Welcome

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

To read about movies and TV shows I'm watching, visit my other blog: Elliot's Watching

Saturday, March 15, 2014

Another totally odd character in The Guermantes Way

Looking at another totally odd character in Proust's The Guermantes Way: What are we to make of the eminent doctor who comes to "examine" Marcel's grandmother toward the end of part 1? He comes in and sees this frail, elderly woman in bed. He does not do any examination whatsoever just looks at her for a while. At last someone asks about his diagnosis to which he says in effect she' ll get better as soon as she makes up her mind to be healthy all she has to do is get up and resume her life. Then he goes off on a very long discourse about patients he has seen - mostly mental patients - who are suffering but he notes that it's all in the mind. He describes one suffering man who is an artistic genius and suggests that suffering is part of art and genius and he even confesses to his own obsessive  rituals re going to sleep. He in other words is a complete phony even a quack. Naturally when the poor miserable woman tries them next day to go for a walk she suffers a stroke - for which I'm sure nobody held the doctor accountable. Interesting in this context that Proust's father was a doctor (though not in the novel) which makes me wonder if this scene is a shot from Proust at his father - a Kafka moment? - or if it's an attempt to expose the pretensions of so many self-appointed experts and healers.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.