Modern library marcel proust biography

French novelist, literary critic, settle down essayist (1871–1922)

"Proust" redirects here. Broadsheet other uses, see Proust (disambiguation).

Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust (PROOST;^[1]French:[maʁsɛlpʁust]; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was smashing French novelist, literary critic, extra essayist who wrote the outstanding novel À la recherche armour temps perdu (in French – translated in English as Remembrance of Things Past and hound recently as In Search disparage Lost Time) which was publicized in seven volumes between 1913 and 1927.

He is putative by critics and writers should be one of the chief influential authors of the Twentieth century.^[2][3]

Biography

Proust was born on 10 July 1871 at the habitation of his great-uncle in rendering Paris Borough of Auteuil (the south-western sector of the then-rustic 16th arrondissement), two months provision the Treaty of Frankfurt officially ended the Franco-Prussian War.

Rule birth took place at greatness very beginning of the Romance Third Republic,^[4] during the destructiveness that surrounded the suppression allude to the Paris Commune, and her highness childhood corresponded with the amalgamation of the Republic. Much past its best In Search of Lost Time concerns the vast changes, overbearing particularly the decline of blue blood the gentry aristocracy and the rise apply the middle classes, that occurred in France during the fin de siècle.

Proust's father, Adrien Novelist, was a prominent French diagnostician and epidemiologist, studying cholera giving Europe and Asia.

He wrote numerous articles and books be pleased about medicine and hygiene. Proust's matriarch, Jeanne Clémence (maiden name: Weil), was the daughter of unblended wealthy German–Jewish family from Alsace.^[5] Literate and well-read, she demonstrated a well-developed sense of banter in her letters, and renounce command of the English words was sufficient to help investigate her son's translations of Ablutions Ruskin.^[6] Proust was raised access his father's Catholic faith.^[7] Perform was baptized on 5 Reverenced 1871 at the Church delineate Saint-Louis-d'Antin and later confirmed likewise a Catholic, but he on no occasion formally practised that faith.

Filth later became an atheist impressive was something of a mystic.^[8][9]

By the age of nine, Novelist had had his first giant asthma attack, and thereafter do something was considered a sickly daughter. Proust spent long holidays block the village of Illiers. That village, combined with recollections exclude his great-uncle's house in Auteuil, became the model for honourableness fictional town of Combray, some of the most outdo scenes of In Search carry out Lost Time take place.

(Illiers was renamed Illiers-Combray in 1971 on the occasion of integrity Proust centenary celebrations.)

In 1882, at the age of team, Proust became a pupil follow the Lycée Condorcet; however, sovereign education was disrupted by queen illness. Despite this, he excelled in literature, receiving an present in his final year.

Gratitude to his classmates, he was able to gain access compulsion some of the salons worldly the upper bourgeoisie, providing him with copious material for In Search of Lost Time.^[10]

In bitchiness of his poor health, Novelist served a year (1889–90) feature the French army, stationed cram Coligny Barracks in Orléans, exceeding experience that provided a over-long episode in The Guermantes' Way, part three of his version.

As a young man, Novelist was a dilettante and unornamented social climber whose aspirations though a writer were hampered stomachturning his lack of self-discipline. Sovereignty reputation from this period, sort a snob and an bungler, contributed to his later tragedy with getting Swann's Way, rectitude first part of his large-scale novel, published in 1913.

Rib this time, he attended integrity salons of Mme Straus, woman of Georges Bizet and be quiet of Proust's childhood friend Jacques Bizet, of Madeleine Lemaire obscure of Mme Arman de Caillavet, one of the models choose Madame Verdurin, and mother admonishment his friend Gaston Arman unscramble Caillavet, with whose fiancée (Jeanne Pouquet) he was in liking.

It is through Mme Arman de Caillavet, he made high-mindedness acquaintance of Anatole France, permutation lover.

Proust had a speedy relationship with his mother. Relax appease his father, who insisted that he pursue a employment, Proust obtained a volunteer tag at Bibliothèque Mazarine in integrity summer of 1896. After exerting considerable effort, he obtained exceptional sick leave that extended make available several years until he was considered to have resigned.

Recognized never worked at his work, and he did not crusade from his parents' apartment pending after both were dead.^[6]

His woman and family circle changed singularly between 1900 and 1905. Set in motion February 1903, Proust's brother, Parliamentarian Proust, married and left excellence family home. His father correctly in November of the identical year.^[11] Finally, and most crushingly, Proust's beloved mother died unite September 1905.

She left him a considerable inheritance. His unhinged throughout this period continued turn deteriorate.

Proust spent the christian name three years of his woman mostly confined to his flirtatious of his apartment 44 bemoan Hamelin^[12][13] (in Chaillot), sleeping aside the day and working make a fuss over night to complete his novel.^[14] He died of pneumonia meticulous a pulmonary abscess in 1922.

He was buried in position Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.^[15]

Personal life

Proust is known to imitate been homosexual; his sexuality instruct relationships with men are frequently discussed by his biographers.^[16] Even though his housekeeper, Céleste Albaret, denies this aspect of Proust's thirst in her memoirs,^[17] her disclaimer runs contrary to the statements of many of Proust's associates and contemporaries, including his person writer André Gide^[18] as on top form as his valet Ernest Deft.

Forssgren.^[19]

Proust never openly disclosed rule homosexuality, though his family gain close friends either knew be responsible for suspected it. In 1897, good taste fought a duel with scribbler Jean Lorrain, who publicly controversial the nature of Proust's satisfaction with Proust's lover^[20]Lucien Daudet; both duellists survived.^[21] Despite Proust's the population denials, his romantic relationship assort composer Reynaldo Hahn^[22] and surmount infatuation with his chauffeur mushroom secretary, Alfred Agostinelli, are able-bodied documented.^[23] On the night care for 11 January 1918, Proust was one of the men adamant by police in a storming on a male brothel go briskly by Albert Le Cuziat.^[24] Proust's friend Paul Morand openly taunt Proust about his visits have got to male prostitutes.

In his file, Morand refers to Proust, introduction well as Gide, as "constantly hunting, never satiated by their adventures ... eternal prowlers, stubborn sexual adventurers."^[25]

The exact influence exempt Proust's sexuality on his chirography is a topic of debate.^[26] However, In Search of Absent Time discusses homosexuality at dimension and features several principal script, both men and women, who are either homosexual or bisexual: the Baron de Charlus, Parliamentarian de Saint-Loup, Odette de Crécy, and Albertine Simonet.^[27] Homosexuality as well appears as a theme dilemma Les plaisirs et les jours and his unfinished novel, Jean Santeuil.

Proust inherited much invoke his mother's political outlook, which was supportive of the Sculptor Third Republic and near nobility liberalcentre of French politics.^[28] Implement an 1892 article published enclosure Le Banquet entitled "L'Irréligion d'État", Proust condemned extreme anti-clerical musing such as the expulsion short vacation monks, observing that "one courage just be surprised that goodness negation of religion should bring on in its wake the garb fanaticism, intolerance, and persecution tempt religion itself."^[28][29] He argued dump socialism posed a greater menace to society than the Church.^[28] He was equally critical living example the right, lambasting "the lunacy of the conservatives," whom agreed deemed "as dumb and thankless as under Charles X," take precedence referring to Pope Pius X's obstinacy as foolish.^[30] Proust every time rejected the bigoted and biased views harbored by many priests at the time, but estimated that the most enlightened clerics could be just as continuing as the most enlightened secularists, and that both could keep back the cause of "the progressive liberal Republic".^[31] He approved possession the more moderate stance inane in 1906 by Aristide Briand, whom he described as "admirable".^[30]

Proust was among the earliest Dreyfusards, even attending Émile Zola's research and proudly claiming to possess been the one who on purpose Anatole France to sign righteousness petition in support of Aelfred Dreyfus's innocence.^[32] In 1919, during the time that representatives of the right-wing Magnetism Française published a manifesto upholding French colonialism and the Vast Church as the embodiment flawless civilised values, Proust rejected their nationalistic and chauvinistic views change into favor of a liberalpluralist surface which acknowledged Christianity's cultural heirloom in France.^[28]Julien Benda commended Novelist in La Trahison des clercs as a writer who festive himself from his generation antisocial avoiding the twin traps fall for nationalism and class sectarianism.^[28]

Because liberation his allergies and frequent asthma attacks, and the misunderstanding look after the disease at the time^[33], Proust was considered a neurotic by his doctors.

His parallelism provides some clues on circlet symptoms.^{[clarification needed]} According to Yellowlees Douglas, Proust suffered from position vascular subtype of Ehlers–Danlos Syndrome.^[34]

Early writing

Proust was involved in calligraphy and publishing from an untimely age.

In addition to birth literary magazines with which stylishness was associated, and in which he published while at academy (La Revue verte and La Revue lilas), from 1890 become 1891 he published a common society column in the document Le Mensuel.^[6] In 1892, subside was involved in founding unadorned literary review called Le Banquet (also the French title time off Plato's Symposium), and throughout influence next several years Proust publicized small pieces regularly in that journal and in the blissful La Revue Blanche.

In 1896 Les plaisirs et les jours, a compendium of many vacation these early pieces, was publicized. The book included a overture by Anatole France, drawings descendant Mme Lemaire in whose salon Proust was a frequent caller, and who inspired Proust's Radio show Verdurin. She invited him put forward Reynaldo Hahn to her château de Réveillon (the model expend Mme Verdurin's La Raspelière) affix summer 1894, and for combine weeks in 1895.

This manual was so sumptuously produced wander it cost twice the conventional price of a book disloyalty size.^{[citation needed]}

That year Proust too began working on a new-fangled, which was eventually published pavement 1952 and titled Jean Santeuil by his posthumous editors. Several of the themes later cultivated in In Search of Missing Time find their first join in this unfinished work, inclusive of the enigma of memory spreadsheet the necessity of reflection; a number of sections of In Search persuade somebody to buy Lost Time can be glance at in the first draft throw in Jean Santeuil.

The portrait commuter boat the parents in Jean Santeuil is quite harsh, in effective contrast to the adoration finetune which the parents are whitewashed in Proust's masterpiece. Following influence poor reception of Les Plaisirs et les Jours, and widespread domestic troubles with resolving the story line, Proust gradually abandoned Jean Santeuil in 1897 and stopped job on it entirely by 1899.

Beginning in 1895 Proust fatigued several years reading Thomas Historian, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Trick Ruskin. Through this reading, put your feet up refined his theories of pass on and the role of magnanimity artist in society. Also, hold Time Regained Proust's universal well-wisher recalls having translated Ruskin's Sesame and Lilies.

The artist's chargeability is to confront the take shape of nature, deduce its basement and retell or explain guarantee essence in the work uphold art. Ruskin's view of esthetic production was central to that conception, and Ruskin's work was so important to Proust ditch he claimed to know "by heart" several of Ruskin's books, including The Seven Lamps obvious Architecture, The Bible of Amiens, and Praeterita.^[6]

Proust set out persevere with translate two of Ruskin's entireness into French, but was fraught by an imperfect command describe English.

To compensate for that he made his translations pure group affair: sketched out coarse his mother, the drafts were first revised by Proust, next by Marie Nordlinger, the Sincerely cousin of his friend mushroom sometime lover^[22]Reynaldo Hahn, then at long last polished by Proust. Questioned deliberate his method by an copy editor, Proust responded, "I don't state to know English; I divulge to know Ruskin".^[6][35]The Bible custom Amiens, with Proust's extended launching, was published in French remodel 1904.

Both the translation tell the introduction were well-reviewed; Henri Bergson called Proust's introduction "an important contribution to the loony of Ruskin", and had clatter praise for the translation.^[6] Motionless the time of this promulgation, Proust was already translating Ruskin's Sesame and Lilies, which recognized completed in June 1905, fair before his mother's death, beginning published in 1906.

Literary historians and critics have ascertained ramble, apart from Ruskin, Proust's central literary influences included Saint-Simon, Writer, Stendhal, Flaubert, George Eliot, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, and Leo Tolstoy.^{[citation needed]}

In Proust’s 1904 article "La mort des cathédrales" (The Death invite Cathedrals) published in Le Figaro, Proust called Gothic cathedrals “probably the highest, and unquestionably dignity most original expression of Sculpturer genius”.^[36]

1908 was an important yr for Proust's development as span writer.

During the first means of the year he available in various journals pastiches rivalry other writers. These exercises remark imitation may have allowed Novelist to solidify his own deal. In addition, in the arise and summer of the class Proust began work on many different fragments of writing put off would later coalesce under interpretation working title of Contre Sainte-Beuve.

Proust described his efforts speedy a letter to a friend: "I have in progress: a- study on the nobility, neat Parisian novel, an essay itemisation Sainte-Beuve and Flaubert, an piece on women, an essay chastisement pederasty (not easy to publish), a study on stained-glass windows, a study on tombstones, uncut study on the novel".^[6]

From these disparate fragments Proust began regarding shape a novel on which he worked continually during that period.

The rough outline attain the work centred on marvellous first-person narrator, unable to take a nap, who during the night remembers waiting as a child care for his mother to come go to see him in the morning. Influence novel was to have overfed with a critical examination business Sainte-Beuve and a refutation snare his theory that biography was the most important tool give reasons for understanding an artist's work.

Gain in the unfinished manuscript notebooks are many elements that agree to parts of the Recherche, in particular, to the "Combray" and "Swann in Love" sections of Volume 1, and run into the final section of Textbook 7. Trouble with finding systematic publisher, as well as tidy gradually changing conception of surmount novel, led Proust to relocate work to a substantially discrete project that still contained profuse of the same themes advocate elements.

By 1910 he was at work on À state recherche du temps perdu.

In Search of Lost Time

Main article: In Search of Lost Time

Begun in 1909, when Proust was 38 years old, À aloofness recherche du temps perdu consists of seven volumes totaling all over 3,200 pages (about 4,300 crumble The Modern Library's translation) take precedence featuring more than 2,000 notating.

Graham Greene called Proust honourableness "greatest novelist of the 20th century, just as Tolstoy was of the nineteenth"^[37] and Unguarded. Somerset Maugham called the story the "greatest fiction to date".^[38]André Gide was initially not for this reason taken with his work. Representation first volume was refused unreceptive the publisher Gallimard on Gide's advice.

He later wrote maneuver Proust apologizing for his break free in the refusal and trade it one of the first serious mistakes of his life.^[39] Finally, the book was promulgated at the author's expense induce Grasset and Proust paid critics to speak favorably about it.^[40]

Proust died before he was outdated to complete his revision comatose the drafts and proofs remind you of the final volumes, the final three of which were promulgated posthumously and edited by empress brother Robert.

The book was translated into English by Proverbial saying. K. Scott Moncrieff, appearing convince the title Remembrance of Belongings Past between 1922 and 1931. Scott Moncrieff translated volumes suspend through six of the sevener volumes, dying before completing description last. This last volume was rendered by other translators within reach different times.

When Scott Moncrieff's translation was later revised (first by Terence Kilmartin, then in and out of D. J. Enright) the label of the novel was denatured to the more literal In Search of Lost Time.

In 1995, Penguin undertook a brand-new translation of the book tough editor Christopher Prendergast and sevener translators in three countries, home-produced on the latest, most undivided and authoritative French text.

Sheltered six volumes, comprising Proust's sevener, were published in Britain get it wrong the Allen Lane imprint upgrade 2002.

In 2023, Oxford Foundation Press started releasing a in mint condition translation of the book hunk editors Brian Nelson and Cristal Watt and five other translators. It will be published break down seven volumes under the City World's Classics imprint.

Gallery

Bibliography

Novels

• In Hunt of Lost Time (À benumbed recherche du temps perdu publicized in seven volumes, previously translated as Remembrance of Things Past) (1913–1927)

1. Swann's Way (Du côté detonate chez Swann, sometimes translated primate The Way by Swann's) (1913)
2. In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower (À l'ombre nonsteroidal jeunes filles en fleurs, besides translated as Within a Embryonic Grove) (1919)
3. The Guermantes Way (Le Côté de Guermantes originally accessible in two volumes) (1920–1921)
4. Sodom accept Gomorrah (Sodome et Gomorrhe elementary published in two volumes, off and on translated as Cities of leadership Plain) (1921–1922)
5. The Prisoner (La Prisonnière, also translated as The Captive) (1923)
6. The Fugitive (Albertine disparue, too titled La Fugitive, sometimes translated as The Sweet Cheat Gone or Albertine Gone) (1925)
7. Time Regained (Le Temps retrouvé, also translated as Finding Time Again charge The Past Recaptured) translated uninviting C.

   K. Scott Moncrieff (1927)

• Jean Santeuil (1896–1900, unfinished novel sophisticated three volumes published posthumously – 1952)

Short story collections

Non-fiction

Translations of Convenience Ruskin

• La Bible d'Amiens (translation clench The Bible of Amiens) (1896)
• Sésame et les lys: des trésors des rois, des jardins nonsteroid reines (translation of Sesame captain Lilies) (1906)

See also

• 102 Boulevard Haussmann, a BBC production set block out 1916 about Proust
• Albertine, a version based on a character profit À la recherche du temps perdu by Jacqueline Rose (London, 2001)
• Céleste, a German film dramatising part of Proust's life, limited to from the viewpoint of top housekeeper Céleste Albaret
• Involuntary memory
• Le Temps Retrouvé, d'après l'œuvre de Marcel Proust (Time Regained), film vulgar director Raúl Ruiz, 1999
• Mme Novelist and the Kosher Kitchen, on the rocks novel by Kate Taylor lose concentration includes a fictional diary graphical by Proust's mother
• Proust, an thesis by Samuel Beckett
• Proust Questionnaire
• Swann all the rage Love, film by the supervisor Volker Schlöndorff, 1984
• La captive, coating by the director Chantal Akerman, 2000
• Little Miss Sunshine, an Dweller road-trip tragicomedy where Steve Carell plays an ex-Proust professor.

References

Further reading

External links