Sodom and Gomorrah: Second Half
As I mentioned yesterday, the second half of Sodom and Gomorrah is more appealing to the first since it deals with personal rather than public relationships. If the major theme of Sodom and Gomorrah is dark sexuality, then the book is split into two “ways”: the first half is the Guermantes way, and the second half is Swann’s way. Consequently, a large portion of the second half of Sodom and Gomorrah is spent with Marcel’s newfound doubts of his lover Albertine. His doubts strangely find their beginning in the words of Doctor Cottard, who notes that Albertine and Andree are dancing breast to breast, which, according to the doctor, implies lesbianism. To the great misfortune of the future Marcel, the Marcel at the time takes this sort of speculation to heart, and it begins to consume him. It amazes me how a few scenes from the Search seem to dominate much of the life of Marcel; this scene with Doctor Cottard is one of them, a turning point. Others include: Marcel’s goodnight kiss, his spying on Mlle Vinteuil, and his spying on M Charlus. All of the scenes listed here (there are others) are confrontations in some way or another with the nature of sexuality. So, it seems that sexuality is a big hang-up in Marcel’s life, and a major part of the Search. It certainly plays a major part, the major part in Sodom and Gomorrah.
Another pivotal scene from the second half of the fourth volume comes at the very end of the volume: the scenes in which Albertine tells Marcel that she was once quite close with Mlle Vinteuil and her “friend.” This, of course, confirms all of Marcel’s festering suspicions about Albertine’s possible lesbianism and creates an attitude of his that dominates all of The Captive. This kind of obsession seems extreme, particularly in The Captive, but it is also believable; I think that some of the more profound romantic attitudes in the Search are more anti-romantic than romantic, and Marcel’s jealousy-driven love is one of them. Like Swann in “Swann in Love,” Marcel does not decide to marry Albertine until he has fallen out of love with her, after he is convinced that she loves women. The volume ends with this resolution on Marcel’s part—his decision to marry Albertine. The volume’s end is quite a cliffhanger; I wouldn’t be able to wait the two years to read the next volume. I guess reading the Search as it comes out would be like the rabid Harry Potter fans, except with high literature. But I digress; both Marcel’s and Swann’s reactions to falling out of love with their beloveds seem rash to me. I understand that they (Marcel and Swann) are driven by jealousy rather than love, and possibly by the angst left in the vacuum formerly filled by love, but I still think their decisions extreme. Nevertheless, Marcel’s reaction at the end of Sodom and Gomorrah seems strong and heartfelt, and makes for an emotional rush of an ending.
Speaking of Albertine’s relationship with Mlle Vinteuil, I read an analysis of it that I find extremely useful. The analysis suggests that the significance of Albertine’s admitted friendship with Vinteuil cannot be understood or appreciated without knowledge of two previous episodes in the novel. The first is the goodnight kiss that Marcel demands from his mother. The second is Marcel’s observation of Vinteuil and her mistress through the window. When Marcel hears Albertine speak of Mlle Vinteuil, he thinks of the emotions from the previous two episodes and combines them with his new suspicious relationship with Albertine. But this combination is more significant than it seems on the surface; the events that comprise a life-meaning such as the one shown are spread out and removed from each other by time, just as Swann’s love in “Swann in Love” is but a series of incidents filled with love, staccato and separated over time. The only way for Marcel or anyone else to appreciate the full significance of life is through memory, that which transcends time. Memory, however, only works backward, so young Marcel spying on Mlle Vinteuil could not fully appreciate the personal meaning of what he was seeing. One’s life is limited within time, too, so one cannot fully understand everything. When Marcel sees Mme de Villeparisis, he cannot imagine that she was once beautiful, for he does not have the memory of her beauty. Art can, however, transcend time justa s memory can; we as the reader can appreciate the significance of Albertine’s admission of friendship with Mlle Vinteuil. Therefore, the very act of writing and remembering that is captured in the Search is the attempt to transcend and “Regain” time. The genius that I see in the Search is in the individual passages of philosophical observation, yes, but even more the inter-relationship of events throughout the novel, the construction of significance through memory and time. That is really neat.
I’ve finished The Captive, and I’m going to try to read The Fugitive in the next 24 hours. I should also post on The Captive tomorrow, hopefully.
Another pivotal scene from the second half of the fourth volume comes at the very end of the volume: the scenes in which Albertine tells Marcel that she was once quite close with Mlle Vinteuil and her “friend.” This, of course, confirms all of Marcel’s festering suspicions about Albertine’s possible lesbianism and creates an attitude of his that dominates all of The Captive. This kind of obsession seems extreme, particularly in The Captive, but it is also believable; I think that some of the more profound romantic attitudes in the Search are more anti-romantic than romantic, and Marcel’s jealousy-driven love is one of them. Like Swann in “Swann in Love,” Marcel does not decide to marry Albertine until he has fallen out of love with her, after he is convinced that she loves women. The volume ends with this resolution on Marcel’s part—his decision to marry Albertine. The volume’s end is quite a cliffhanger; I wouldn’t be able to wait the two years to read the next volume. I guess reading the Search as it comes out would be like the rabid Harry Potter fans, except with high literature. But I digress; both Marcel’s and Swann’s reactions to falling out of love with their beloveds seem rash to me. I understand that they (Marcel and Swann) are driven by jealousy rather than love, and possibly by the angst left in the vacuum formerly filled by love, but I still think their decisions extreme. Nevertheless, Marcel’s reaction at the end of Sodom and Gomorrah seems strong and heartfelt, and makes for an emotional rush of an ending.
Speaking of Albertine’s relationship with Mlle Vinteuil, I read an analysis of it that I find extremely useful. The analysis suggests that the significance of Albertine’s admitted friendship with Vinteuil cannot be understood or appreciated without knowledge of two previous episodes in the novel. The first is the goodnight kiss that Marcel demands from his mother. The second is Marcel’s observation of Vinteuil and her mistress through the window. When Marcel hears Albertine speak of Mlle Vinteuil, he thinks of the emotions from the previous two episodes and combines them with his new suspicious relationship with Albertine. But this combination is more significant than it seems on the surface; the events that comprise a life-meaning such as the one shown are spread out and removed from each other by time, just as Swann’s love in “Swann in Love” is but a series of incidents filled with love, staccato and separated over time. The only way for Marcel or anyone else to appreciate the full significance of life is through memory, that which transcends time. Memory, however, only works backward, so young Marcel spying on Mlle Vinteuil could not fully appreciate the personal meaning of what he was seeing. One’s life is limited within time, too, so one cannot fully understand everything. When Marcel sees Mme de Villeparisis, he cannot imagine that she was once beautiful, for he does not have the memory of her beauty. Art can, however, transcend time justa s memory can; we as the reader can appreciate the significance of Albertine’s admission of friendship with Mlle Vinteuil. Therefore, the very act of writing and remembering that is captured in the Search is the attempt to transcend and “Regain” time. The genius that I see in the Search is in the individual passages of philosophical observation, yes, but even more the inter-relationship of events throughout the novel, the construction of significance through memory and time. That is really neat.
I’ve finished The Captive, and I’m going to try to read The Fugitive in the next 24 hours. I should also post on The Captive tomorrow, hopefully.
posted by Michael at 9:10 PM
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