The Year of Reading Proust discussion

Dear readers,

I'm trying to read the second volume of "Lost Time" and I'm finding it difficult to stay interested. First of all, in the narrator's relationship with Gilberte I find myself siding with Gilberte. I feel contempt towards the narrator for not leaving her be, but, also, empathising with his feelings and recognising similarly shameful behaviours in my own past. This makes me cringe a lot and I find myself drifting off to relieve myself of discomfort.

Secondly, the goings-on in Madame Swanns salon are described as petty and narrow-minded. This bores me which also makes me lose focus.

Do you have any tips on how I can stay interested? Do you agree with my feelings about this part of the book? I'm sure these types of passages recur and losing interest is common when undertaking the task of reading this entire series. Could I try to shift focus to the language or anything else? Will the passages I've mentioned above have any pertinence in the greater scheme of the novel?

(It is perhaps worth mentioning that I'm at page 205 out of ~570 in my edition; the Narrator has just stopped seeing Gilberte and is going to Mme Swann's salon; Mme Verdurin just came to visit)

Thankful for any pointers!

Best,
Agnes

Marcel Proust's Search for Lost Time: A Reader's Guide to The Remembrance of Things Past by Patrick Alexander has helped me to notice that which I might have missed in my reading and helps to prepare me with what to expect as I resumed my reading.

Actually...this is where a lot of people drop out. Critics say that Proust wrote "Swann's Way" just to prove that he could write a conventinal novel. You're getting to the deep end. Yes, the Narrator is...what? despicable? weak? you name it; this is a genius writer looking at human nature with almost unbearable clarity...Hang in there.

Charles wrote: "Marcel Proust's Search for Lost Time: A Reader's Guide to The Remembrance of Things Past by Patrick Alexander has helped me to notice that which I might have missed in my reading and helps to prepa..."

Thank you! I found a copy of the ebook version at my library! Hoping that understanding the context of things will improve my enjoyment :)

Charles wrote: "Marcel Proust's Search for Lost Time: A Reader's Guide to The Remembrance of Things Past by Patrick Alexander has helped me to notice that which I might have missed in my reading and helps to prepa..."

Thank you for putting things in perspective! Maybe this is part of the reason why this series can be challenging. I do remember having mixed feelings of Swann's behaviour in the first book, but in the end the story came together in a way I found stimulating.

Best,
Agnes

The section you mentioned did maintain my interest; in fact the Place Names : The Place section about the narrator's experience with his grandmother during their vacation at Balbec is one of my favourite episodes. The part that almost defeated me was The Captive when the narrator has a seemingly submissive Albertine at his beck and call - really creepy and ultimately boring IMHO. Fortunately the last part Time Regained really appealed to me. I have to admit that I felt as one with Francoise : distaste for Albertine; I had one character on my side.

Lee wrote: "The section you mentioned did maintain my interest; in fact the Place Names : The Place section about the narrator's experience with his grandmother during their vacation at Balbec is one of my fav..."

I've just arrived at the Place Names section. Hope I'll enjoy it too :)

Albertine has only just been mentioned in passing as of yet, but if his relationship to her is anything like one he had with Gilberte I might not enjoy that either, haha. Since most (the entirety?) of the book is from the narrator's perspective the objective reality of his relationships kind of go lost. Was Gilberte really that bad? What was her perspective? How much did her parents actually promote their relationship?

Anyway, thanks for your perspective :)
Agnes

We learn of his Gilberte / Albertine relationships from the narrator's perspective and given his vanity it is vexing in the extreme and ultimately implausible. I find that Albertine's submission is particularly hard to take. Gilberte does seem to be made of stronger stuff. I have to suggest to those embarking on the book that one future reward is the Baron de Charlus who is one of the giants of world literature. You hate him, then you love him- he's hard to explain.