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WELCOME
WHY There is an ocean of secondary publications available on the work of Marcel Proust (1871-1922), especially his A La Recherche du Temps Perdu. So why add this website to them? Simply, because over the past decades, many issues were overexposed while otherwise aspects were kept under the cornucopia of prudishness. We want to bring…
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Myths and Facts
Proust-averse critics (as of now ornamented with a neologism ‘Proustaverses’) often spread negative myths about Marcel Proust and his masterpiece, In Search of Lost Time (ISOLT). Let’s examine some of the most common myths and contrast them with the facts presented by their counterparts, the Proustophiles, as can be distilled from the extensive secondary literature. …
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1. Is Proust a unworldly Neurotic?
1-Proustaverses: Proust is an oversensitive and over-intelligent man who seems to be a world-alienated recluse trapped in a self-made prison from which he spies on a fading social class and then writes an unreadable book about it. He needs literary tricks (the Petite Madeleine, the uneven paving stones, the starched napkin, etc.) to invent a…
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2. Is Proust a psychosomatic hypochondriac?
2-Proustaverses: Le Petit Marcel is an imaginary sick man, a neurasthenic psychosomatic who has exaggerated his ailments his whole life to flirt with them and thus demand the attention of those around him. 2-Proustophiles: From his fashionable articles in the Figaro, his first book “Les Plaisirs et Jours” (1896) as well as from his extensive…
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3. Is Proust a spoiled, conceited, snobbish dandy?
3- Proustaverses Marcel is a spoiled, conceited, snobbish mama’s boy who whines incessantly about himself. In an egocentric way – the concept of narcissism had not yet been invented – he twists his surroundings, mama at the head, friends, staff, and others around his finger to make them dance to his whimsical tune. Soft terror…
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4. Was Proust a frail little guy who acted like a scared child for his entire life?
4- Proustaverses Marcel Proust is a frail, effeminate little man who has always acted like a child and is coddled by his housekeeper Céleste. He is completely conflict-avoidant, buys affection with extravagant gifts and excessive tips, is bowed down by all sorts of fears and, afraid of his own shadow, even has his incoming mail…