The Guermantes Way: Part One

“Part One” of The Guermantes Way has been one of the more taxing sections I have read of the Search so far, and, rumor has it, is one of the more difficult sections of Proust to get through. Although both Swann’s Way and Within a Budding Grove have their respective cult followings, The Guermantes Way doesn’t seem to have such a fan base; this seems reasonable, for the novel is dominated by relatively formal social interactions similar to the type that cause a general dislike for Victorian novels. Of course, this is the idea of the Guermantes Way described in Swann’s Way, standing in strong contrast to the personal and intimate Swann’s Way. I think it’s interesting that the initial description of the social, aristocratic path was described with the intimacy that resembles its contrast. Perhaps it’s better that Proust began with an approach to the personally social and not the publicly social; the personal Proustian analyses first welcome the us before, two volumes later, we are thrust into the thick of the aristocratic social situations that Marcel yearns for at the beginning of the novel.
One of the infamous passages in the Search is the party at Mme de Villeparisis. This party lasts a whopping 250 pages in the Modern Library edition, and could be a novel in itself for a normal author. However, for Proust the Villeparisis party is only one of a series of scenes that makes up one of a series of volumes of the novel. Nevertheless, I feel that the Villeparisis party typifies one of the chief themes of The Guermantes Way: the nature of the public and social life. Whereas Proust’s earlier volumes often contain pages and pages of personal musings, some of the poignant Proustian thoughts in at the party take the form of dialogue; this sort of communication is a benefit of the Guermantes way. Not that Marcel doesn’t add his own commentary and reflection of the goings-on around him; he does, and these commentaries add quite a bit to the social situation. One difference between Proust’s dinner party and so many other fictional depictions of aristocratic social life is simple: Proust doesn’t simply glamorize it or criticize it, but alternately does both. Marcel will go from lambasting someone to recognizing their social graces in a matter of 20 pages (a mere Proustian trifle). Although at times this flux seems silly, there is some truth behind it; on issues such as these, don’t we all feel multiple ways? Although the party scene was taxing, it was nevertheless worthwhile and rich; I’m just glad that I’ve finished it for now.
A more small-scale view of public social life in “Part One” of The Guermantes Way precedes and anticipates the party scene; this is the relations between Marcel and Saint-Loup at the military base. I found these surrounding more enjoyable, perhaps because they were more intimate, perhaps because the events took place over a matter of months instead of hours. Nevertheless, I found the dinner-time conversation to be an application of the principle of the Guermantes way applied to a different public social situation: that of young men being sociable. This intimate-but-not-intimate situation, I felt, made a nice transition into the heart of The Guermantes Way. Also, all of the homo-social relations surrounding Saint-Loup seem to be foreshadow more than just dinner parties: the homosexual overtones definitely seem in line with some of the major themes of Sodom and Gomorrah. Of course, Saint-Loup is very different socially from Charlus (or any of a multitude of others from the fourth volume), and many of his comments are innocent enough. Nevertheless, this sort of almost-erotic social tone sets the stage for the beginning of the fourth volume, in which Marcel has a realization about those around him that he should have seen earlier. The tension between Saint-Loup and Marcel also drives the first scenes of “Part One” just as a similar tension drives the Charlus scenes later in the volume.
Overall, “Part One” of The Guermantes Way has been the most difficult section of Proust so far, but it has not been without its reward. From what I have read and heard, this is the hump of the novel; after it are sadness and tension in “Part Two” and sexuality and disillusionment in Sodom and Gomorrah. I’m ready.