Dave’s Comments (group member since May 24, 2014)

Dave’s comments from the Reading Proust's In Search of Lost Time in 2014 group.

Marcelita wrote: "Dave wrote: "
When you complete the book , watch Rubén Gallo's presentation at Columbia's Proust conference. He addresses Proust's "back and forth" decision-making style. Fascinating. (Probably SPOILERS!)"

Thank you for sharing that Marcelita. I was interested from several perspectives: Proust's decision-making style, his investment choices (I got my BA in Finance and have always made my own investment decisions), and Professor Gallo's Curriculum Vitae, my wife is from Mexico, we travel there often and I am fairly fluent in Spanish. The presentation was also funny.

I had a hard time understanding Professor McDonald who spoke first. She was talking I believe about a paper or book written by Samuel Beckett about Proust. What is the name of that reference?

As expected, I finish Time Regained last night. I have spent the whole day thinking and developing my comments, which I posted in the last week of that volume (as I have done with this volume and the next two). Today's comments run more than 2,000 words (lvolumes 5 and 6 less than half that.) My comments on the whole book and the experience of reading it added to today. I have the luxury of time and made my living as a writer for a long time, so writing is the best way for me to think. I look forward to the rest of the group completing the novel so we can share our thoughts. I look forward to reading Carter's biography with the group. For now I will turn to reading what experts have to say about the book. But won't change or delete what I have posted. If my opinions are muddled or wrong, they will still be muddled and wrong when you get to them. But perhaps I'll be able to explain where I was wrong ;)

Jonathan wrote: "I see we were spared Mme Saint-Euverte's party which was supposed to be the day after the Princess's party; though he hints at visits to 'other fairies and their dwellings'.

In this section the n..."

Your points in this post and the previous post are interesting Jonathan. I'd overlooked the manipulative aspects of the passage. The narrator's relationship with Francoise is an interesting one to see develop over the course of the novel.

Thanks for the read of a lifetime M. Proust, I loved it! And that is why it is worth remembering!

The loose ends - I understand that, had he lived, Proust may well have continued to refine ISOLT his extended life. As it is, the novel is like a beautiful, unfinished tapestry which is being woven on a loom but which one side is an unwoven fringe. Some of the unfinished aspects that occur to me are:
Albertine is still unresolved for me. What am I missing? Dead? Alive? I thought maybe she would appear at the party dressed as a man. Nope. No info, nobody talks. I'm sure there is a symbolic significance to Albertine's story, but its still a story that i have to try and understand.
Narrator's parents - Still alive? Too painful to kill off? Now irrelevant to the story?
At the end of "The Fugitive" we are told Gilberte is the future Duchess de Guermantes. In this volume there is no allusion to this or indication of how it would come about.

The Women - Other than Mother, Grandmother, (and perhaps Francoise) women are not to be trusted - that's the message I get from ISOLT. Going into the last party I counted Odette (after marriage to Swann) and Gilberte as "narrator approved." Odette tells the narrator she was unfaithful to Swann's devoted love. Scratch her. The Duchess de Guermantes calls Gilberte a pig and say she never loved St Loup (although she knew of his "proclivities"). Well maybe she was misinformed? Ah, but we are also told that Andree is Gilberte's "constant companion." The narrator offers two possibilities as to why Gilberte and Andree get on so well, neither of which involve him remembering what he thought so much about in the last two and a half volumes of the book. Scratch her.

The Party - I understood the purpose of the party to be a contrast to earlier parties and specifically to the Princesse De Guermantes' party at the beginning of S &G. I see the function of the party as a coda to the novel. In that regard it seems incomplete and flawed, again I assume due to Proust's death. The extended section dealing with "people look different when you haven't seen them in a long time" was tedious and belabored the obvious. Additionally the point had been made before - in Venice but before that too. I understand that there is a larger motif here that extends back across the novel about mistaken identity and how can we know another person. Still, it was too much. There were aspects I enjoyed. The disagreement about who had died was a hoot. That Madame Verdurain turned into the Princess de Guermantes (in title and behavior) and the Duchess de Guermantes turned into Madame Verdurain was amusing. I didn't see the point of the outtake about the dying la Berma and her wicked daughter. I read a summary of Racine's Phaedra, if this is a "life imitates art" message it was lost on me.

The Library - I found the climax of the novel absolutely astonishing! Astonishing in scope and in execution. I was overwhelmed when I realized Proust's purpose was to capture the moment of inspiration of an artist. I highlight when I read. I think I highlighted every sentence written in the library scene - what, 20-30 pages? I can be very emotional when I read and for this scene I was shaking like a leaf and often on the verge of tears. Of the I believe six, "involuntary memory" moments the narrator recalled that lit the fire in his mind, the intensity for me was that, as a reader, I could remember when each occurred in the novel. At some point the narrator lifts the reader's vision to look back to the beginning and using the analogy of a stream, highlights various moments in the story to show how it flows down to that moment -amazing. I also like the same treatment given to characters from Combray (although that may have been during the party).

Borrowing a term from ballistics, I was interested to observe the trajectory of so many characters traced from horizon to horizon of the novel in this volume. I'll limit my comments to two; St Loup and Morel. St Loup the aristocrat and Morel the son/nephew of a tradesman. St Loup the professional soldier and Morel the professional artist, St Loup the homosexual who marries and fathers a daughter and Morel the heterosexual male prostitute. St Loup who uses connections and money to get what he wants and Morel who uses connections and money to get what he wants. St Loup who fights bravely, is awarded the Croix de Guerre and dies in battle, and Morel who is sent to the front after deserting, fights bravely, is awarded the Cross de Guerre, and lives to attend a party at the Prince de Guermantes' as an invited guest. Ain't life funny?

The Brothel - I was appalled that the marketing summary of the Audiobook (which I returned for translation reasons) for this volume begins "Stumbling through the darkened streets of Paris during WWI, the narrator enters what he believes is a hotel only to be confronted with the most shocking scene...." Pathetic, using sex to sell Proust? I see this whole episode as symbolic of the war - an anti-war black satire with Charlus. at the center. As in the beginning of S &G, the narrator observes surreptitiously, first through a keyhole then through a cracked door. The whipping scene to me is analogous to the "front" - the perversity of inflicting pain for pleasure. Who gets pleasure in war? In WWI everyone who went off to the front for a "two week war" to win "honor and glory" apparently. But once committed, you are tied up and cannot escape. Its the same in every war. The "post-coital" let-down after war is a bummer. The lucky folks get to smoke a cigarette. Dulce Et Decorum Est. I write this from my perspective as a career military officer. But there is an upside in war, captured by Proust in the Waiting Room of the Brothel. Men of all ranks and nations sit around and pass the time by talking among themselves. When Charlus comes down he visits with them without discrimination. This is an excellent portrayal of the camaraderie of war, which for many solders becomes the only thing worth fighting for amidst the carnage and insanity. Amidst the perversion and inversion that is war.

I was struck with the power, pathos, and poignance with which Proust wrote about WWI. And most of the meaningful sentiments were placed in the mouth of Charlus on his evening stroll with the narrator. Charlus the invert; Charlus the dirty old man; Charlus the artistocrat with suspiciously Germanic ancestors; Charlus the defeatist who could see men of goodwill on both sides of the conflict; Charlus the artistic lover of beauty who was grieved at the utter waste of sending so many beautiful young men to die at the front; Charlus the generous and compassionate soul who converted his home to a hospital for the wounded. I was reminded of Whitman's volunteering in a Civil War hospital and of the battle cry of the barricades during the Vietnam War - "Make Love, not War."

As with the three previous volumes, I am placing my comments on this volume at the end out of courtesy to those still reading. My comments do contain Spoilers. When reading any of my comments keep in mind I read the public domane translations without footnotes or reference to scholarly books or material. My preference is to read and consider the published text, develop my own opinions, and then consider what reference sources have to say..

I'll wait for you guys on the bio. I'm going to read the Howard Moss' book "Magic Lantern of Marcel Proust" and Roger Shattuck's "Reader's Guide to In Search of Lost Time". I've dipped into both and they are exactly what I'm looking for post-ISOLT reading.

If I finish early enough (hell, whatever time I finish) I'm going to pour a whiskey, select some French Chamber music from my records that I imagine Vintuel' Sonata might have sounded like, and contiplate my induction into Proust's Jockey Club. :) Not every day you scratch something off your bucket list.

Good decision Jonathan, let folks decide for themselves. Perhaps the Carter biography will discuss the publication process and shed additional light.

Hope you enjoyed the World Cup. I'll probably finish "Time Regained" this evening.

I posted a suggestion in the week you are currently reading to move the reference to the Addendum to the last week of S & G. I feel this portion may be a spoiler in several ways for others in the group. My comments in the last week of S &G will reveal more. If you decide to move the reference, just delete my suggestion too so it won't make people too curious.

On reflection Jonathan, and after I wrote out my comments, I believe it reveals too much information in several respects. You and Renato will have to see how it affects your reading of S & G. But my recommendation is that you move your reference to the Addendum to the last week of the volume for others in the group. Generally it gives too much information in a number of ways that I believe Proust meant to be disclosed later in the volume.

Concerning the addendum that Jonathan posted about the Queen, Charlus, the curling iron, and the bus conductor, my opinions about why Proust may have had a problem with placement of this story as an aside in the Princess de Guermantes include:
-it refers to "people beginning to get an inclination of his proclivities" This ruins the suspense developed in the volume about who knew about his proclivities. It was a major disclosure to me (on the train I believe) when it turned out that everyone knew about him.
- it reveals too much about Charlus' relationship with Jupien too soon. This relationship is developed over a long time in the novel.
- It reveals the whole "date with Charlus" scene which is only revealed much later in S & G and again removes an element of suspense which Proust seemed to be striving for..
- On the other hand the (as I read it) "attempted suicide" of the Princess de Guermantes should have been included as a specific event here or somewhere - this is new to me,

Great job Jonathan! Interesting, funny, and important. I am assuming there is no hard evidence as to why Proust left this out. Having read all of S & G I have some possible reasons to suggest. I will post a comment about this at the end of S&G. When the group gets there we can discuss our collective impressions.

That was great Jonathan, thanks. Charlus is always a hoot, but to me he is funniest when he is "courting.

Jonathan wrote: "Er...so, I'm re-reading this week's section in the MKE (Vintage) version and I've reached the point where the narrator mentions the 'interesting story with the queen, the barber and the bus conduct..."

Please do Jonathan, that story is alluded to in an important section in the last volume.