was reading to experience the story. Similarly, I felt that Proust’s writing style itself was quite revolutionary; sentences are unprecedentedly long, and commas appear very frequent. In fact, Lydia Davis, the translator of this book, stated in the introduction that Proust required long sentences as “[…] a long sentence contained a whole, complex thought, a thought that should not be fragmented or broken” (17). Reading this quote, I realized that it was not just Proust’s writing style that was revolutionary; his whole thought was.

Perhaps my use of the term “revolutionary” can be known as the “modernistic approach”, or “modernism” in general. Although the reading itself looks back to the past, it has a strong modernistic approach built within it. Proust attempts to reconstruct the past with his modernist views; he does not just reflect on what happened in the past, but he reflects on it with his ideas and beliefs of the present. While attempting to relieve the delightful joy that came with the taste of tea and madeleine, the main character (who is known to be a representation of Proust, himself) acknowledges that “[…] the truth I am seeking is not in the drink, but in me” (45). The main character is not merely thinking of the past; rather, he is using a memory in the past as a window to view himself in the present. At the same time, he is also reconstructing his experience in the past with a new, more experienced and aged, view.

Overall, it really felt like a “roller-coaster ride” reading this book. I pay particular attention to the first section because the complex relationships between the main character’s family, as well as the complex thoughts of the main character resonated within myself. Though I had not experienced any of these memories myself, there were many places where I could empathize what the characters were going through.

To finish of my post, I would like to end with a question: Does modernism allow us to create ideas and thoughts without constraint? Is a “modernistic approach” aligned with the “limitless nature” of Romance studies?

Thank you for reading my blog.