Why is Proust considered by critics and writers to be one of the most influential authors of the 20th century? I would like to talk more about this in class, and the themes of Combray. While at times I couldn’t understand what was being said, I could still get a sense of it. For example: “Sometimes, as Eve was born from one of Adam’s ribs, a woman was born during my sleep from a cramped position of my thigh. Formed from the pleasure I was on the point of enjoying, she, I imagined, was the one offering it to me” (pg. 4). I thought, “Wow, that’s beautiful,” but I couldn’t decide on what it meant. More questions than understanding formed, but I soon realized this was going to be the case, reading forward.
I didn’t like, and found it puzzling, how many characters there were. In some ways, it’s realistic to include many people, especially family members, but I found it hard to keep track of who was who and why they were important to remember. The long sentences were evil to my brain too.
I liked the use of metaphors and personifications. I felt as though I was weaving in and out of a subconscious and conscious mind, or from something subjective to objective. The lecture video posed a question: What do you look for in a novel? Personally, I look for sensory detail. What does the character see? Touch? Taste? Smell? Hear? Additionally, feel emotionally?
I noticed Combray had all of this, specifically with the use of metaphors and personifications. From explaining the meaning of a kiss from his mother to how intimidated he felt by his father, a complicated relationship is displayed within his family through interactions with them, all containing sensory detail. For example, after Marcel went to bed without his mother’s kiss, he described the staircase leading to his room releasing an “odor of varnish that had in some sense absorbed, fixated, the particular sort of sorrow I felt every evening.” With the staircase’s odor personified, “absorbing” his sorrow, it seems like Marcel emphasized how deep memories can sit associated with scent, alongside addressing the negative feeling he associates with going to bed. A man of routine, his mother’s kiss may soothe him to the point of falling asleep; I assume he hates sleeping so much because of vivid dreams and insomnia, particularly because of this sense of weaving in and out of a subconscious and conscious mind.
I found it interesting how Marcel’s family talked about Swann so much. I understand he is a close family friend, but I also think it has to do with his seemingly higher status in society (emphasized by sending Asti wine to Marcel’s family (pg. 22)). I think this also emphasizes gossip (especially since Swann was on the cover of Figaro) and how the idea of drama stands the test of time. It makes things more entertaining!