I must say, from the beginning, I didn't particularly enjoy reading this novel. Proust's run-on sentences with extreme descriptions left me in a bit of a dreary state with my attention drifting in and out of the words. However, considering how the first part was primarily centred around a dreamlike state, I think from an artistic standpoint this can be quite effective. It just wasn't easy to digest and jump in for me from the beginning. Tying in with the theme of modernism as mentioned in the lecture, I found the relationship between my "real" and the representation within the book to be blurred because of the difficulty grasping the run-on, descriptive sentences. As per the lecture, when I think about what I look for in a novel, I look for a novel that grabs my attention from the beginning while also having some artistic merit. While this book didn't grab my attention, I can admire the artistic, dreamlike, effect produced by the writing style. I'm not going to lie, the first part was a bit of a struggle to get through. However, the second part was more enjoyable.
One thing that stuck out to me in this novel was the use of time. Perhaps this was what made it so confusing, but the references back to the past in the dreamlike state during the first part created the impression of a lack of fixed temporal space, which was what ultimately made it difficult to follow. Not only were we at a fixed point in time with Marcel remembering/dreaming about his childhood, but within those memories was an additional time jump in describing the pasts of those in his dreams/memories, his Aunt for example. Because of this, it made it hard for me to filter what was necessary information that would eventually be integral to the plot and what was just added for artistic effect.
Moving onto the second part of the novel, I found it interesting how time changed to be described and represented through the architecture. For example, the descriptions of tapestries and glass built to entertain specific kings grounded the novel in a more present sense of time, while also referencing a past, but in a more "real" way. Shifting the descriptions from memories to architecture grounds the novel in a way that represents reality in a much easier format, instead of the dreamlike state of the first section.
Questions/thoughts for the class: How do you think the use of time in this novel is used as a tool towards a greater message? Do you like when authors spend a lot of time in the past? How do you think Proust uses the memories of the first section to influence the reality of the second section? Do you think the placement of time is an integral part of Combray?
Julia, it’s good that you picked up on the use of time and the multiple ways in which the author bends and twists it to force the reader to inhabit the same space as the main character’s mind does. I see how it can be challenging. I thought the point you made in the second paragraph was very insightful. You particularly mentioned the example of the Aunt, which got me thinking about whether the narrative voice uses these jumps in time more when remembering the female figures in his life, or whether he does the same when it comes to the male characters. Any thoughts?
ReplyDeleteThanks for your post!