Bloggery

Sunday 12th Feb 2012

Lucinda Corby

Proust Support Group - Meeting II

In Search of Lost Time – Meeting 7^th February 2012

The second meeting of the PSG was anything but soporific. The long sentences are beginning to grate on some members of the group, while others are happy to let the words wash over them as long as there is some semblance of meaning or idea behind them. We agreed that there was much to enjoy in the eccentric behaviour of the protagonist’s permanently convalescent Aunt Leonie, the housemaid at the house in Combray,  Francoise, and the delicate relationship between the two.

The very substance of these memories and the way in which they were described, however, prompted two very distinct responses. In one corner, was the acceptance that childhood memories are not preserved in aspic and that any recollection must be coloured by adult experiences and knowledge. In the other, was an idea that Proust’s childhood memories were a carefully constructed adult conceit, designed to promote the ego of the protagonist above that of his family and childhood coterie.

Much discussion of memory formation and recollection ensued which veered from medical fact to fictional technique. An uneasy middle ground was eventually forged, agreeing that all fiction must contain a degree of artifice and that there is no such thing as an absolute truth (it is all relative). The differing viewpoints of the narrator as pompous on one hand or sensitive on the other, remain intact and will no doubt be revisited in future meetings.

Another big area of discussion was the narrator’s awareness of his part (as a child) in ostracising his Uncle from the rest of the family, having confessed to meeting one of his Uncle’s courtesans (a socially degenerate act that the rest of the family could not forgive). We had a lively debate on how children can sometimes act provocatively as a way of learning how adults behave, without necessarily understanding what they are challenging.

The amount of accompanying notes in the Penguin edition (or lack of) was also debated. Whilst some of the group are happy not to have to keep flicking between text and notes in the same way that we did with Ulysses, others felt that some contextual information regarding the names of actual authors or events were missing. I guess we need to decide whether the group is happy just to read the text and discuss – or whether we approach it more as a study text.

In general, despite the lack of full stops, the overall readability of the text compared to Ulysses means that the group are happy to devour larger chunks of the book between meetings. I should point out, that for myself, having read Chapter I of The Way by Swann’s ensconced on a sun lounger in 30 degree heat, neither the meandering sentences or lack of explanatory notes could detract from my fully welcoming the dream-like state achieved during reading! But enough of my hols…

There are a couple of warning signs though that some of us are hankering for a little bit more plot in the coming pages! So, the next meeting is at 6:45 in The Salamander on Tuesday 28^th February (and I can’t mention The Salamander without commending new Sous Chef Joe on a truly memorable selection of eats). We aim to have reached p187 in the Penguin edition – the end of Part I.

[Lucinda]