It was also noticeable that, as the number of socially glittering people making advances to Mme Verdurin increased, so the number of those she called “bores” diminished. By a sort of magical transformation, every “bore” who came to pay a visit and solicited an invitation instantly became somebody charming and intelligent. In short, by the end of a year the number of bores was proportionately so far reduced that “the fear of being unbearably bored,” which had occupied such a considerable place in Mme Verdurin’s conversation and played such a large part in her life, had almost entirely
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