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Proust's Social Worlds: Performing the Self


The social worlds of the novel are an important element, not just empty space or wasted time between moments of inspiration. In fact, they serve as part of the catalyst that forces Proust to become the writer he wishes to be, as he later states: "[perhaps] in this new and barren stage of my life, men may inspire me as Nature no longer can and the years when I might perhaps have been able to sing her beauty will never return” (Time Regained). However, earlier in the novel, Madame de Villeparisis visits the Balbec seaside, yet brings as well a retinue of servants that alleviate her need to interact with her surroundings. Meanwhile, the ideas she espouses seem to be a performance of the ideas that are more likely attributed to her “background” environment. Madame de Villeparisis is an almost comical, pseudo-intellectual upper-class liberal, and Proust utilizes this to critique a certain form of social performativity. The narrator states that Mme. de Villeparisis’ “overt and frequent advocacy of such advanced opinions,” meaning progressive/left-of-center stances, lead both the narrator and his grandmother close to believing the ostensibly false idea that in the Mme. was “to be found the measure and model of truth in all things” (Penguin 289). In this way, Mme. de Villeparisis uses a form of overt, public, and performative political/intellectual alignment to consciously, or unconsciously, form an intellectually positive and socially beneficial image of herself in the minds of people around her.

– Tess Dugan-Knight

Swann’s perception of Odette also reveals a growing sense of a staged identity. When he visits her home for the first time in Swann's Way, he’s confronted with the realization that Odette is quite duplicitous. Odette is obsessed with orientalism, the "other," and exoticism. She is fascinated with Far East decoration, owning countless Chinese lamps, vases, and Japanese silks. When she worries that the lamps are being handled and placed without care, the narrator remarks: “She thought that if even one were put where it should not be, the overall effect of her drawing room would be ruined, and her portrait, placed on a sloping stand draped in plush, would be poorly lit” (Davis 229). Odette’s drawing room serves as a symbol for her outward image; if the appearance of her drawing room is skewed, so is her facade. Odette also praises her favorite flowers as having “the great merit of not resembling flowers, but of being made of silk, or satin” (Davis 229).

Here, the flowers--real but as though fake--parallel Odette’s false external image; Odette seems to remain in a constant state of performance, trying to co-opt different aspects of various cultures in which she's interested. Odette uses American phrases often, such as“fishing for compliments” and “smart," while her handwriting is written with “an affectation of British stiffness” that Swann considers to signify as “an untidiness of mind” and “a lack of frankness” (Davis 230). Odette’s performative nature signifies a false reality, one where she retains the “position of a dancer” and is described by Swann as being “animated” (Davis 231).

These same dynamics are evident in the Verdurin's salon. The little nucleus of the “faithful” is a performance executed by each member in order to appear as they believe they should and are expected to by the other members of the group. Most members are deeply insecure of their place within the group, but work hard at keeping up appearances. Madame Verdurin's jaw injury means, "she had abandoned the effort involved in real hilarity, and had substituted a kind of symbolic dumbshow" (Davis 189). That she is able to perform this laughter, proving how interesting and lively these gatherings are, is distressing to her husband, who feels he has to perform the "real thing.” It appears that all of the faithful are simply performing what they think they should be doing. For example, the doctor has memorized jokes so that he can throw them in at any moment and often chooses the completely wrong and inappropriate time. The pianist's aunt also, chooses to "speak in indistinct and garbling manner" to hide any grammatical errors she might make (Davis 188). The faithful are all performing characters, or mirrors, of themselves out of a certainty that everyone around them is smarter, more cultured, and funnier than they are. They're all desperate to avoid being cast out as bores and so are completely disingenuous, constantly attempting to uphold their appearance.

– Catherine Ashley Fairchild Perloff

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