On Proust

Having little context these works surprisingly stood well on their own. I found Proust’s insights into time refreshing and relatable. As apposed so some other writings we have had to weed through, Proust presents his ideas clearly through tales and examples in a modern world. I did somehow read the two pieces ‘out of order’ and read the “Time Regained” piece first. Having even less context because of this the madeleine story and how the different pieces of his deja vu like story came together were difficult to understand but the general idea was there. Proust conceptualizes his events as a fluid world of time, where moments trigger memories which are then experienced in the present, similar to a bleeding effect. The idea that a sort of ‘time travel’ where memory can transfer a person from present time into past time without them ever having to leave the moment they are in is difficult to understand but fantastic and wondrous once it has been. Proust would call learning not as such but rather as the rapid experience of the past being relived in the future. He implies that memories are the key to all time and to altering time. Even in “Swann’s Way” the concepts of sleep and how they relate to time involve an alter perception of memory; do you recall how you began your slumber or where you began it because if one recollection in missing,your concept of time, even for a brief moment, is lost and you live within a void of memory attempting to find some substance for which to grasp to for context and for experience. To conclude I found Proust vividly fascinating and would love to read more of his psychological-like works.