Week2: Combray

Hello everyone, welcome to my second blog! After reading Proust’s Combray this week, I have a lot of insights that I want to share with you.

In this novel, the author mainly recounts a childhood memory in Combray. In the first part, the personal traits of Swann, great-aunt, and grandmother are vividly depicted. A significant portion of the novel's opening is dedicated to portraying Swann. I believe there is a stark contrast between Swann's humility and politeness and the great-aunt's arrogance and ignorance. Swann is very modest, so the narrator's great-aunt does not consider him part of the upper class. Instead, she thinks that his status is lower than hers. Therefore, when hosting banquets, she does not extend an invitation to Swann because she thinks Swann is not qualified to be a participant in her banquet.

But in contrast to Swann, he doesn't have the nobility and arrogance that we might expect from someone in the upper echelons of society. He doesn't even mind the great-aunt's harshness and insults. When the great-aunt asked him to help find a recipe for the salad needed for the banquet, he agreed to assist, even though he wasn't invited to attend. These small details make me feel that he is a gentleman, and his magnanimity is admirable. Moreover, I believe that in the novel, both the great-aunt and grandmother harbor a stereotypical impression of Swann. Even though the grandmother learned about Swann's noble status from Mme.de Villeparisis, she refused to believe it. This stereotypical view extends not only to Swann but also to his wife. After Swann marries a woman who is perceived as a socialite, the elders become even more convinced that Swann cannot have any noble status.

However, the first paragraph of the novel also felt a bit confusing to me, and even a bit fragmented. The author spent a lot of time talking about Swann, and then talked about how he needed his mother's company and kisses before going to bed when he was a child. There doesn't seem to be a very close relationship between the two. And I don’t really understand why the author cares so much about kissing his mother before going to bed, and can’t even fall asleep without this kiss.

In the second paragraph of the novel, the author primarily describes the landscapes and architecture he witnessed in Combray. He described the places he visited in great detail and even described every tiny detail. For instance, he provides a thorough description of Aunt Léonie's mother's house and a church he visited, creating the illusion that he never truly departed from Combray. Moreover, the author employs various metaphorical techniques in his descriptions. When portraying the church, he likens it to a medieval-style inn reception hall. He also intricately depicts the church's stained glass windows, noting that one resembles a long chessboard. The way he describes the church makes me feel as if I can genuinely visualize the Combray church unfolding before me. This also evokes my admiration for his ability to articulate scenes he once witnessed so delicately and vividly. After all, as time goes by, memories tend to blur, yet the author manages to portray these scenes with such intricate detail.

What impressed me deeply in the novel are some of the things I talked about above. Overall, I think this novel is worth savoring, and there will be many questions worth thinking about after reading it. You are welcome to share your thoughts or discuss my questions with me.

Question 1: Under what circumstances do you think stereotypes will appear in today's society and have you ever stereotyped others?

Question 2: When you were a child, did you rely on your mother's company when you were sleeping?

Question 3: Have you ever been to a place that left a deep impression on you? Why did these places leave such a deep impression on you?

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