To start off, I think “Combray” was an excellent choice for our first text in this course. At the beginning, I was utterly confused and lost. Yet, the story seemed somewhat familiar due to its use of sleep and childhood. It does a beautiful job at inviting readers with an experience they most likely have had. That is, tossing and turning in bed. Personally, I have been woken up because I thought the movie I fell asleep to was still running or that I had missed my alarm, even though it was still deep in the night. This is similar to the author’s reflection of wanting to put a book down that they believed was still in their hands. While my eyes moved across the page, my brain was busy piecing together the narrative. It was like trying to solve a large puzzle.
In all honesty, I felt overwhelmed and frustrated at myself for not being able to understand the text. In particular, I was worried because I still had many more pages to read but could not lay my finger on what was happening. This was one of the most unique experiences I have had as a reader, especially since I am more familiar with academic works that relay information in a clear cut way. However, I am starting to realize that the beauty of literature is how it can be interpreted differently. I truly spent the entire day pondering, rereading certain parts, and trying to venture into Proust’s special world.
An aspect that stood out to me was the sense of comfort gained from his mother’s goodnight kisses and the extreme lengths he would take for it. While reading about his deceptive plan, I was so hooked. I wanted to know if a mere letter would be enough for his mother to venture upstairs or if he would be caught before anything even happened. It made me reflect on my childhood to see if I could recall something that gave me a similar feeling that the kisses would for Proust.
One memorable quote was from the madeleine scene where the author writes, “Clearly, the truth I am seeking is not in the drink, but in me” (45). In a way, this reminded me of a Bible verse. The lime blossom tea that Proust drinks reflects his childhood memories, something that can only be discovered internally. Likewise, I admired how the sight of the madeleine had no effect on rekindling memories until it was tasted. While this novel was definitely a harder read for me, I think it was a great introduction to the Romance World and literature.
With all that said, my question to you is: Was there anything from your childhood that gave you a sense of comfort that you sought dearly? Does a certain food unravel emotions like how the madeleine and lime blossom tea did for Proust?
8 replies on “Dreaming of Proust”
Hi, I relate 100 percent to feeling a bit overwhelmed and frustrated when reading this text. I am also so used to the more straight forward academic works assigned in other classes. But I’m still enjoying it, and hopefully it gets easier for all of us as the course moves on… It’s nice to know there’s others that are in the same position lol
Well I’ll third miranda’s comment about academic familiarity 🙂
So interesting that you both highlighted the kiss. He does make it out to be a big Deal, I’m not sure why. Maybe it was the only time his mother interacted with him? Maybe it didn’t happen as often as he wished?
You asked about my food memory. My mum was English so anything English, toad-in-the-hole, rhubard pie from her Garden, English puddings like sticky toffee sponge cake with dates and toffee sauce served with warm custard, mmmmm. I’ve never had those from anyone other than my mum.
I also agree that this was such a confusing and overwhelming read but I did enjoy it because of the familiar concepts. I felt that as I was reading I didn’t really have a clue what was going on but I did somehow connect to the feelings I thought were being conveyed.
I think something from my childhood that brings comfort is my grandmother. I’m so lucky that she only lives a 20 minute drive from my house and I absolutely adore her.
Hello! I understand what you meant about familiarity. Perhaps we have all cooked up one scheme or the other in pursuit of attention. To answer your questions: In my childhood I had a window seat that overlooked the forest behind my house. I loved to sit there and stare at the birds and animals. As for a food, I fondly remember having breakfast with my father –crackers and Milo. Sometimes, when I see milo or have tea in the morning, I wish that I was eating with my father, it was such a good memory.
I really agreed with your thoughts about how frustrating the text was, and also how very accustomed I am to straightforward texts. For me, there isn’t a particular food that takes me back, but listening to music that I used to listen to when I was younger brings out old memories and emotions.
Hi Jessica! I agree with you that there is a relation between dream and reality that is descripted since the beginning of the book that is quite relevant for the whole book.
In my case, my involuntary memories are sometimes triggered by music.
Good job! Please share these ideas on class, they will definitely be interesting to your classmates.
See you tomorrow,
Julián.
The honesty about feeling overwhelmed by Proust is refreshing. So many of us pretend we immediately understood everything when really most of us struggle with that dense, circular writing style on first read.
Hi Jessica, to answer your question, I think certain smells and tastes from my childhood des bring me the strongest sense of comfort. For example, I once ate blueberry cheesecake ice cream in a garden on a sunny afternoon, and the sweet taste mixed with the smell of flowers made me feel really calm and safe. Ever since then, every time I eat that flavor of ice cream, I immediately think of that afternoon, that garden, and how relaxed I felt back then. Just like Proust, it’s not that I try to remember, it’s the taste that brings the memory back to me.