Concerning Proust's REMEMBERANCE OF THINGS PAST:
- The Inevitability of Time
Proust expresses a repeated, painful understanding of the inevitability of time. He knows he's growing old. Even as a child, he understood that time was endlessly marching forward and that he was powerless to effect it. Perhaps this is the origin of his nighttime anxieties -- a recognition of the forward progress of time, like a ray, with only one origin, irreversible. In this recognition, however, Proust finds the mandate for his writing. He does not want to be forgotten. In his writing he finds commemoration and celebration, even meaning. As a defiance of time itself, he records his experiences in a format which will surpass his own lifetime. This rather bleak truth is embodied in Proust's character in younger years, contributing to his inability to find joy in the vain social scheming of his peers. He refuses to accept the lie that social esteem or popularity will remedy the inevitability of time and ultimately death, making him rather a grim party-goer.
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