As I’ve said before, I’m no history buff, so forgive me if I’m a little glib about such matters. But let’s talk Ottomans, shall we? And Persia, Byzantine culture, St. Mark and so on. We have to, because Continue reading “Let’s talk Ottomans, shall we?”
An Exercise: Nom de Plume, Nom de Guerre
I’m always thinking of the idea of Place Names: the Name. If I were to choose the path of reductive thinking, I might see it in terms of pens and swords.
Nom de Plume is Swann’s Way. Nom de Guerre is the way of the Guermantes.
I don’t really believe this, as I think such bipolar thinking is not at all Proustian. The two paths are in reality one and the same, as we know from the famous passage on The Two Ways. Continue reading “An Exercise: Nom de Plume, Nom de Guerre”
Isn’t a little phrase an Ode-ette?
Now what would MP be up to, calling Swann’s lover Odette? Ode – some kind of poem-ish form. But diminished. a diminutive ode. An Odette. So basically a phrase. But a little one. A little ode.
I’m not saying there isn’t a little phrase in a piece of music written by M. Vinteuil and played… Continue reading “Isn’t a little phrase an Ode-ette?”
Tante Léonie is a beast
Tante Leonie’s the domestic ‘lioness’ looking out from her room ‘tower’ over the village square of Combray and observing the comings and goings.
To my mind, she’s the beast. Akin to the Lion of St. Mark overlooking the square in Venice, she’s the one who facilitates the dipping of the Madeleine in tea that sets everything moving. Young Marcel dips the biscuit in tea… Continue reading “Tante Léonie is a beast”
Silly Bergotte and his little patch of yellow wall
He repeated to himself: “Little patch of yellow wall, with a sloping roof, little patch of yellow wall.”
What is it about the death of Bergotte, poor Bergotte, that makes me love him so much? Yes, it’s his indigestion, and his silly little mantra about the patch of yellow wall. in Vermeer’s View of Delft. Continue reading “Silly Bergotte and his little patch of yellow wall”
Saint Marcel, author of the book
Okay, a word about all the church stuff. Archbishops, saints, churches, resurrection.
I’m not proselytizing here. I’m talking in a fictional sense. And I think the same could be said for Continue reading “Saint Marcel, author of the book”
Illiers-Combray lolol
My son sometimes says something I’ve done is cringe, and I mean no harm to Illiers when I say this (though I hate when he says it to me!) but I do find it a bit that. Of course the town’s the real deal, and yes I’ve been there and it’s charming, but a name… Continue reading “Illiers-Combray lolol”