This week’s reading was a bit difficult for me to fully understand the message around the story. For my blog post this week, I decided to focus in on the message surrounding the authors desire for affection from his mother, and memories.
A big theme for the story was the idea of memories. Proust touches on many memories pertaining to his childhood, with emphasis on his time spent in Combray. A reoccuring theme in the story that really stuck out to me was his desire to gain attention and affection from his mother. He describes his anxieties surrounding his bedtime, as it was unclear to him whether he would receive a bedtime kiss from his mother- something that brought great importance to him. I believe this desire for attention and affection grew from the lack of it he received daily in his household. He seems to long for the intimate moments he can share with his mother- a place where he feels comfortable showing vulnerability, especially when it comes to emotion. He relies heavily on his mother for attention as his father seems to believe that he can deal with his anxieties himself, without always relying on his mother. I feel that heightened Proust’s anxieties even more as he felt he did not always have someone to turn to in times of stress, which eventually builds up those feelings more and more until he is unable to hold them in any longer.
Another core memory Proust touches on is the madeleine and tea that brought him back to his childhood in Combray. He describes the taste of the madeleine bringing him back. I found his description of how the madeleine brought him back to his childhood interesting because he has seen these madeleines many times throughout the years, but it is not until he tastes one that he is brought back in time. He emphasizes on how senses such as taste and smell stick with you throughout your life “like souls, remembering, waiting, hoping…” Which I think is an interesting view he has on his own recollection of memories. However, unlike his memories about his anxieties surrounding affection from his mother, the madeleine brought him joyful memories that he was able to reminisce on his time spent in Combray.
Throughout this reading, I wondered if everyone or almost everyone would be able to recall a certain scent or flavor that brings them back to a certain time in their past.