RMST202-Literature Review

The novel, “Combray” by Marcel Proust was published over a hundred years ago, however, it features themes that are timelessly related to the human condition; mental illness, familial relationships, sexuality, love, betrayal. I find that a lot of literature focuses on, not necessarily these specific themes but similar things that are intimately linked to being human and therefore remain relevant hundreds of years later.

A little photo I took of the Paper Hound Bookstore in downtown Vancouver to add some spice to the blog post.

The first part of “Combray” focuses heavily on the narrator’s memory of childhood and more specifically his struggle with anxiety and familial relationships. Most of the piece is focused on his memories, but Proust sets up these memories by diving into the complexity of reliving past moments through dreams. As a reader, this sets up the rest of the events of the section to have an unreliable narration. We’re experiencing the events of the novel through the lens of the adult narrator reliving it through

the memories of his child self, therefore the interpretation of the events is tainted by the perspective of the child. Furthermore, this perspective is interesting because of the way in which he views the main character of interest, M. Swann. He sees him as a villain because of the way he disrupts the narrator’s evening routine with his mother. This perspective is influenced by the young narrator’s anxious attachment to his mother which is explored throughout the entire section.

The way that Proust explores anxiety in his novel is interesting because the narrator is reminiscing on the feelings he had as a child but with sort of an adult knowledge of the reason for his feelings. As well, I think that his minute and detailed descriptions of his anxieties provide an intimate and reflective reading experience. My question is: do you think Proust’s depiction of mental illness was a deliberate attempt at destigmatizing mental illness in a time when that topic was taboo or was it just a tool for storytelling?

I found that the ending of the first section was a kind of bittersweet realization. Instead of punishing his son for his behavior the father indulged his frenzied request and allowed his mother to spend the night in the narrator’s bedroom to comfort him. This event almost feels like surrendering because of the father’s previous aversion to his son’s nervousness.