Hey everyone!
This week’s reading, part 1 of Marcel Proust’s Swann’s Way was a peculiar read. One of the things that intrigued me while reading the assigned section of the book was the attention and detail put into what would seem to be almost mundane things. This makes the text very descriptive and helps us empathize and understand the main character’s daily life, feelings, and responses to those feelings. As an example, the character really dwelled into his anxieties surrounding nights and going to sleep and how he seeks comfort from his mother. This was expressed through a good chunk of chapter one. On the other hand, due to the amount of detail put into each event, it becomes difficult to understand what events are detrimental to the story.
The transitioning from different events was also noteworthy. The transitioning really characterizes how thoughts travel in some sense. The portion where the main character has tea with the cakes really took this a step further as it really displayed the attention and the focus that was necessary to recall and evoke the feelings that the taste brought to him. The telling of the text makes it appear less straightforward and more disorganized which makes it seem more realistic when compared to how thoughts generally progress. The telling of the story does a great job mimicking the progression of thoughts to great detail. It encourages readers to engage and empathize with the difficulty and muddled feeling experienced by an individual when recalling things.
Having read only a small part, it is difficult for me to understand the importance of the character Mr. Swann. It was regularly hinted that his character was significant through an almost foreshadowing through the main character’s telling of the events and how Mr.Swann would be tied into it. Besides that, his name is a part of the title. His character seems to be portrayed with some sense of ambiguity which I presume will be unveiled slowly through the remainder of the text.
One of the questions I had while reading the book was regarding the direction the book is heading. What is the importance of the recurring theme of anxiety that is experienced by the main character throughout the text?
So far the text seems heavily influenced by the main character’s memories and experiences of the world. It gives the feeling of a slow recollection of memories an individual may randomly recall or think about on certain nights or think of while going through familiar areas.
Sadie Glickman
January 18, 2022 — 9:10 am
Hi, great blog post!
I really like the way you mentioned the transitioning between time of events within the book. I shared the same feelings in regard to Mr. Swann. I was wondering if another student could enlighten us on Mr Swann? I believe the purpose of the reoccurring theme of anxiety within this text reflects the world we live in now. There will always be these anxieties in each individual life, and as a greater whole of the world; it is how we handle them that is important.
Thanks,
Sadie
daelyn wagner
January 18, 2022 — 10:43 am
I really liked how you connected the disorganized and scrambled writing style with the idea that this makes it more realistic. I completely agree that the writing style brings a genuine and more realistic aspect to the reader because it feels the same way that a pile of thoughts do in your head. I personally think that the reoccurring theme of anxiety is meant to a symbol of his childhood, more specifically that his reoccurring anxiety is a result from his childhood and the way that Marcel never quite felt safe or comfortable without the care of his mother.
Great post!
– Daelyn W
ElizaJackson
January 18, 2022 — 11:20 am
Hello!
I loved your blog post and found it really insightful! I definitely agree with you about the details, however, rather than enhancing the descriptions, for me, they made them more confusing! I also found the transitions challenging to understand, however, I really liked what you said about the transitions making the book more realistic and therefore enhancing empathy between the narrator and readers! I am also not sure what the significance of M. Swann is because I also only read a small part of the book, though I am quite certain he becomes a more prominent character further along in the book.
Thanks!
abigail franceschetti
January 19, 2022 — 6:37 pm
Hi Ashvi! I think that I relate with you about this being a peculiar (and slightly difficult imo) read. I too also found that a lot of attention and detail was put into the way that the narrator described his anxiety. I didn’t know if that was a topic that was taboo or not to write about during the time the first print of Combray was released, but that might be an interesting thing to note when thinking about how detailed the narrators anxiety is. I found that the immense detail of things was really nice and set the scene in my mind, but also made it really easy for me to get lost and confused in the writing. Thanks for your insightful blog post!!
jada bekar
January 20, 2022 — 10:44 am
Loved your blog post! I definitely agree with you about not being able to interpret the importance of what he describes as everything is written with such detailed description. To answer your question, my take on the recurring theme of anxiety was that it speaks to childhood transitioning to adulthood and the role of habits. The narrator’s anxiety ridden childhood lives on through anxiety related issues and coping mechanisms, showing the ways in which old habits die hard.
noor
January 20, 2022 — 1:21 pm
Hi Ashvi!
As you mentioned, one feels that the narrative begins with a child suffering from separation anxiety and that his ideas are sporadic and the reader does not know where the story is headed. But then once the story begins in the second part, which I recommend everyone read when they have time, everything begins to fall into place and one realizes that the first forty pages were setting the themes for the rest of the novel and introducing most of the major characters. Part of the complexity of reading this novel also stems from the fact that the story is told with two voices, that of the narrator as a young boy, and then of the narrator as an older man recalling his youth, making it difficult for us to know his age at any particular point in the novel and thus having to rely on context.