Even though I’m not French I get it. The sound of an ‘o’ in a French word is nothing like the sound of an ‘a.’ So you say it’s Combray and I say but maybe it could be Cambrai. And then you ask me if I’m nuts. And I say well I’m not French, but… I’ve been reading Proust for a very long time. Then we go out for a drink. That’s what I’d like to happen, okay? So meet me at the corner of Combray and Cambrai.
And while we’re ordering our drinks, consider this. Cambrai was formerly known as Cambray way back when. So at least the y was there. From Cambray to Combray – just one little vowel. Just one!
My reasoning for focusing in on the transposition of letters is as follows:
- In Merovingian times the town Cambrai was spelled Cambray. It was the seat of the archdiocese which included the shire of Brabant. So the constant references to Genevieve de Brabant and Merovingian history in the Recherche make sense in this context. Interesting that Cambray was ‘à côté de’ Brabant at this time.
- There’s a clock tower/ steeple in the town which features two giant figurines – Martin and Martine – called ‘jacquemarts.’ They’ve been there since the early 1500s ringing the bells every hour.
- The town is often referred to as ‘La Ville aux Trois Clochers.’ or ‘the town of three steeples.”
- Considering that Martin and Martine sit atop the steeple in Cambrai as a symbol of the town, it’s interesting to imagine that their names might have been used to create a fictional town of Martinville where the protagonist completes his first piece of writing, inspired after seeing three steeples in the distance moving in relation to one another as he observes from a carriage.
- There’s an oblique reference to Cambrai in the very first paragraph of the Recherche. It has to do with the rivalry of Francis I and Charles V. Part of the history of the longstanding rivalry of the two kings involves a ‘treaty of Cambrai signed in 1529. The quote reads: “I myself seemed actually to have become the subject of my book: a church, a quartet, the rivalry between François I and Charles V”.
- Last, another fun fact is that there’s an archbishop by the name of François Fenelon in the town of Cambrai who in the 1600’s took on the nickname “The Swan of Cambrai.” Perhaps possible that Cambrai became a ‘Place -Name’ for Combray, and Fenelon as Swan of Cambrai a ‘nom de plume’ for Proust’s Swann of Combray.
So, in a nutshell, that’s why I say Cambrai.
For now, you can continue to say Combray. I understand. But if you have the urge, check out the Martinville connection to Cambrai-and a pair of Moors by the name of Martin and Martine who live in the town. And maybe at some point you’ll also consider that there might be a Cambray connection, as I did that day I stumbled onto this path of questions.
Okay, that’s enough for now, friends. Prooosty signing off.