One Year In Search of Lost Time ~ 2015 discussion

"You would have said that her lovely head, as she slept, was full of nothing but gaiety, tenderness and laughter. And waking her had been simply like opening a ripe fruit, sending the thirst-quenching juice spurting into one's mouth" (93.5%).

MKE:
It was as though her charming head, when she slept, was filled with nothing but gaiety, affection and laughter. And in waking her I had merely, as when we cut open a fruit, released the gushing juice which quenches thirst.
(p. 522, Kindle Edition)

Simon, we have 2 Oct. 10s now. https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Should we delete one?

I removed the other one since the week number was inaccurate, and this one has the MKE quote which is always nice. I've gotten behind a little with my reading but hopefully I'll be able to catch up since the next week is a shorter section.

I have to say that I'm really happy seeing our small group that's stuck it out so far. I guess I see the light at the end of the tunnel and I'm already proud of our accomplishment. It's such a mammoth achievement. After next week we only have two short volumes left! Great work everyone!

Strange, i didn't see the first Oct. 10 thread when i checked.
I also got behind but hope to catch up now like Jacob.

Yes, it has been great to have a little group stick to the Proust reading together for such a long time and discuss it with each other. We would still make a decent meetup reading group, and there we probably wouldn't have even that many people stick to it for so long, haha.

As a member of many GR Proust groups, this 2015 is small, but a gem of insight and thoughtful reflections.

Imagining you all in a Meetup group!
I recently created one, Re-reading Proust in New York City, to search for committed Proustians, but have not found one reader online, who is as dedicated as you.

Our group consist of eight non-Meetup members, who have been reading Proust continually for ten or more years.

We take our favorite passages and descend through the layers. With French readers, we check the translation and explore all the cultural/historical/philosophical references. Unless you had read the novel at least twice, you wouldn't appreciate Proust's brilliant construction.

Thank you, Marcelita!
Yes, I'm already thinking of joining (or starting) the 2016 GR reread, also to see what the next slew of (re-)readers brings to the table.

Simon wrote: "Thank you, Marcelita!
Yes, I'm already thinking of joining (or starting) the 2016 GR reread, also to see what the next slew of (re-)readers brings to the table."

Haha, I've already checked a couple of times to see if there was a group forming. Ridiculously premature, I know. I'm certain I'll be rereading in 2016. I'd also like to be more proactive about attracting more readers to a 2016 group. I'll probably try to pitch it in the other groups I'm apart of.

I'll also try to start a local group connected to a GR group. I live in a university town so I'm hoping I'll find a few people. At the very least I know my schedule in 2016 will be more conducive to being active in a group read of Proust. So count me in, Simon. Now to catch up on my 2015 read!

I also decided my re-read early on, Jacob, and it went very well!

This was a fantastic section showing how the relationship and changing feelings between the narrator and Albertine work.

I think this quote from shortly after this section says it all: (not really a spoiler)
(view spoiler)[
I felt that my life with Albertine was on the one hand, when I was not jealous, nothing but boredom, and on the other hand, when I was jealous, nothing but pain.

(p. 530)
(hide spoiler)]

This one goes in a similar direction (from this section):

"one only loves that in which one pursues the inaccessible, one only loves what one does not possess, and very soon I began to realise once more that I did not possess Albertine."
(p. 517)

I wonder if this is one of Proust's few aphorisms that are witty, but somehow misguided:

"if a man were to regret that he was not sufficiently courted in society, I should not advise him to pay more calls, to keep an even finer carriage; I should tell him not to accept any invitation, to live shut up in his room, to admit nobody, and that then there would be a queue outside his door.

(p. 499)

At least, that doesn't seem to work out well for me ;)

Simon wrote: "At least, that doesn't seem to work out well for me ;) "

Smiling.

Reminded me...when the Narrator stopped stalking the Duchesse de Guermantes, his invitation appeared.

"...during one of his evening visits to Mme. de Villeparisis, the Duchesse de Guermantes sits down beside him. It has been some time since Marcel's infatuation with this woman faded, and even were he not so abstracted, he would disregard her presence. Of course, now that she has no effect on him, the Duchess finds the young man charming, even a little intriguing, since he turns down (thinking of his big plans) two successive invitations to dinner. She invites him to a royal party at her home. The charmed circle opens, although the world has left the age of enchantment."

From a favorite site: http://modernism.research.yale.edu/wi...

Ah, yes, so Proust can back this quote up with evìdence from his own story ;) though in this case the Duchess feeling harassed by someone in love with her may be the bigger factor. I just wonder whether Proust's assertion about real life really holds here, and I've encountered a few of these aphorisms by Proust, that seem witty and surprisingly true on first sight, but maybe too far-fetched to be true in the end.

Simon wrote: "Ah, yes, so Proust can back this quote up with evìdence from his own story ;) though in this case the Duchess feeling harassed by someone in love with her may be the bigger factor. I just wonder wh..."

Confused; the Yale quote refers to the Narrator.

now i'm confused ^^ yes, the Yale quote, reflecting what happens in ISOLT, refers to the narrator found charming by the Duchess once he stopped trying to meet her, which "confirms" Proust's theory that you need to decline invitations to become more sought-after. I just find the theory implausible in general. People rather forget thinking about you and inviting you if you shut yourself up all the time.

Yes, I understand. ;/
Thought you were thinking of Proust himself ('his own story').

Aside:
P was always sought after, even before his fame. According to Edmund White, Proust and Anna de Noailles "were the funniest people in Paris."

For the rest of us, it can certainly be "out of sight...."

And, in time (thinking of the matinee in TR), some may even think we're dead. ;)

I agree he overstates the point in this instance, it's obviously not true for everyone or even most people. You have to be desirable before this works. But I think overstating it adds to the irony of the situation by making it a little absurd to boot. I remember reading this and thinking more about Proust's last 15 years rather then universalizing his advise, which admittedly he's put in a very universal way.

I'm surprised to hear that Proust was known as one of the funniest people in Paris. Although there's humor in ISOLT, like any great novel, it's not what attracts me. I even don't think humor's a very significant quality to his writing. Admittedly, it might just be a difference between our senses of humor.

Good points, you two.
I guess Proust may have been very different in person than in writing. He followed his own philosophy of trying to make friends with everyone, friendship for exchange of affection rather than intellectual benefits. He was a great listener and invited others to tell him their stories in more detail. At his house parties, he seated himself from one person to the next, to be able to talk to everyone. If he was witty and funny on top of that - no wonder he was popular.