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Le Côté de Guermantes II
«Etait-ce vraiment à cause de dîners tels que celui-ci que toutes ces personnes faisaient toilette et refusaient de laisser pénétrer des bourgeoises dans leurs salons si fermés ? Pour des dîners tels que celui-ci ? Pareils si j'en avais été absent ? J'en eus un instant le soupçon, mais il était trop absurde. Ainsi s'interroge le narrateur, au sortir d'un diner chez la duchesse de Guermantes, qui lui a fait la surprise de l'inviter. De la mort de la grand-mère à l'annonce de celle de Swann, visites et surprises se succèdent dans ce volume où l'on découvre que le paillasson du vestibule des Guermantes n'était pas le seuil mais «le terme du monde enchanté des noms». Au cours de divers déplacements en voiture, le narrateur réfléchit à la place que les heures perdues dans le monde devront tenir dans l'œuvre à faire. Et c'est dans le salon des Guermantes qu'il élabore une théorie de la composition qui semble bien être celle de A la recherche du temps perdu. Cette édition a été préparée d'après l'édition originale de 1921 et en collationnant tous les documents autographes - brouillons, manuscrits, additions sur les dactylographies et corrections sur épreuves - qui ont formé les couches successives du texte. E. D.-J. Texte intégral
468 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1921
About the author
Marcel Proust
1,678 books6,507 followersMarcel Proust was a French novelist, best known for his 3000 page masterpiece À la recherche du temps perdu (Remembrance of Things Past or In Search of Lost Time), a pseudo-autobiographical novel told mostly in a stream-of-consciousness style.
Born in the first year of the Third Republic, the young Marcel, like his narrator, was a delicate child from a bourgeois family. He was active in Parisian high society during the 80s and 90s, welcomed in the most fashionable and exclusive salons of his day. However, his position there was also one of an outsider, due to his Jewishness and homosexuality. Towards the end of 1890s Proust began to withdraw more and more from society, and although he was never entirely reclusive, as is sometimes made out, he lapsed more completely into his lifelong tendency to sleep during the day and work at night. He was also plagued with severe asthma, which had troubled him intermittently since childhood, and a terror of his own death, especially in case it should come before his novel had been completed. The first volume, after some difficulty finding a publisher, came out in 1913, and Proust continued to work with an almost inhuman dedication on his masterpiece right up until his death in 1922, at the age of 51.
Today he is widely recognized as one of the greatest authors of the 20th Century, and À la recherche du temps perdu as one of the most dazzling and significant works of literature to be written in modern times.
Born in the first year of the Third Republic, the young Marcel, like his narrator, was a delicate child from a bourgeois family. He was active in Parisian high society during the 80s and 90s, welcomed in the most fashionable and exclusive salons of his day. However, his position there was also one of an outsider, due to his Jewishness and homosexuality. Towards the end of 1890s Proust began to withdraw more and more from society, and although he was never entirely reclusive, as is sometimes made out, he lapsed more completely into his lifelong tendency to sleep during the day and work at night. He was also plagued with severe asthma, which had troubled him intermittently since childhood, and a terror of his own death, especially in case it should come before his novel had been completed. The first volume, after some difficulty finding a publisher, came out in 1913, and Proust continued to work with an almost inhuman dedication on his masterpiece right up until his death in 1922, at the age of 51.
Today he is widely recognized as one of the greatest authors of the 20th Century, and À la recherche du temps perdu as one of the most dazzling and significant works of literature to be written in modern times.
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January 31, 2020
شنیدن این جلد برای من چهار ماه طول کشید. علتش هم تمام اون مصیبتها بود، ولی بالاخره تمام شد. هربار بعد از تمام شدن یکی از کتابهای این مجموعه، خودم رو حساستر(نکته سنج‌تر) و زود رنج تر میبینم.
چشمها رو میبندم و سعی میکنم جزییات حوادث، رفتارها، حرکت ها ، هر اتفاق پیش پا افتاده ای رو توی ذهنم دوباره مرور کنم . چه رنجی میکشم اما دوستش دارم. تو چه نابغه‌ای بودی آقای پروست محترم، چه حافظه‌ی فوق العاده ای، چه نگاه ظریفی. حالا فقط باید روی حوصله‌ام کار کنم تا بتونم منهم برای یک اتفاق دو دقیقه‌ای، سی صفحه سیاه کنم. این ریز بینی رو مدیون تو هستم آقا❤
چشمها رو میبندم و سعی میکنم جزییات حوادث، رفتارها، حرکت ها ، هر اتفاق پیش پا افتاده ای رو توی ذهنم دوباره مرور کنم . چه رنجی میکشم اما دوستش دارم. تو چه نابغه‌ای بودی آقای پروست محترم، چه حافظه‌ی فوق العاده ای، چه نگاه ظریفی. حالا فقط باید روی حوصله‌ام کار کنم تا بتونم منهم برای یک اتفاق دو دقیقه‌ای، سی صفحه سیاه کنم. این ریز بینی رو مدیون تو هستم آقا❤
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January 12, 2021À la recherche du temps perdu was divided into seven volumes (ten in my edition) by Proust’s publishers but it also falls more naturally into a long series of chapters, some of which overlap the volumes. In these chapters, the narrator focuses on a specific theme, a particular place, or an individual character. A few of these characters provide a strong link between all the chapters and seem to be essential elements in the overall plan of the work. Of this small group of characters, Charles Swann and the narrator’s grandmother stand out for me. They are amongst the most human as well as the most believable characters in the entire work; I would travel a long way to meet either of them.
Le Côté de Guermantes II is framed by these two characters; the beginning is devoted to the death of the beloved grandmother, an episode that is described in language that has to be the most moving and thought provoking of the work so far. The end of the book focuses briefly on Charles Swann, and while death is mentioned in relation to Swann and to a cousin of the Guermantes clan, the references are fleeting and bone-chilling, in quite startling contrast to the early passages relating to the grandmother's death.
I like the mirror aspect of this framing effect and although there are many other themes in this book, looking back now, six months after reading it, and having read the rest of the volumes in the meantime, it is this dual perspective on ‘death’ which characterises Le Côté de Guermantes II for me.
Proust writes about death in a way that may not be new but which I haven’t encountered before. He personifies it, and illness too, and makes a case for our bodies being separate from ourselves, for us being in a perpetual struggle with our own physical shell. And the struggle must be done unaccompanied, "chaque personne est bien seul,” he maintains. No matter how close the Narrator's family were to the grandmother, no matter how present they were by day and by night, she alone is dying and must die alone.
But for all the seriousness of the description of the grandmother’s death, there is a sense of absurdity present throughout this section. The Duc de Guermantes arrives to pay his respects and is about to make an elaborate bow to the Narrator’s mother but she is too caught up in her grief to welcome him and the duke is obliged to leave, his half-executed bow trapped in his body forever. An eminent doctor also pays a visit, and pockets his fee with the speed of a magician. A clerical cousin puts on a great display of piety and grief, his head buried in his hands, but the Narrator catches him peeping out from between his fingers. And Françoise, the housekeeper, can always be relied on for humour, even in the presence of the dying. She speaks of her grief as being like a weight on her stomach. The Narrator remarks that she uses similar words when she’s had too much cabbage soup.
But the final absurdity belongs to the Duchesse de Guermantes. Hearing at the end of the book that a good friend has been told he is dying, she is caught between a desire to stay and console her friend, and an equal desire to go to the ball. She chooses to deny that her friend is dying so that she can go to the ball untroubled. That attitude is very much in contrast to the way her good friend Swann might have behaved, 'le côté de chez Swann', if you will, and it sums up perfectly the more egocentric inclined 'côté de Guermantes'.
Le Côté de Guermantes II is framed by these two characters; the beginning is devoted to the death of the beloved grandmother, an episode that is described in language that has to be the most moving and thought provoking of the work so far. The end of the book focuses briefly on Charles Swann, and while death is mentioned in relation to Swann and to a cousin of the Guermantes clan, the references are fleeting and bone-chilling, in quite startling contrast to the early passages relating to the grandmother's death.
I like the mirror aspect of this framing effect and although there are many other themes in this book, looking back now, six months after reading it, and having read the rest of the volumes in the meantime, it is this dual perspective on ‘death’ which characterises Le Côté de Guermantes II for me.
Proust writes about death in a way that may not be new but which I haven’t encountered before. He personifies it, and illness too, and makes a case for our bodies being separate from ourselves, for us being in a perpetual struggle with our own physical shell. And the struggle must be done unaccompanied, "chaque personne est bien seul,” he maintains. No matter how close the Narrator's family were to the grandmother, no matter how present they were by day and by night, she alone is dying and must die alone.
But for all the seriousness of the description of the grandmother’s death, there is a sense of absurdity present throughout this section. The Duc de Guermantes arrives to pay his respects and is about to make an elaborate bow to the Narrator’s mother but she is too caught up in her grief to welcome him and the duke is obliged to leave, his half-executed bow trapped in his body forever. An eminent doctor also pays a visit, and pockets his fee with the speed of a magician. A clerical cousin puts on a great display of piety and grief, his head buried in his hands, but the Narrator catches him peeping out from between his fingers. And Françoise, the housekeeper, can always be relied on for humour, even in the presence of the dying. She speaks of her grief as being like a weight on her stomach. The Narrator remarks that she uses similar words when she’s had too much cabbage soup.
But the final absurdity belongs to the Duchesse de Guermantes. Hearing at the end of the book that a good friend has been told he is dying, she is caught between a desire to stay and console her friend, and an equal desire to go to the ball. She chooses to deny that her friend is dying so that she can go to the ball untroubled. That attitude is very much in contrast to the way her good friend Swann might have behaved, 'le côté de chez Swann', if you will, and it sums up perfectly the more egocentric inclined 'côté de Guermantes'.
April 3, 2016
I enjoyed the second half of Le Côté de Guermantes a bit more than the first, for some reason. It seemed to pull together the characters and the plot actually moved forward quite a lot.
The scene at the beginning, in which the illness of the narrator's grandmother proves to be more than just a case of nerves, is marvelously used by Proust to show that serious events bring out the best and the worst in people.
The duchesse de Guermantes, now that the narrator is not so besotted with her, suddenly takes an interest in him. This gives us a chance to have a good look at her household and her admirers. This is the salon of Mme Verdurin on a grander scale, with the same sort of toadying and display of vanity and snobbery. And yet, despite these faults, the duke and duchess have their good sides too. We see more of the the golden boy Robert de Saint-Loup, who doesn't really have the world by the tail as much as he wants everyone to believe. The inscrutable and irascible M. de Charlus forces his way onto the stage and chews the scenery--not literally, but almost! And just when we least expect it, our old friend Charles Swann puts in an appearance and, echoes themes found earlier in Le Côté de Guermantes II. The curtain drops on a minor key.
The scene at the beginning, in which the illness of the narrator's grandmother proves to be more than just a case of nerves, is marvelously used by Proust to show that serious events bring out the best and the worst in people.
The duchesse de Guermantes, now that the narrator is not so besotted with her, suddenly takes an interest in him. This gives us a chance to have a good look at her household and her admirers. This is the salon of Mme Verdurin on a grander scale, with the same sort of toadying and display of vanity and snobbery. And yet, despite these faults, the duke and duchess have their good sides too. We see more of the the golden boy Robert de Saint-Loup, who doesn't really have the world by the tail as much as he wants everyone to believe. The inscrutable and irascible M. de Charlus forces his way onto the stage and chews the scenery--not literally, but almost! And just when we least expect it, our old friend Charles Swann puts in an appearance and, echoes themes found earlier in Le Côté de Guermantes II. The curtain drops on a minor key.
July 25, 2023
Daću 4, mada je za 3.5-3.8. Naravno, to ne umanjuje Prustovu objektivnu vrednost, a još manje vrednost Potrage, samo je na ocenu dosta uticalo poslednjih 50ak strana i beskrajne, repetitivne rasprave u salonima, pune rodoslovlja, atavizma, titula, otimanja titula i poseda, imena koja iskrsavaju i ponovo padaju u zaborav.
Stigao sam do polovine ( ko hoće neka čestita ), tako da planiram da napravim pauzu. Ruke su mi se malo umorile od veslanja po dubokim vodama pariskih salona, tako da ću na leđima malo posmatrati promenljivo nebo, a milom Prustu ću se vratiti, Bože zdravlja, u kasnu jesen.
P.S. opis razlike između Germantovih i Kurvoazjeovih je malo remek-delo za sebe.
Stigao sam do polovine ( ko hoće neka čestita ), tako da planiram da napravim pauzu. Ruke su mi se malo umorile od veslanja po dubokim vodama pariskih salona, tako da ću na leđima malo posmatrati promenljivo nebo, a milom Prustu ću se vratiti, Bože zdravlja, u kasnu jesen.
P.S. opis razlike između Germantovih i Kurvoazjeovih je malo remek-delo za sebe.
April 15, 2016
Marcels grandmother is dying. At the end of the last novel she had a stroke while her and Marcel were out walking and she’s now bedridden. This is the first death of the story, and as she lies in bed, slowly deteriorating, her body changing and turning into something unrecognizable, friends and acquaintances stop by to pay their respects. Her deathbed becomes a sort of salon on its own, continuing the theme of this particular segment of In Search of Lost Time, while also highlighting yet another one: the desire to go to a social gathering rather than visit or care for the sick. Death and society blends together in these scenes as well as in the end scene, where an ill Swann visits Mme and Monsieur Guermantes, who are too busy to get to their masquerade to stay and converse with the dying Swann. It’s as if the realities of life, the important parts; death, pain, compassion, sympathy, are shoved to the side to make way for entertainment, distraction and the shallowness of society.
The death of his grandmother does not yet have the effect it soon will, but it stands in stark contrast to the rest of the novel that primarily consists of a dinner with the Guermantes family. This dinner takes up about 150 pages and is a little rough to get through. And Marcel spends about 30-40 pages explaining the difference between the Guermantes and Courvoisiers family (it’s principally a difference in hand shakes). These longwinded dinner and salon descriptions pain me in another way; I never feel I quite understand the subtleties of them. I know Proust is a master at expressing everyone’s weaknesses, at putting everyone on display in these scenes, but I never feel quite observant enough to understand quite how and when it happens. I still appreciate the subtle humor, the keen descriptions, as well as the contradictions in character you slowly discover in various people.
It also introduces the ever illustrious Charlus for the second (really third) time. Leading to perhaps the funniest scene in all of this series; when Marcel goes to meet him after the dinner with the Guermantes, he’s late, something that causes Charlus to throw a hysterical fit and Marcel to retaliate by tearing apart Charlus’ hat.
This in turn leads to another, very different scene. Marcel receives an invitation to dine with Princess de Guermantes, and to verify the invitation is correct he visits Mme and Monsieur Guermantes leading to the scene with Swann. Bringing us from the ridiculous scene at Charlus’, to another slightly ridiculous, but serious scene at the Guermantes house. Death intermingles with the desire for society, and Monsieur Guermantes cannot leave his house soon enough, in order to avoid Swann, and avoid the news that a sick acquaintance of his has died, resulting in him having to stay home. The need for a ball outweighs compassion and sympathy. The whole scene with Swann, Marcel and the Guermantes is grotesque and ridiculous and incredible sad. The beginning and the end of part two of The Guermantes Way is what made this particular segment so worthwhile, the finality of death and the cursory quality of society. Poignant and moving.
The death of his grandmother does not yet have the effect it soon will, but it stands in stark contrast to the rest of the novel that primarily consists of a dinner with the Guermantes family. This dinner takes up about 150 pages and is a little rough to get through. And Marcel spends about 30-40 pages explaining the difference between the Guermantes and Courvoisiers family (it’s principally a difference in hand shakes). These longwinded dinner and salon descriptions pain me in another way; I never feel I quite understand the subtleties of them. I know Proust is a master at expressing everyone’s weaknesses, at putting everyone on display in these scenes, but I never feel quite observant enough to understand quite how and when it happens. I still appreciate the subtle humor, the keen descriptions, as well as the contradictions in character you slowly discover in various people.
It also introduces the ever illustrious Charlus for the second (really third) time. Leading to perhaps the funniest scene in all of this series; when Marcel goes to meet him after the dinner with the Guermantes, he’s late, something that causes Charlus to throw a hysterical fit and Marcel to retaliate by tearing apart Charlus’ hat.
This in turn leads to another, very different scene. Marcel receives an invitation to dine with Princess de Guermantes, and to verify the invitation is correct he visits Mme and Monsieur Guermantes leading to the scene with Swann. Bringing us from the ridiculous scene at Charlus’, to another slightly ridiculous, but serious scene at the Guermantes house. Death intermingles with the desire for society, and Monsieur Guermantes cannot leave his house soon enough, in order to avoid Swann, and avoid the news that a sick acquaintance of his has died, resulting in him having to stay home. The need for a ball outweighs compassion and sympathy. The whole scene with Swann, Marcel and the Guermantes is grotesque and ridiculous and incredible sad. The beginning and the end of part two of The Guermantes Way is what made this particular segment so worthwhile, the finality of death and the cursory quality of society. Poignant and moving.
November 11, 2020
بخش اولش فوق‌العاده‌ست، از اون چیزهاییه که به یه جایی از ذهن می‌چسبه و ناخواسته هی با خودت مرورش میکنی. قسمت عمده‌ی بخش دوم در محفلی اشرافی میگذره و به‌شدت حوصله‌سربره اما انگار به‌عمد هدف اینه که حوصله‌ی خواننده هم مثل راوی از دست اشراف و محافل اشرافی سر بره، همونطور که توی متن هم راوی اشاره‌ای مستقیم به ارتباط نگرفتنش با اشراف میکنه و کلافه‌ست.
خلاصه طرف گرمانت ۲ کاری رو که میخواد به بهترین نحو انجام میده!
خلاصه طرف گرمانت ۲ کاری رو که میخواد به بهترین نحو انجام میده!
October 1, 2023
به رغم همه‌ی ارادتی که به جناب پروست دارم، دقیق‌ترین تعریف برای این جلد کتاب «جستجو»، قلم فرسائیه
قلم فرسایی به معنای واقعی کلمه
اطناب و زیاده‌گویی که از حوصله خارجه
کسل کننده‌س
دیوانه‌کننده‌س
هر کتاب دیگه‌ای بود می‌بوسیدم میذاشتم کنار ولی این جلد وسط وسط رو نمی‌دونستم چکار کنم پس بالاجبار ادامه دادم
قلم فرسایی به معنای واقعی کلمه
اطناب و زیاده‌گویی که از حوصله خارجه
کسل کننده‌س
دیوانه‌کننده‌س
هر کتاب دیگه‌ای بود می‌بوسیدم میذاشتم کنار ولی این جلد وسط وسط رو نمی‌دونستم چکار کنم پس بالاجبار ادامه دادم
January 7, 2021
Kertojan isoäiti kuolee. Tämän luulisi olevan koko kirjan pääteema, mutta mitä vielä: isoäidin kuolemaa mietitään noin sata sivua, sitten päähenkilö keskittyykin Pariisin hienostoseuraelämään. Tämä oli vähän yllättävää.
Guermantesin herttuattaren illalliset saavuttivat mittasuhteet, jotka toivat Alastalon salin vahvasti mieleen: illallisen kuvaus kestää 130 sivua! Tavalliseen tapaansa Proust näyttää ihmisten pikkumaisuuden ja sivistymättömyyden hyvin selkeästi lukijalle. Päähenkilö joutuu myös säälimättömän analyysin kohteeksi: hän on hömelön hurmaantunut aatelisten sukupuista ja kokee jatkuvaa pettymystä huomatessaan että nuo hienojen nimien takana olevat ihmiset ovatkin juoruilevia ja pahantahtoisia tyhjäntoimittajia.
Guermantesin herttuattaren illalliset saavuttivat mittasuhteet, jotka toivat Alastalon salin vahvasti mieleen: illallisen kuvaus kestää 130 sivua! Tavalliseen tapaansa Proust näyttää ihmisten pikkumaisuuden ja sivistymättömyyden hyvin selkeästi lukijalle. Päähenkilö joutuu myös säälimättömän analyysin kohteeksi: hän on hömelön hurmaantunut aatelisten sukupuista ja kokee jatkuvaa pettymystä huomatessaan että nuo hienojen nimien takana olevat ihmiset ovatkin juoruilevia ja pahantahtoisia tyhjäntoimittajia.
March 29, 2022
"J'aurais bien voulu ne pas répondre pour ne pas prolonger cet entretien, mais je sentis que je désobligerais le prince d'Agrigente, lequel avait fait semblant de savoir à merveille de qui était Salammbô et de me laisser par pur politesse le plaisir de le dire, mais qui était dans un cruel embarras.
- Flaubert, finis-je par dire, mais le signe d'assentiment que fit la tête du prince, étouffa le son de sa réponse, de sorte que mon interlocutrice ne sut pas exactement si j'avais dit Paul Bert ou Fulbert, noms qui ne lui donnèrent pas une entière satisfaction."
- Flaubert, finis-je par dire, mais le signe d'assentiment que fit la tête du prince, étouffa le son de sa réponse, de sorte que mon interlocutrice ne sut pas exactement si j'avais dit Paul Bert ou Fulbert, noms qui ne lui donnèrent pas une entière satisfaction."
September 26, 2021
Hvis mine venner, når jeg giver udtryk for glæderne ved min læseoplevelse af På sporet af den tabte tid, beder mig resumere handlingen, så de kunne få en forsmag, ville jeg komme til kort, for min læsnings glæder og refleksioner ville være for uhåndgribelige…
“…og umulige at beskrive for mine venner, fordi disse glæder for mig, uden jeg vidste af det, i langt højere grad var kendetegnet ved de rigt sammenvævede indtryk der orkestrerede dem, end ved de kendsgerninger jeg kunne have fortalt om.” s. 6.52
På sporet af den tabte tid handler for mig ikke om bogens konkrete handling, hvad der sker, men langt snarere om hvad der er sket i karakterernes indre, som udspiller sig imellem dem, og kommer til udtryk - mindre i deres dialoger og mere i refleksionerne over den sociale dynamik. Det er derfor en svært håndgribelig meta-oplevelse, der mere handler om hvad de er, end hvad de gør. Og hvordan de forsøger at iscenesætte, hvad de er, i virkeligheden.
“Man forfølger virkeligheden. Men fordi den hele tiden undslipper, ender man med at opdage at der gennem alle disse forgæves forsøg, hvor man intet har fundet, alligevel er noget der er blevet stående, og det er dét man har ledt efter.” s. 6.110
Det vi er, bliver således måske det vi iscenesætter, det vi udtrykker, det liv vi udfolder, det vi bliver i kraft af udfoldelsen. Der ‘er’ ikke noget, før det udfoldes. Der er højst et potentiale inden da. Og det udfoldede, livet, er mindre et udtryk for noget før- eller bagvedliggende, og måske mere noget der først bliver til, idet det udfoldes.
“En kunstner behøver ikke at udtrykke sine tanker direkte i et værk for at værket skal kunne afspejle deres kvaliteter; man har tilmed kunnet påstå at den højeste lovprisning af Gud findes i ateistens fornægtelse, fordi han anser skaberværket for at være så fuldendt at det ikke har brug for nogen skaber.” s. 6.151
At leve (udover den biologiske eksistens) er måske så ‘blot’ at skabe et livsudtryk, der netop giver sig til udtryk i den sociale dynamik og i refleksionerne over denne. Hvis det giver livet mening, hvad betyder det så konkret for hvordan jeg lever videre? Det ved jeg ikke, så jeg læser videre og ser om jeg bliver klogere På sporet af den tabte tid.
“…og umulige at beskrive for mine venner, fordi disse glæder for mig, uden jeg vidste af det, i langt højere grad var kendetegnet ved de rigt sammenvævede indtryk der orkestrerede dem, end ved de kendsgerninger jeg kunne have fortalt om.” s. 6.52
På sporet af den tabte tid handler for mig ikke om bogens konkrete handling, hvad der sker, men langt snarere om hvad der er sket i karakterernes indre, som udspiller sig imellem dem, og kommer til udtryk - mindre i deres dialoger og mere i refleksionerne over den sociale dynamik. Det er derfor en svært håndgribelig meta-oplevelse, der mere handler om hvad de er, end hvad de gør. Og hvordan de forsøger at iscenesætte, hvad de er, i virkeligheden.
“Man forfølger virkeligheden. Men fordi den hele tiden undslipper, ender man med at opdage at der gennem alle disse forgæves forsøg, hvor man intet har fundet, alligevel er noget der er blevet stående, og det er dét man har ledt efter.” s. 6.110
Det vi er, bliver således måske det vi iscenesætter, det vi udtrykker, det liv vi udfolder, det vi bliver i kraft af udfoldelsen. Der ‘er’ ikke noget, før det udfoldes. Der er højst et potentiale inden da. Og det udfoldede, livet, er mindre et udtryk for noget før- eller bagvedliggende, og måske mere noget der først bliver til, idet det udfoldes.
“En kunstner behøver ikke at udtrykke sine tanker direkte i et værk for at værket skal kunne afspejle deres kvaliteter; man har tilmed kunnet påstå at den højeste lovprisning af Gud findes i ateistens fornægtelse, fordi han anser skaberværket for at være så fuldendt at det ikke har brug for nogen skaber.” s. 6.151
At leve (udover den biologiske eksistens) er måske så ‘blot’ at skabe et livsudtryk, der netop giver sig til udtryk i den sociale dynamik og i refleksionerne over denne. Hvis det giver livet mening, hvad betyder det så konkret for hvordan jeg lever videre? Det ved jeg ikke, så jeg læser videre og ser om jeg bliver klogere På sporet af den tabte tid.
July 30, 2023
Selvom store dele af dette bind af På Sporet var langsomme at komme igennem, fordi vi for det meste er til selskaber hos Guermantes-familien, hovedpersonens adelige naboer. Ved disse selskaber og i de samtaler, der føres, samt i de tanker hovedpersonen gør sig, nævnes der hundredvis af navne på adelspersoner, og jeg kan overhovedet ikke holde dem fra hinanden.
Men jeg har på ingen måde tabt modet, og jeg starter snart på bind syv, der angiveligt også foregår ved et selskab, denne gang blot hos nogle slægtninge til naboerne, der også hedder Guermantes. Her er der dog tale om fyrster, og ikke "kun" hertuger.
Det har slået mig, hvordan Dreyfus-affæren gennemsyrer bøgerne, og jeg læser mig til, at det tager til i næste bind. Der er tusind ting, det ville være godt at vide, hvis man vil have mest muligt ud af at læse På Sporet, og det kan man jo ikke alt sammen nå. Men foranlediget af andre ansporinger har jeg flere gange læst om affæren, og det er nok klogt at lige snuppe Wikipedia-artiklen, inden man kaster sig ud i Proust, for om man er "Dreyfusard" eller ikke, er helt afgørende for Prousts vurdering af sine karakterer. Uadskilleligt fra Dreyfus-affæren er antisemitismen, der gennemsyrede den franske overklasse (og muligvis også andre klasser). Det er ret rystende at læse – vi er ca. 40 år før Anden Verdenskrig og i Paris, ikke Berlin.
Nå men, tilbage til bind seks. Jeg har sat tusind gule sedler ved særligt sjove eller bemærkelsesværdige sætninger, og jeg kan jo ikke citere det hele! Men denne beskrivelse af et møde med Swann, som han ikke havde set meget længe, er sigende – om alt muligt. Swann hilser på ham med stor varme, og vores hovedperson er rørt og beæret over, at Swann kan huske ham. Men "længe efter fandt jeg ud af, at han først havde identificeret mig nogle minutter senere da han hørte mit navn blive nævnt. Men der var ingen som helst forandring i hans ansigt, ordvalg eller i de ting, han fortalte mig, der røbede den opdagelse som en bemærkning fra monsieur de Guermantes havde ført ham til at gøre, i dén grad mestrede han med usvigelig sikkerhed det mondæne livs spil."
Proust har, som det nok vil være de fleste bekendt, et ret besynderligt syn på og forhold til kvinder. Denne sidebemærkning i starten af bogen viser det:
"På dette sted skal jeg kun beklage at jeg ikke var forstandig nok til ganske enkelt at have opbygget mig en samling af kvinder, ligesom man har en samling gamle teaterkikkerter, der aldrig kan blive for talrige bag en glasrude, hvor der altid er en tom plads der venter på en ny og mere sjælden teaterkikkert."
Og i øvrigt syntes Proust, at Kronborg skuffer fælt, hvis man ankommer dertil efter at have læst eller set Hamlet... (s. 320).
Men jeg har på ingen måde tabt modet, og jeg starter snart på bind syv, der angiveligt også foregår ved et selskab, denne gang blot hos nogle slægtninge til naboerne, der også hedder Guermantes. Her er der dog tale om fyrster, og ikke "kun" hertuger.
Det har slået mig, hvordan Dreyfus-affæren gennemsyrer bøgerne, og jeg læser mig til, at det tager til i næste bind. Der er tusind ting, det ville være godt at vide, hvis man vil have mest muligt ud af at læse På Sporet, og det kan man jo ikke alt sammen nå. Men foranlediget af andre ansporinger har jeg flere gange læst om affæren, og det er nok klogt at lige snuppe Wikipedia-artiklen, inden man kaster sig ud i Proust, for om man er "Dreyfusard" eller ikke, er helt afgørende for Prousts vurdering af sine karakterer. Uadskilleligt fra Dreyfus-affæren er antisemitismen, der gennemsyrede den franske overklasse (og muligvis også andre klasser). Det er ret rystende at læse – vi er ca. 40 år før Anden Verdenskrig og i Paris, ikke Berlin.
Nå men, tilbage til bind seks. Jeg har sat tusind gule sedler ved særligt sjove eller bemærkelsesværdige sætninger, og jeg kan jo ikke citere det hele! Men denne beskrivelse af et møde med Swann, som han ikke havde set meget længe, er sigende – om alt muligt. Swann hilser på ham med stor varme, og vores hovedperson er rørt og beæret over, at Swann kan huske ham. Men "længe efter fandt jeg ud af, at han først havde identificeret mig nogle minutter senere da han hørte mit navn blive nævnt. Men der var ingen som helst forandring i hans ansigt, ordvalg eller i de ting, han fortalte mig, der røbede den opdagelse som en bemærkning fra monsieur de Guermantes havde ført ham til at gøre, i dén grad mestrede han med usvigelig sikkerhed det mondæne livs spil."
Proust har, som det nok vil være de fleste bekendt, et ret besynderligt syn på og forhold til kvinder. Denne sidebemærkning i starten af bogen viser det:
"På dette sted skal jeg kun beklage at jeg ikke var forstandig nok til ganske enkelt at have opbygget mig en samling af kvinder, ligesom man har en samling gamle teaterkikkerter, der aldrig kan blive for talrige bag en glasrude, hvor der altid er en tom plads der venter på en ny og mere sjælden teaterkikkert."
Og i øvrigt syntes Proust, at Kronborg skuffer fælt, hvis man ankommer dertil efter at have læst eller set Hamlet... (s. 320).
December 21, 2018
lecture 23 de ∞
je ne veux pas faire de poésie d’idée
je ne veux pas écrire de la fiction qui fait réfléchir
je ne pense pas quand j’écris
j’essaie seulement d’être honnête
j’essaie de ne pas me perdre dans le style
je sais que je n’y arrive pas toujours
je sais où je commets des erreurs mais je ne sais pas comment les réparer
je ne suis pas objectif envers moi-même
il me faudrait ton opinion
avant que nous apprenions à trop se connaître
avant que ce ne soit plus franc comme relation
je voudrais que tu me juges sur ma fiction
et non sur mes actes
c’est peut-être beaucoup te demander
c’est peut-être trop difficile de départager l’un de l’autre
j’ai plus d’empathie pour les personnages de Proust
que pour les gens que je connais
ce n’est pas vrai
je n’apprécie pas tous les personnages de Proust
certains sont ennuyants
certains sont prétentieux
mais d’autres valent la peine de supporter les scènes de salon
ils valent la peine qu’on arrête un peu notre lecture pour être triste
en ce moment je termine le quatrième tome de À la recherche du temps perdu
en ce moment je lis les quelques dernières lignes
en ce moment le narrateur sort de chez les Guermantes
il est accompagné de Basin duc de Guermantes et d’Oriane duchesse de Guermantes
Charles Swann aussi est là
malgré sa grande sa fatigue
malgré son visage changé par la maladie
il faut dire qu’il n’a plus que quelques mois à vivre
le livre se termine sur Swann qui avoue sa mort prochaine
comme s’il saluait le lecteur une dernière fois
je l’imagine faire une révérence avec son chapeau doublé de cuir vert puis sortir en coulisse de l’histoire
Swann va mourir et je ne comprends pourquoi tout le monde s’en fou
je ne veux pas faire de poésie d’idée
je ne veux pas écrire de la fiction qui fait réfléchir
je ne pense pas quand j’écris
j’essaie seulement d’être honnête
j’essaie de ne pas me perdre dans le style
je sais que je n’y arrive pas toujours
je sais où je commets des erreurs mais je ne sais pas comment les réparer
je ne suis pas objectif envers moi-même
il me faudrait ton opinion
avant que nous apprenions à trop se connaître
avant que ce ne soit plus franc comme relation
je voudrais que tu me juges sur ma fiction
et non sur mes actes
c’est peut-être beaucoup te demander
c’est peut-être trop difficile de départager l’un de l’autre
j’ai plus d’empathie pour les personnages de Proust
que pour les gens que je connais
ce n’est pas vrai
je n’apprécie pas tous les personnages de Proust
certains sont ennuyants
certains sont prétentieux
mais d’autres valent la peine de supporter les scènes de salon
ils valent la peine qu’on arrête un peu notre lecture pour être triste
en ce moment je termine le quatrième tome de À la recherche du temps perdu
en ce moment je lis les quelques dernières lignes
en ce moment le narrateur sort de chez les Guermantes
il est accompagné de Basin duc de Guermantes et d’Oriane duchesse de Guermantes
Charles Swann aussi est là
malgré sa grande sa fatigue
malgré son visage changé par la maladie
il faut dire qu’il n’a plus que quelques mois à vivre
le livre se termine sur Swann qui avoue sa mort prochaine
comme s’il saluait le lecteur une dernière fois
je l’imagine faire une révérence avec son chapeau doublé de cuir vert puis sortir en coulisse de l’histoire
Swann va mourir et je ne comprends pourquoi tout le monde s’en fou
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 16, 2021
Puha, det er tungt Proust-rugbrød, der bliver disket op med her i den sidste bog i første halvdel af verdensklassikeren. Scenen er sat: snobbede og smålige, diskussioner i det aristokratiske, parisermiljø i fin-de-siècle perioden, udstilling af overklassens kedsommelige tomme tilværelse, eller som Margaret Thatcher ville sige: "They just don't know what life is like, they haven't been through it"! Nuvel, det blev for langtrukkent til sidst, og nu skal der holdes en lang Proust-pause før anden halvdel, som skulle være bedre en del bedre, påbegyndes.
July 26, 2021
کی گفته رمان جستجو رو از هر جایی میشه باز کرد و خوند. همین طرف گرمانت ۲ پره از ارجاعات به دوشیزگان شکوفا و سوان و غیره، ...
April 16, 2024
و من در پاگرد مادربزرگم را نگاه می‌کردم که از دست رفته بود. هر آدمی یکسره تنهاست. راهی خانه شدیم...
August 20, 2023
Somewhat less mesmerizing than the first and especially second volumes, as the Narrator ("N") spends most of the hundreds of pages mostly as a fly on the wall, a fly much sought after--one of the Proustian mysteries-- in which we meet the creme de la creme of French aristocracy. N's fairytale fantasies of all the dukes and princes are relentlessly and excruciatingly slowly eroded until this companion-reader was desperate to leave yet one more endless soiree or tea or dinner at the Marquis de Machin-Truc. begging "N, please, get your coat and let's get out of here," only for him to be detained by one of the few marvelously complex characters, Duchesse Oriane de Guermantes, and later by her brother-inlaw, the infamous Baron de Charlus. One redeeming highlight is the perverse dog-and-pony show of the Duchess and Duc de Guermantes; few novels have ever delineated such an intricate co-dependence of a pair of spouses. And the Duchess joins a very small coterie of truly three-dimensional women characters in the history of male-created fiction.
This reader's perseverance was finally rewarded by a final scene--also long-winded, but redolent with social satire, hilarity, and a sudden twist that veers at last to the bite that emerges from the subtle treatment of an impractical tragedy.
This reader's perseverance was finally rewarded by a final scene--also long-winded, but redolent with social satire, hilarity, and a sudden twist that veers at last to the bite that emerges from the subtle treatment of an impractical tragedy.
August 8, 2013
Le côté de Guermantes by Marcel Proust
There isn’t much I could say about such a masterpiece. Marcel Proust is not only the best writer that I had the chance to read, but he is an author I could read quite early, at 17.
Now I read his work again. If I was overwhelmed by the complexity of his work when I was young, now I discover other aspects: his humor for instance.
There is the scene where francoise is fighting with the chicken: „sale bete”. The poor animal will end up in a dish, but Francoise is upset that he struggles for his (or her) life.
Another tragic and comic moment is when the granmother of the hero is dying and Monsieur de Guermantes pays a visit to express his grief and support. The humor and fine understaning of human psychology is shown by the depiction of the behavior of the aristocrat, who is sure that his presence is way too important and should overshadow anything else, even the dying woman. He is shocked by the fact that the family doen’t pay the necessary attention to him, or not enough anyway.
The satire with which the Guermantes, la duchesse de Parma, monsieur de Charlus and others are painted is exquisite, wonderful. I had aparrot named Charlus.
One is at a loss to write about the most magnificent writer of all. I admire Marcel Proust above all.
There isn’t much I could say about such a masterpiece. Marcel Proust is not only the best writer that I had the chance to read, but he is an author I could read quite early, at 17.
Now I read his work again. If I was overwhelmed by the complexity of his work when I was young, now I discover other aspects: his humor for instance.
There is the scene where francoise is fighting with the chicken: „sale bete”. The poor animal will end up in a dish, but Francoise is upset that he struggles for his (or her) life.
Another tragic and comic moment is when the granmother of the hero is dying and Monsieur de Guermantes pays a visit to express his grief and support. The humor and fine understaning of human psychology is shown by the depiction of the behavior of the aristocrat, who is sure that his presence is way too important and should overshadow anything else, even the dying woman. He is shocked by the fact that the family doen’t pay the necessary attention to him, or not enough anyway.
The satire with which the Guermantes, la duchesse de Parma, monsieur de Charlus and others are painted is exquisite, wonderful. I had aparrot named Charlus.
One is at a loss to write about the most magnificent writer of all. I admire Marcel Proust above all.
January 18, 2016
In my opinion, this is the most difficult volume in La Recherche so far: the narrator shows that he doesn't believe in friendship, lets us peek through his latent class biases (while ridiculing the same), and describes a very long and boring party at the Duchess of Guermantes'. It took me quite a while to get through it.
Still there are some gems, ("A change in the weather sometimes suffices to create the world and ourselves anew" - my rough translation). Proust's writing continues to be full of simple truths, beautiful descriptions, and colorful characters (we see less of Saint-Loup than I would like, but are accorded a brilliant scene with the Baron de Charlus, who's totally nuts. I hope we'll see more of him!).
Still there are some gems, ("A change in the weather sometimes suffices to create the world and ourselves anew" - my rough translation). Proust's writing continues to be full of simple truths, beautiful descriptions, and colorful characters (we see less of Saint-Loup than I would like, but are accorded a brilliant scene with the Baron de Charlus, who's totally nuts. I hope we'll see more of him!).
January 2, 2013
Over and over again I kept feeling like he was detailing secrets (social rules) that either shouldn't be spoken, or that were so restrictive I felt I couldn't breathe.
I'm amazed he can focus in so tightly while the overall story is so grand.
I'm amazed he can focus in so tightly while the overall story is so grand.
April 29, 2015
Le Côté des Guermantes II
by Marcel Proust
by Marcel Proust
June 20, 2017
Harvemmin sattuu vastaan kirjoja joissa yhden herttupariskunnan illallinen viihdyttää lähes kolmesataa sivua.
October 17, 2023
Marcel is 🔥
"And in this place I must only regret that I was not sensible enough to have simply built up a collection of women, just as one has a collection of old theater glasses that can never be too numerous behind a glass window where there is always an empty space that awaits a new and rarer theater scope.” 🤣🤣🤣
Finally he kisses:
"The very moment I had laid Albertine down on the bed and had begun to caress her, she had acquired an expression which I had not seen in her before, an expression of docile benevolence, of an almost childlike simplicity. The moment that precedes pleasure, and which in that respect corresponds to that which follows death…”
Interesting explanations:
"...and which in itself constitutes one of those strange contradictions for which an explanation will be found later in this work."
We are approaching:
"The women who surrounded me, all of them deeply delineated (their flesh appeared on both sides of a twisted mimosa branch or under the large petals of a rose), could not greet me without at the same time sending me long caressing looks, as if it were only shyness that kept them from kissing me.”
The story is primarily about the so-called salons, where the main character tells in incredible detail about the bony floors and the snobbery, but also a dialogue at the fine dinners filled with humor and jealousy between the countesses and the princes.
Damn funny written 🤣🇩🇰
“Each dinner guest had—by endowing the enigmatic name, which was the only thing about him I had remotely known and dreamed of, with a body and mind of the same type as that of all others I knew, or even lower in rank—given to me the same impression of flat vulgarity as entering the Danish port city of Helsingør must give any ardent admirer of Hamlet.”
Templars:
"But as soon as Swann's studies of the Templars (for it is unheard of how fiercely people from one religion can study another) led him to the story of the Knights of Rhodes - the heirs of the Templars..."
All in all, another great story well told
….
Marcel er 🔥
“Og på dette sted skal jeg kun beklage at jeg ikke var forstandig nok til ganske enkelt at have opbygget mig en samling af kvinder, ligesom man har en samling gamle teaterkikkerter, der aldrig kan blive for talrige bag en glasrude hvor der altid er en tom plads der venter på en ny og mere sjælden teaterkikkert.” 🤣🤣🤣
Endelig kysser han:
“Allerede i det øjeblik jeg havde lagt Albertine ned på sengen og var begyndt at kærtegne hende, havde hun fået et udtryk som jeg ikke havde set hos hende før, et udtryk af føjelig velvilje, af en næsten barnlig enkelhed. Det øjeblik der går forud for nydelsen, og som i så henseende svarer til det som følger efter døden…”
Spændende forklaringer:
“…og som i sig selv udgør en af disse mærkelige selvmodsigelser som man vil finde en forklaring på senere i dette værk.”
Vi nærmer os:
“De kvinder som omgav mig, alle sammen dybt udringede (deres kød kom til syne på begge sider af en slynget mimosegren eller under en roses store kronblade), kunne ikke hilse uden samtidig at sende mig lange kælne blikke, som om det kun var genertheden der afholdt dem fra at kysse mig.”
Historien handler primært om de såkaldte saloner hvor hovedpersonen fortæller utroligt detaljeret om de bonede gulve og snopperiet, men også en dialog til de fine middage fyldt med humor og jalousi mellem grevinderne og fyrsterne.
Fandme sjovt skrevet 🤣🇩🇰
“Hver eneste middagsgæst havde – ved at udstyre det gådefulde navn, som var det eneste ved vedkommende jeg havde kendt og drømt om på afstand, med et legeme og en forstand af samme type som hos alle andre jeg kendte, eller endnu lavere rangerende – givet mig samme indtryk af plat vulgaritet som indsejlingen i den danske havneby Helsingør må give enhver glødende beundrer af Hamlet.”
Tempelherrerne:
“Men så snart Swanns studier i tempelherrerne (for det er uhørt hvor indædt folk fra én religion kan studere en anden) førte ham til historien om Ridderne på Rhodos – tempelherrernes arvtagere…”
Alt i alt endnu en fantastisk velfortalt historie
"And in this place I must only regret that I was not sensible enough to have simply built up a collection of women, just as one has a collection of old theater glasses that can never be too numerous behind a glass window where there is always an empty space that awaits a new and rarer theater scope.” 🤣🤣🤣
Finally he kisses:
"The very moment I had laid Albertine down on the bed and had begun to caress her, she had acquired an expression which I had not seen in her before, an expression of docile benevolence, of an almost childlike simplicity. The moment that precedes pleasure, and which in that respect corresponds to that which follows death…”
Interesting explanations:
"...and which in itself constitutes one of those strange contradictions for which an explanation will be found later in this work."
We are approaching:
"The women who surrounded me, all of them deeply delineated (their flesh appeared on both sides of a twisted mimosa branch or under the large petals of a rose), could not greet me without at the same time sending me long caressing looks, as if it were only shyness that kept them from kissing me.”
The story is primarily about the so-called salons, where the main character tells in incredible detail about the bony floors and the snobbery, but also a dialogue at the fine dinners filled with humor and jealousy between the countesses and the princes.
Damn funny written 🤣🇩🇰
“Each dinner guest had—by endowing the enigmatic name, which was the only thing about him I had remotely known and dreamed of, with a body and mind of the same type as that of all others I knew, or even lower in rank—given to me the same impression of flat vulgarity as entering the Danish port city of Helsingør must give any ardent admirer of Hamlet.”
Templars:
"But as soon as Swann's studies of the Templars (for it is unheard of how fiercely people from one religion can study another) led him to the story of the Knights of Rhodes - the heirs of the Templars..."
All in all, another great story well told
….
Marcel er 🔥
“Og på dette sted skal jeg kun beklage at jeg ikke var forstandig nok til ganske enkelt at have opbygget mig en samling af kvinder, ligesom man har en samling gamle teaterkikkerter, der aldrig kan blive for talrige bag en glasrude hvor der altid er en tom plads der venter på en ny og mere sjælden teaterkikkert.” 🤣🤣🤣
Endelig kysser han:
“Allerede i det øjeblik jeg havde lagt Albertine ned på sengen og var begyndt at kærtegne hende, havde hun fået et udtryk som jeg ikke havde set hos hende før, et udtryk af føjelig velvilje, af en næsten barnlig enkelhed. Det øjeblik der går forud for nydelsen, og som i så henseende svarer til det som følger efter døden…”
Spændende forklaringer:
“…og som i sig selv udgør en af disse mærkelige selvmodsigelser som man vil finde en forklaring på senere i dette værk.”
Vi nærmer os:
“De kvinder som omgav mig, alle sammen dybt udringede (deres kød kom til syne på begge sider af en slynget mimosegren eller under en roses store kronblade), kunne ikke hilse uden samtidig at sende mig lange kælne blikke, som om det kun var genertheden der afholdt dem fra at kysse mig.”
Historien handler primært om de såkaldte saloner hvor hovedpersonen fortæller utroligt detaljeret om de bonede gulve og snopperiet, men også en dialog til de fine middage fyldt med humor og jalousi mellem grevinderne og fyrsterne.
Fandme sjovt skrevet 🤣🇩🇰
“Hver eneste middagsgæst havde – ved at udstyre det gådefulde navn, som var det eneste ved vedkommende jeg havde kendt og drømt om på afstand, med et legeme og en forstand af samme type som hos alle andre jeg kendte, eller endnu lavere rangerende – givet mig samme indtryk af plat vulgaritet som indsejlingen i den danske havneby Helsingør må give enhver glødende beundrer af Hamlet.”
Tempelherrerne:
“Men så snart Swanns studier i tempelherrerne (for det er uhørt hvor indædt folk fra én religion kan studere en anden) førte ham til historien om Ridderne på Rhodos – tempelherrernes arvtagere…”
Alt i alt endnu en fantastisk velfortalt historie
August 15, 2020
Huh, melkein voiton puolella jo (kai?) 😅
Edellisen osan lukemisesta oli sen verran aikaa, että olin totaalisesti unohtunut mihin osaan jäin, kirjan ’tapahtumista’ puhumattakaan. Ehdin aloittaa jo uudestaan edellisen osan ennen kuin jossain vaiheessa tajusin, että tämähän tuntuu hämärästi tutulta...
Tauon pitäminen ja äänikirjaformaattiin (loistavana lukijana Erja Manto) vaihtaminen tekivät tosi hyvää ja vähensivät ryppyotsaisuutta.
Aiemmin olin jo ehtinyt kypsyä aristokraattien sisäsiittoisten salonkien kuvailuun toinen toistaan krumeluureimmissa lauserakenteissa. Nyt löysin kirjasta kuitenkin aiempaa enemmän huumoria ja pistävää kritiikkiä koko aristokratiaa kohtaan, mikä loi kiinnostavaa jännitettä kaiken De Hippêlisnìppelisnâppelis-herttuatarshmerttuatar-fiilistelyn kanssa
Edellisen osan lukemisesta oli sen verran aikaa, että olin totaalisesti unohtunut mihin osaan jäin, kirjan ’tapahtumista’ puhumattakaan. Ehdin aloittaa jo uudestaan edellisen osan ennen kuin jossain vaiheessa tajusin, että tämähän tuntuu hämärästi tutulta...
Tauon pitäminen ja äänikirjaformaattiin (loistavana lukijana Erja Manto) vaihtaminen tekivät tosi hyvää ja vähensivät ryppyotsaisuutta.
Aiemmin olin jo ehtinyt kypsyä aristokraattien sisäsiittoisten salonkien kuvailuun toinen toistaan krumeluureimmissa lauserakenteissa. Nyt löysin kirjasta kuitenkin aiempaa enemmän huumoria ja pistävää kritiikkiä koko aristokratiaa kohtaan, mikä loi kiinnostavaa jännitettä kaiken De Hippêlisnìppelisnâppelis-herttuatarshmerttuatar-fiilistelyn kanssa
November 3, 2022
In my opinion, this is the most difficult volume in La Recherche so far: the narrator shows that he doesn't believe in friendship, lets us peek through his latent class biases (while ridiculing the same), and describes a very long and boring party at the Duchess of Guermantes'. It took me quite a while to get through it.
Still there are some gems, ("A change in the weather sometimes suffices to create the world and ourselves anew" - my rough translation). Proust's writing continues to be full of simple truths, beautiful descriptions, and colorful characters (we see less of Saint-Loup than I would like, but are accorded a brilliant scene with the Baron de Charlus, who's totally nuts. I hope we'll see more of him!).
Still there are some gems, ("A change in the weather sometimes suffices to create the world and ourselves anew" - my rough translation). Proust's writing continues to be full of simple truths, beautiful descriptions, and colorful characters (we see less of Saint-Loup than I would like, but are accorded a brilliant scene with the Baron de Charlus, who's totally nuts. I hope we'll see more of him!).
October 10, 2020
Questa parte dell'opera sancisce il passaggio di Marcel dall'adolescenza all'età adulta, con il suo ingresso definitivo nei salotti mondani.
Di questi il giovane Marcel ci restituisce la vacuità e le ipocrisie, affrontando in prima persona la delusione nel constatare quanto poco la realtà aderisca ad un mondo aristocratico immaginato: i nomi così evocativi delle più nobili casate francesi non rappresentano nulla, se non discorsi vuoti e banali.
Un'ironia e un disincanto pungente pervadono tutta l'opera.
La scrittura è ancora ubriacante, anche se accanto alle osservazioni filosofiche e artistiche sul mondo, c'è più spazio per il dialogo e il discorso mondano.
Monumentale!
Di questi il giovane Marcel ci restituisce la vacuità e le ipocrisie, affrontando in prima persona la delusione nel constatare quanto poco la realtà aderisca ad un mondo aristocratico immaginato: i nomi così evocativi delle più nobili casate francesi non rappresentano nulla, se non discorsi vuoti e banali.
Un'ironia e un disincanto pungente pervadono tutta l'opera.
La scrittura è ancora ubriacante, anche se accanto alle osservazioni filosofiche e artistiche sul mondo, c'è più spazio per il dialogo e il discorso mondano.
Monumentale!
December 4, 2016
This marks more-or-less the halfway point.
I'm wondering why why why I was so determined to read _À La recherche du temps perdu_ in French. I'm finding it mostly tedious and solipsistic, but with moments of brilliance, beauty and wonder.
Onward!
(And no shame in admitting I'm skimming the stuff I have little patience for.)
I'm wondering why why why I was so determined to read _À La recherche du temps perdu_ in French. I'm finding it mostly tedious and solipsistic, but with moments of brilliance, beauty and wonder.
Onward!
(And no shame in admitting I'm skimming the stuff I have little patience for.)
June 30, 2021
This book was an interesting combination of deep emotions and meaningless chit-chat. Starting and ending with notions of death and loss, but filling the in-between with amusing gossips and ridiculous habits of the aristocratic society living in and for parlors and dinner parties.
January 5, 2023
En aquesta part d’A la Recera , al meu parer, el que més hi destaca és la descripció genial de la banalitat, la futilesa, l’hedonisme i la indolència que envolten la vida i les relacions dels grans salons arustocràtics parisencs de tombant de segle XIX. Una obra mestra !
November 12, 2017
Marcel chases after status, game, and renown among Belle Époque Parisian society. And because his gaydar is non-existent, he misses the slow, fat pitches de Charlus is tossing at him.
February 2, 2020
همچنان دوست داشتنى و دل نشين....و البته با نگاه منتقدانه به زندگى و محافل اشرافى....خوشحال شدم كه تو صفحه هاى آخر كتاب سوان به داستان برگشت
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