Week ending 04/05: Within a Budding Grove, to page 502 / location 14267

[Jonathan]

This week's reading begins and ends with the narrator and his grandmother. It opens with the rather touching episode where they both draw back slightly from mentioning that the narrator's grandmother will one day die - 'But what if I was away for months...(the thought of it chilled my heart) for years perhaps ...or even...'

And it ends with grandmother getting excited over having a photo taken and the narrator essentially being jealous of her enjoyment of it; no doubt because he's not the centre of attention. This self-obsession and complete dependency on his relatives is an irritating character trait but in Proust's hands it's fascinating to read. I like to read about characters that I don't really understand, or like - for me that is what makes novels interesting.

[Jonathan]

So we now get a character avalanche - from Mme Villeparisis we meet her rather affected great-nephew Saint-Loup who becomes the narrator's new bosom buddy, we meet the 'very' strange Baron Charlus and we see the return of Bloch and also meet some of his family. Proust is really on top form here where he can focus on people's little idiosyncrasies. I like the bit on p326 (Penguin) (possibly p449 ML) where the narrator says that he prefers liars to brutes if faced with a choice between the two: 'if not for their human value, at least for their company.'

[Sunny]

Jonathan wrote: "So we now get a character avalanche ..."

It's not even just the characters I can't keep straight right now... I'm lost in all of Baron Charlus' titles...

[Sunny]

Am I interpreting this correctly:

"I picked her up a few days before that on the Zone railway, where, speaking of zones, she was so kind as to undo hers for the benefit of your humble servant; I have never had such a time in my life, and we were just going to make arrangements to meet again when somebody she knew had the bad taste to get in at the last station but one."

Bloch is the young fellow who introduced our narrator to the pleasures of the whorehouse, right? So, is this section telling us that Bloch was a - ahem - client of Mme Swann's?

[Jonathan]

Sunny in Wonderland wrote: "Bloch is the young fellow who introduced our narrator to the pleasures of the whorehouse, right? So, is this section telling us that Bloch was a - ahem - client of Mme Swann's? ..."

Bloch keeps popping up now and then doesn't he - he recommended Bergotte to the narrator, I think, in Vol.1. Anyway I took the above to be a 'quickie' on the train (or tram?). When Bloch bumped in to the narrator & Mme Swann in the park she was evasive and knew him by another name; I guess Bloch gave her a false name.

[Jonathan]

Sunny in Wonderland wrote: "I picked her up a few days before that on the Zone railway, where, speaking of zones, she was so kind as to undo hers for the benefit of your humble servant; I h..."

Hi Sunny. A couple of weeks ago I decided to switch to the Penguin version after comparing sections and reading up about it. One of the websites I found that was useful was ReadingProust which actually compares the part that you quoted above. You may find it interesting.

[Sunny]

HA! I finally understand why Odette thought he had a different name. That's hysterical!

And, THANK YOU, Jonathan, for that alternate translation. I think it's safe to say at this point that my Lulu.com version is the Moncrieff translation. Based on that paragraph, I'd have to agree with you that the Penguin version is more readable. :)

[Jonathan]

I really liked the Bloch's dinner party, but is it just me or did it seem quite Dickensian? Maybe it's just because Proust is actually including characters that aren't from the nobility.

[Sunny]

It did feel like he was trying to make sure the reader really picked up on the disparity between the different classes.

[Stephen]

Pay attention to Bloch's sisters Many of these characters may seem like set-dressing in a Dickens story. but they can pop up 100s of pages later, usually after taking a turn in life. Those inevitable changes in status, outlook or condition seem to be a recurring theme in this book.

[Jonathan]

Stephen wrote: "Pay attention to Bloch's sisters Many of these characters may seem like set-dressing in a Dickens story. but they can pop up 100s of pages later, usually after taking a turn in life. Those inevitab..."

Thanks for the warning Stephen. I'm starting to get the feeling that all the characters appear again at some point. I wonder if the lift-boy will appear again?

[Stephen]

He's back in vol. 4
This second volume is packed with introductions of big characters, but he's not one of them, at least as far as I've progressed....

[Renato]

Jonathan & Sunny,

The portuguese translation that I'm reading was much more clear regarding Bloch's encounter with Odette on the train: he calls her a professional and say she gave herself to him three times!

"...já que deste para ser discreto a respeito de uma profissional que se me entregou três vezes seguidas..."

I was quite shocked and re-read it to see if I wasn't imagining things... haha

[Sunny]

Whoa! LOL! Thanks, Renato!

[Jonathan]

Thanks Renato, I almost forgot about that.

Looking back at the passage in the Vintage version, Bloch states that Mme Swann is a 'professional who gave herself to me three times running, and in the most rarefied manner, between Paris and the Point-du-Jour.'

Mind you, this is Bloch bragging to his mates. Should we believe him?

[Renato]

Oh good, then my translation isn't taking things too far. I was beginning to worry about its quality.

[Renato]

Also, very good point about Bloch bragging about it! I guess it happened, but maybe not three times, haha

[Stephen]

One of the things I told my boys was to assume that most of what they heard about sex was unreliable, packed with lies and exaggeration. Stories I heard, like Bloch's, used to make me, credulous as I was, feel backward and insecure.

[Jonathan]

Stephen wrote: "One of the things I told my boys was to assume that most of what they heard about sex was unreliable, packed with lies and exaggeration. Stories I heard, like Bloch's, used to make me, credulous as..."

Good advice, Stephen. Some people just can't help telling everyone just how great they are. I sometimes hear people tell stories of events in which I was present and I just don't recognise it; mind you, they'd probably make good novelists with such an imagination.