The Year of Reading Proust discussion

Golo and Genevieve of Brabant: These names are mentioned as characters who appear in the narrator's room thanks to a magic lantern, (type of early projector). Golo and Genevieve are characters in a story based on a medieval legend. Genevieve, married for several years but childless, becomes pregnant by her husband the very day he leaves to fight in a war. Golo, the majordomo, after trying unsuccessfully to seduce her, accuses her falsely of adultery. She flees to the forest, and lives there for a long time with her child, surviving on the milk of a doe. Later, her husband returns and finds her when he is hunting. In gratitude for her rescue, she has a chapel built in honour of the Virgin Mary. This story was the subject of poems, plays and operas.

English: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneviev...

French: http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genevi%C...

The French link provides a detail or two that the English version doesn't.

Question for future discussion: This story is only alluded to by Proust, but as something which was familiar to his readers. What relevance does it have for the novel?

IMO: the Golo/Brabant story is pretty important on a few levels. Diegetically speaking it serves to show the Narrator's impressionable, sensitive youth. Or, stated more strongly: I have just read Howard Moss on Proust and he says that the Narrator is "emotionally disabled". I wouldn't go so far as to say that, but he is a little bit weird. Moss equates suffering with pleasure for Proust (another important theme) and in the case of the goodnight kiss, the severance from the idyll of the son/mother bond his conquering of his mother's will is eqaully crucial. Symbolically speaking one could read the Golo tale, as many commentators do as something suggestively Oedipal.

On another level it obviously deals with the appeal of lineage and genealogy for the Narrator, his fascination (or fetishisation of Names.) This establishment of the naive noumenal majesty of Names is very important for us as readers to get into our heads as it sets us up for their slow dismantling later (from G-way right into the final pages of TR). As with most other people, concepts and stories in the novel and as Proust stated in a letter, his intention is always to show us realities which later turn out to be deceiving.

Proustitute wrote: "Thanks, Richard!

We do have the Karpeles thread here which James and Aloha have been updating weekly.

This is more for pronunciation queries about French names from non-French readers/speakers."

Oops, I had no idea I was duplicating. Je m'excuse!

Proustitute wrote: "No worries!

It seems no one is really using this thread, I suppose."

Well, I realize I'm not contributing too much to the French readers' thread right now. So I was looking for other ways to compensate. I'm not always good at picking out themes while I'm reading. But I'm better with names and facts.

I've read Swann's Way before, but it was so long ago (close to 30 years) that there's a lot I don't remember. But I must say that I'm enjoying it much more this time around. I'm seeing much more of the humor.

Can you imagine him doing standup comedy?

"So I was having tea with my mum the other day, and she says, 'Marcel, were you born in a barn? You're slopping tea all over and getting crumbs on your good pants. The maid just cleaned up in here this morning... Why are you staring into space with your mouth hanging open? Your Aunt Leonie would have a fit if she could see you like that...'"