READERS GUIDE

The introduction, questions, and suggestions for further reading that follow are designed to enhance your group’s discussion of Swann’s Way and Within a Budding Grove—books I and II of Marcel Proust’s great masterpiece of contemporary literature, Remembrance of Things Past.

We hope that they will give you a number of interesting ideas and angles from which to approach the work, which has fascinated and enthralled readers since it was first published. This guide follows the classic Moncrieff/Kilmartin translation of the definitive French Pleiade Edition but can be used with any other version or translation. The Moncrieff/Kilmartin translation consists of three volumes published by Vintage Books and Swann’s Way and Within a Budding Grove are to be found in Volume I. A separate reading group guide has been prepared for each of the three volumes. More information is available at www.proustguide.com.

Introduction

Swann’s Way and Within a Budding Grove are the first two books of the seven that make-up Proust’s long novel, A la recherché du temps Perdu (translated into English both as Remembrance of Things Past and as In Search of Lost Time.) All seven books can be read consecutively or with a break in between.

SWANN’S WAY:
Brief Synopsis
Swann’s Way is divided into four sections:
The Overture describes the anguish of a small boy waiting for his mother’s kiss before he goes to sleep, and the sadness of an older man who knows those days are long gone. In one of the most famous scenes in literature, all the memories of childhood are suddenly brought back to life when the narrator dips a madeleine cake into a cup of tea.
Combray is a wonderfully evocative description of childhood in the French countryside and combines raw humor with a powerful but delicate beauty to introduce most of the themes and many of the characters that will be developed in later volumes.
Swann In Love is the most conventional section of the whole novel, with a beginning, middle and an end. Told in the third person and in the past tense, it is the story of an increasingly obsessive and unhappy love affair, which becomes the leitmotif for the rest of the novel.
Place Names: The Name This short section which describes the, now adolescent, narrator’s obsession with Swann’s daughter Gilberte acts as a bridge to the next volume.

WITHIN A BUDDING GROVE:
Brief Synopsis
The novel divides neatly between Paris and Balbec on the coast of Normandy.
Paris The first half is a continuation of the narrator’s relationship with Gilberte in the Champs Elysées that ended the first volume. It also amusingly describes two haute-bourgeois French households; that of the narrator’s family and that of the Swann’s—and their friends.
Balbec The second half describes the narrator’s discovery of sex and of girls—of which there are many, at the seaside resort of Balbec. He also begins an important friendship with the aristocratic Robert de Saint-Loup and his strange uncle, Baron de Charlus. Like the Combray section of Swann’s Way, this second volume celebrates the innocence and freshness of youth.

Questions and Topics for Discussion

1. FOR DISCUSSION OF SWANN’S WAY
Overture:
What exactly happens when the narrator dips his madeleine into his cup of tea? Why do you think the sentence comparing the experience with Japanese paper flowers has become one of the most famous in literature? There is a second description of this original incident in the house of Aunt Leonie in Combray, how does this add to the magic of the experience?

2. Who is the narrator? Is he a young boy awaiting his mother’s kiss or a middle-aged man remembering his mother’s kiss?

3. What was the significance of that particular night that his mother stayed with him? Is there a suggestion that his relationship with his parents might have changed and that henceforth he, the child, would be in control? Do we find signs of this later in the novel?

4. In bed that night, his mother read him François le Champi by Georges Sand. Might there be any significance in this book that the author had given his hero to read on so significant a night? (This will employ a little further research and is not self evident in the novel. A member of the group might be appointed to Google François le Champi)

5. Combray:
Ask each member of the group to read out loud that passage or paragraph when it first became apparent to them that this is a comic novel. Examples might include Aunt Léonie’s hypochondria or Legrandin’s pompous evasiveness.

6. Discuss the different members of the narrator’s family—who are they? What is their relationship? Describe the different character-traits that make each one unique as an individual. For example, the grandmother loves fresh-air and long walks and turns her face upwards to catch the rain drops; her twin sisters on the other hand…..

7. Without spoiling the plot, it can be revealed that most of the characters introduced at Combray are to play important roles in the development of the novel. Proust believed that the reader’s perception of the different characters should change, as in real life, as they grow older or circumstances change. Discuss how we perceive the various characters who are introduced in this first volume: Francoise, Aunt Leonie, Legrandin, Swann, Vinteuil and his daughter. What about the daughter’s friend? Who is Charlus? Why does Swann never bring his wife or daughter on social visits?

8. What are the differences between the two families “walks”; the Méséglise (or Swann’s Way) and the Guermantes Way? These two “Ways” play an important role throughout the novel; what different ideas or values might they represent?

9. What is the significance of the “Guermantes”—as a name as a family? What does it represent to the narrator?

10. Legrandin presents himself as a revolutionary, hating all the aristocracy and yet when he meets some landowners outside church, his behavior is obsequious. Discuss this contradiction. The narrator says that they saw a “Legrandin different from the one we knew”—what might he have been suggesting?

11. Why will Legrandin not introduce the narrator’s father to his sister? Discuss how Legrandin avoids doing this.

12. What happened with the church steeples at Martinville?

13. Swann in Love:
In what way is Swann in Love different from the other three sections of the volume and how does it relate chronologically to the others?

14. Discuss Swann’s position in society, how the narrator’s family perceives him and how this reflects upon the different “classes” in French society at that time.

15. Charles Swann is one of the most central characters in the whole novel. What are his faults and weaknesses—what are his strengths and qualities? Is he a sympathetic character—do we like him?

16. Describe the trajectory of Swann’s relationship with Odette and how his feelings change over time. Discuss the role played by the Verdurins in the relationship of Swann and Odette.

17. What is Odette’s appeal to Swann and what do we know about her background? Are Swann’s feelings of jealousy well founded? What do we know about Odette’s lies?

18. Discuss the Verdurins: what is their position in society? Discuss their “little clan”; who are its members? What is their role? Who are the “bores”? Compare Swann with Forcheville and discuss why the Verdurins preferred the one over the other.

19. Discuss the musical party at Mme. de Sainte Euverte. Compare it with a musical evening at the Verdurins.

20. Discuss the joke about the Cambremer’s name. What exactly is the joke? What does this joking exchange tell us about the relationship between Swann and Oriane, the Princess des Laumes?

21. Who is the Princesse des Laumes and how is she related to the Duchesse de Guermantes and to Mme. de Guermantes? What might have been the role and position of the aristocracy in the French Republic of the late nineteenth century?

22. Place Names: The Name:
What do we know about the narrator? What age is he—in the first section, in this final section? What do we know about his health? What do we know about his family and their household? Where do they live? Compare this with what we knew of the family in Combray.

23. What is the narrator’s relationship with Gilberte? Compare his obsessive focus on Gilberte with Swann’s earlier obsession with Odette. Discuss any similar patterns of behavior and be aware that many of these patterns are repeated throughout all seven volumes. What do you think this tells us about Proust’s views of love?

24. Discuss the relationship between the narrator’s family and Swann. How has it changed since Combray and how does this affect the narrator?

25. Compare the Swann of this last section with the younger Swann of the previous section and discuss ways he might have changed and the possible reasons why.

26. What do we know about Mme. Swann? Compare Mme. Swann of this section with Odette de Crecy of Swann in Love. How is Mme. Swann perceived in society?

27. Discuss the final section—who is the narrator in the Bois de Boulogne?  What is his viewpoint and mood? What does he say about time?

28. FOR DISCUSSION OF WITHIN A BUDDING GROVE
Three of Proust’s major themes are quickly developed within the first few pages of this second volume; the contradictory ways that individuals are perceived by society, the disappointment which invariably accompanies the satisfaction of our desires and, third, the unpredictable consequences of our actions. Find examples of each of these themes.

29. Use examples to discuss the differences between the way characters were described to us in the first volume and the way they are described in the second.

30. Discuss Norpois: his character, his way of speaking, his views on literature, how he is perceived and treated by the narrator’s family; by the father and the mother. What do we learn, through Norpois about the Swann household?

31. Discuss the narrator’s desire to go to the Opera and his interest in Berma. What stops him attending the Opera? Why? And how is this overcome? Describe and discuss his experience at the Opera and his subsequent feelings about Berma and her “acting”.

32. Discuss and compare the roles that Norpois and Dr. Cottard play in getting the narrator invited to the Swann’s home. What does this tell us about their characters?

33. Who is Bloch and what do we already know about him from Combray? Proust has been accused of anti-Semitism for his portrayal of Bloch and his family; does this seem a valid criticism?

34. Discuss the narrator’s reaction on finally meeting the great author, Bergotte. Discuss other examples of disappointment in finally achieving our dreams—for example when the narrator first sees the Duchesse de Guermantes at church in Combray (in Swann’s Way.)

35. Discuss the Swann household. Where are they positioned socially? Compare the salons of Mme. Swann with that of Mme. Verdurin. Why does Odette continue to invite a socially unimportant person like Mme. Cottard to her salon? (Hint: the narrator’s mother has an explanation.)

36. Why does the narrator eventually stop frequenting the brothel where he had been offered the young Jewish girl, Rachel? Discuss the inheritance that the narrator receives from his Aunt Léonie and what he does with specific items. Discuss how this reflects upon Proust’s sense of humor.

37. Discuss the relationship with Gilberte. Compare this with the relationship between Swann and Odette in the previous volume. What common patterns do we see concerning Proust’s views of love? Discuss the initial passion, the gnawing of jealousy, the growing dissatisfaction and eventual disillusion and dislike of the other person, which Proust describes.

38. Discuss the narrator’s evolving feelings about Odette and how she gradually replaces Gilberte in his thoughts. Compare the depiction of Odette’s promenades in the Bois at the end of Swann’s Way with her promenades in Within a Budding Grove.

39. Discuss the parting with the mother at the railway station and the train journey to Balbec with the grandmother. It is quite an eventful journey: first time away from Mamma, the milkmaid, the alcohol, the arrival at the hotel and— again, the bedroom! Discuss all the references to bedrooms that we have so far encountered in the novel.

40. The grandmother has been described as one of the warmest and nicest characters in literature. Discuss. How has this image been developed through the first two volumes of the novel?

41. Throughout the novel, the grandmother constantly refers the The Letters of Mme. de Sévigné. Have somebody in the group do some brief research (Google) on Mme de Sévigné so that the group can discuss the possible significance of this choice of reading matter. (It is worth noting that Proust’s own mother and her mother also read The Letters of Mme. de Sévigné.)

42. What is the relationship between the grandmother and Mme. de Villeparisis? Why did they initially ignore each other—what does this tell us about them? Did we know of this relationship before—in the first volume?

43. Discuss the incident of the trees in Mme. Villeparisis’ carriage. How does it relate to the spires at Martinville? What might these incidents signify?

44. What does Bloch tell the narrator about Mme. Swann? Discuss what this tells us about Bloch and what it tells us about Mme. Swann.

45. Discuss Robert de Saint Loup; physically, socially, morally, intellectually. Discuss his relationship with the narrator. What do we know about his mistress?

46. Discuss Robert’s uncle, the Baron de Charlus; socially, morally, intellectually. Discuss his relationship with the narrator.

47. Discuss Elstir. What does he represent as a painter—as a man? Give examples of ways that he affects the narrator. Prior to meeting Elstir, there are some very visual descriptions of the sea while the narrator is dressing for dinner, and after becoming friends with Elstir the narrator finds a magic in a dinner table following the end of a meal. These are beautiful passages to be read aloud in a group.

48. Discuss the first description of the band of young girls. What do they represent to the narrator? Discuss his feelings. Why is their first appearance upon the seafront at Balbec so memorable and so powerful?

49. Discuss the various ways he tries to make their acquaintance. When he is with Elstir and sees the girls approaching, he pretends to be looking in a shop window and thus misses his chance of an introduction. What other examples are there of the narrator’s extremely convoluted ways of reasoning. One example (from Swann’s Way) is when he imagines receiving a letter from Gilberte—but then tries not to think of the words she might use!)

50. Discuss Albertine. What does she look like, what is her appeal? What do we know about her? How many “n’s” are in the spelling of her family name? What is her position in the “little band”.

51. Discuss the way that Proust describes the build-up to the anticipated “kiss” in her bedroom at the hotel. Discuss the language and images that he uses.

52. The first section of this volume, set in Paris is much more a description of “interiors” while the second section, set in Balbec is much more a description of “exteriors”. Discuss the differences and refer to the recurrent theme of the hawthorn bushes.

53. What themes and patterns of behavior or of observation do we see repeated in this second volume that we had already observed in the first?

54. Discuss Moncrieff’s translation of the title, Within a Budding Grove, with the more literal translation of “In the shadow of young girls in flower.” How many references are there, not only to young adolescent girls on the cusp of sexuality, but also to a young man’s growing awareness of them? It has been suggested that Proust, as a closeted homosexual, was really describing young men rather than young girls in this volume. How valid is this suggestion?

About this Author

Marcel Proust was a French author, born in 1871, who spent most of his life in Paris and died in 1922. His most famous work, A La Recherche du Temps Perdu (In Search of Lost Time) was published in seven books between 1913 and 1927. The final three books were published posthumously.

The eldest son of a wealthy Jewish family, Proust never had a job but spent much of his life as a social butterfly. Following the death of his parents in 1905 he spent the following twenty-two years of his life increasingly isolated in his cork-lined room, working on his great novel.

The first book, Swann’s Way, was published in 1914 but he had to wait for the end of the war before publishing book two. This second book met such popular acclaim that Proust was awarded both the Prix Goncourt and the Legion d’honneur. He was still editing the final three books when he died. Jean Cocteau visited Proust’s apartment to view the body after his death and noticed the unfinished manuscripts piled beside the bed.  “That pile of paper on his left was still alive,” he observed “like watches ticking on the wrists of dead soldiers.”

Suggested Reading

Marcel Proust’s Search for Lost Time by Patrick Alexander (Vintage Books 2009, www.proustguide.com). Patrick Alexander’s new book offers reading groups the following useful support:
•    Synopsis: Detailed synopsis of all seven volumes
•    Who’s Who: Detailed description and illustrations of over 50 major characters
•    Background: A brief biography of Marcel Proust as well as a history of France as it affects the novel. A description of the Dreyfus Affair and the Belle Époque. A map of Proust’s Paris showing where both he and his fictional characters lived. Finally, some unique family trees help the reader understand some of the otherwise complex relationships.

Paintings in Proust: A Visual Companion to In Search of Lost Time edited and with an Introduction by Eric Karpeles (Thames & Hudson, 2008). This is an extraordinary companion to any reading of Proust’s novel. Eric Karpeles has identified, located and reproduced the many paintings to which Proust makes reference in the novel; in other cases, where only a painter’s name is mentioned to indicate a certain style or character trait, Karpeles has chosen a representative work to illustrate the impression that Proust sought to evoke.

Marcel Proust by Edmond White (Lipper/Viking 1999). Part of the Penguin Lives series, this is an excellent short biography of Proust. White enthusiastically offers an extremely concise, detailed and very knowledgeable summary of Proust for the first time reader and Proustian alike. A new edition was released by Penguin Books in 2009.

Proust At The Majestic by Richard Davenport-Hines (Bloomsbury Publishing 2006). Centered on the famous dinner party at the Majestic hotel where Proust sat down with Joyce, Picasso, Stravinsky and others, this book offers a fascinating study of Proust’s final days and his social relationships.

Proust in Love by William C. Carter (Yale University Press 2006) If anyone reads Proust just for the sex—this is the book! Carter takes us on a glorious romp from the little room smelling of orris-root to the caged rats of later years. Nevertheless, this is a book of serious scholarship and the author’s knowledge and passion for his subject are apparent on every page.

Remembrance  of Things Past – or In Search of Lost Time
The novel comprised of seven books is the first-person narrative of a man’s life in Paris of the Belle Époque (roughly 1870 – 1924). The seven books chronicle not only the changes in the life of its narrator and about fifty other major characters but also chronicle the changes in society as the old standards and old leaders gradually and unwillingly give way to the new.

Like James Joyce’s Ulysses and T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land, both of which were published in the year of Proust’s death, In Search of Lost Time was immediately recognized as a major and revolutionary work of literature. Graham Greene described Proust as the greatest novelist of the 20th century and Somerset Maugham called In Search of Lost Time the greatest fiction to date. Proust very consciously wrote his book, not for the literary elite, but for the general public. He described his novel as the sort of book a man might pick-up at a railway station when setting-off on a journey.