general

In this second volume of "In search of lost time", Marcel shows the evolution of his feelings towards women. The book starts off with his encounters with Gilberte, the daughter of Swann and Odette, in which the enjoy playing with other kids. Marcel finds misterious and fascinating the perspective of being admitted in Gilberte's intimate spaces: her house, the lobby, the rooms. His fascination includes Gilberte's mother, Odette; as well as he finds resistence in Swann's figure. But soon his passion for Gilberte disappears and he forces himself not to see her, in an attempt to make himself more interesting to her. But the unforseen result of his tactics is that his feelings for Gilberte fall into oblivion. Then, Marcel focuses in the meetings of the Swanns with the high society, in which Oddette is not completely well received (given her past as a "cocotte"); but she enters in the circles gradually.
Marcel travels to the beaches of Balbec with his grandmother and that's where he meets Albertine and her circle of colorfull and charming young friends. It is also noticeable the character of Norpois, whose words to Marcel are full of double meaning and hidden intentions. Marcel meets his friends Saint-Luop, too. After a few sightings he seems a bit pretentious, but through an aunt of Saint-Loup's (who he meets through his grandmother) he gets to know this young man and they stablish a close friendship. An uncle of his is Charlus, who will turn out to be a very important character.
By the end of the book the reader have met the circle of friends that Marcel has stablished as a result of his travel. He has taken the first step to his later relation with Albertine. Proust rejoices in describing things and one has to understand why is that. His references to the Dreyfuss affair serve as a way to show the behaviour of the high society and the snobism, which seems to rule the relationships between the different circles. Everything serves a purpose with Proust, even though an incautious reader may think that it is a long dissapointing book, I find it to be one of the great literary endeavours of the past century. His way of looking in detail the simple and most trivial life in all its seemingly meaningless details, turns such details in evidence of the connection between the big destinies and the low and selfish passions. A great example of this is when he discovers his own place in time, after considering how he relates to Gilberte and with his hobbies.

This second volume of "In search of lost time" constitutes an honest, unidealistic view of love and how its nature is actually connected to the low passions that rule societies.

That's all there is to say, really. Everything you need to know about human consciousness, social intercourse, art, music, literature and the all-consuming passion of love is to be found within these hundreds of pages which speak to us today as clearly and searingly as when theywere first concieved, one hundred years ago.

No civilized person can afford to breathe without it.

Let's face it, if you've made it through the first two volumes, then, in the words of Van Morrison, it's too late to stop now. There will be those parts where you want to wring Marcel's neck (both the author's and the protagonist's), but then, you already know that. No one sees the way that Proust sees.