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A daily record of what I'm thinking about what I'm reading

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Wednesday, May 25, 2011

The worthlessness and egoism of Swann in Proust's Swann's Way

The Swann in Love section of Proust's "Swann's Way" ends with Swann's obscure realization that he has devoted years of his life to the pursuit of a woman (Odette) who was not "his type." What an odd way to end this very long segment of In Search of Lost Time, one of the few sections of the 7-volume work that can, and sometimes does, stand alone as a novel (it's the only section that is not devoted to the narrator, Marcel, and is memories and observations - the events in Swann in Love occur before Marcel knew Swann, so it's never clear how he possesses all this information about Swann's interior life) - the Swann in Love section is a story about an obsession, how Swann begins by being very elusive and enticing Odette to seek him out, then a brief period when they spent all their time together, then she tires of Swann and he becomes suspicious, then jealous, finally repulsed by her when he suspects she may have engaged in several lesbian relationships - and at last, cruelly indifferent. What egoism to be so dismissive of her after she has dominated his life for years: he's not attracted to her and she's not his type. As if he is a customer in a store shopping for the right tie - I like this one, not that one - and she is just an object to be procured, then discarded. An unspoken aspect of the text here is not only Swann's egoism but the worthlessness of the life he and others in his class lead - holding no job or profession, doing nothing with their time but entertain at soirees and salons - Swann talks about writing a book on Vermeer but never seems to write word, he and his cohort are complete leeches, contributing nothing to society and perfectly confident in the eminence that they believe they have earned as a birthright. Proust will have his way with these people over the course of the next 6 volumes!

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