Proust - The Forgotten Past

Marcel Proust's "Combray," was an extremely hard read for me. When I began reading, I expected the sentences to be lengthy because of the introduction, but the wordiness still surprised me. I found myself getting confused a lot while reading. I figured that if I did not read each word carefully, I would immediately get lost and have to read the whole page again. This was very difficult for me as I am very impatient, and reading this chapter really displayed my restlessness. However, the lengthy sentences truly presented the outstanding imagery that Proust incorporated in this book. After reading for while, I finally got into it and wrapped my head around the themes. 

The first theme that stood out to me was memory. This chapter highlights memory as the narrator tells us about his difficulty of sleeping which leads him into reminiscing about his childhood memories. One memory that stood out to me was the one of the narrator's "habits", like Professor Farid mentioned in the conversation video, of getting a goodnight kiss from his mother. Proust's use of imagery really pulled me into the story which made me understand the narrator's emotions. The narrator did not seem to have a great relationship with his parents which is evident from him not being able to communicate his true feelings to them. For instance, he waited for his mother to come upstairs instead of telling her that he wanted her to tuck him into bed because his father would get mad at him for being childish. This was upsetting to read as getting affection and attention from one's parents and family is very important for a child mentally. One's childhood is supposed to be a fun memory and without these things (but not limited to), someone's childhood may become traumatic. 

Another theme that stood out to me was the past. As mentioned in the lecture video, the past is piecemeal. For instance, the narrator is only able to recall a piece of his childhood after eating a madeleine dipped in tea after triggering one of his senses (taste). The book also mentions that the "past is hidden outside the realm of our intelligence and beyond its reach, in some material object ... which we do not suspect" (page 44). The narrator's material object was the madeleine. 

Lastly, there was another quote in the text that reminded me of our first session. The narrator was often not given books that did not derive "intellectual profit" (40). This reminded me of our discussion about a "good" or "bad" reading. For the narrator's grandfather, a "good" reading is only limited to if the book derives. This gave me a new perspective in what a "good" reading may be. 

Discussion question:

Why do you think Proust used lengthy sentences in his book? I know I mentioned imagery but I'm curious to know what other reasons you might have.