I didn’t know that a mask like this one was called a ‘loup.’
It took me a while to figure this out. I thought at first that this word Loup had something to do with my shepherds (the Moors on the Torre Del’Orologgio)- i.e. something about a wolf in sheep’s clothing, and St. Loup being a not so nice kind of guy. Two-faced.
But I think it’s pretty fucking cool if MP might have been thinking about a loup as a mask. considered this when naming his character Saint Loup . Why? Well, a few reasons. First, because the end of the novel takes place at a masquerade ball, the famed Bal des Têtes.
This is the moment when everything comes together for Marcel – that series of epiphanies that come at him one after the other – spoon against teacup reminding him of the clanging of hammers on railroad tracks (hello blacksmiths and hammers duh). François le Champi. And so on, including the connection to the St. Mark’s Cathedral (Marcel rocking back and forth on an uneven pavement is killer)
Point is- it’s a vital moment. A moment that enables him to set off on his path to writing the book that we read. A moment when he enters the salon and sees all the people, their faces are like masks to him. They are unrecognizable to him. Old age the most profound kind of mask there is.
I read this as MP placing before our eyes the very tool of his trade that has gotten him so far, Marcel the greatest master of all at this very thing- borrowing his characters’ names and identities to serve his own purposes. He exemplifies par excellence the art of disguise. But all the while, for as long as we’ve been reading about Saint Loup- MP has been speaking of himself. I am myself what the book is talking about. The saint of disguise, Saint Marcel himself.
When you think of the magic lantern scene, of Golo transubstantiated, able to move across any and all surfaces – doorknobs, curtains (oh, that language is just the most gorgeous! Definitely worth a read-back) – well this is what it is, right? Taking on any identity you want. I sure wish I could do that.
Plus, donning a mask enables the wearer to do what little else can do- level the social playing field. We’re constantly learning of the rise and fall of so many characters as they weave their way through the seven volumes of the Recherche. The ones at the top fall to the bottom. The ones at the bottom rise to the top.
Fodder for another post. It’s late, folks. GN.
