Proust's Gods Christian and Mythological Figures of Speech in the Works of Marcel Proust

by Topping, Margaret

• ISBN13: 9780198160083
• ISBN10: 0198160089
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-10-05
• Publisher: Clarendon Press

Summary

Proust's works are peculiarly rich in figures of speech drawn from Christian and biblical, and classical and mythological sources. This study explores the functions and effects of these interweaving cycles of imagery--cycles which are vital to key thematic areas of A la recherche du temps perdu . Proust's Gods also opens up a wider, diachronic perspective, analyzing the increasing sophistication of Proust's style from his earliest writings onwards, and re-evaluating the role of the largely-ignored correspondence in his stylistic development.

Author Biography

Margaret Topping is Lecturer in French at the University of Wales at Bangor.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	ix
List of Tables	x
Abbreviations	xi
Prologue	1	(10)
Introduction	11	(1)
The Rediscovery of the Classical World (1800--1945)	11	(9)
The Transformation of Christian and Mythological Sources in Proust's Writing	20	(5)
Distribution of Christian and Mythological Figures of Speech in A la recherche du temps perdu	25	(10)
Theory and Practice of Intertextuality	35	(8)
A La Recherche Du Temps Perdu: Classical and Mythological Figures of Speech	43	(54)
The Mediation of Mythological Art: A Re-Evaluation of the Role of Gustave Moreau's Painting in Proust's Art	44	(14)
Mythology and Artistic Creation	58	(6)
The Use of Mythology in Character Discourse	64	(5)
Death and the Underworld	69	(7)
Homosexuality and Gender Ambiguity	76	(6)
Defication and Deflation	82	(15)
Conclusion	95	(2)
A La Recherche Du Temps Perdu: Christian and Biblical Figures of Speech	97	(61)
Reverence and Irreverence	98	(11)
Trivializing the Sacred and Sanctifying the Trivial	109	(13)
Madonnas and Magdalenes: The Interplay between Sacred and Profane	122	(10)
Homosexuality: Religious Analogies and Condemnations	132	(8)
Hypocrisy and Self-Deception: The Appropriation of the Bible	140	(10)
Death and Resurrection	150	(8)
Conclusion	156	(2)
Towards Stylistic Maturity: Christian and Mythological Figures of Speech in Proust's Writing Other Than A La Recherche Du Temps Perdu	158	(54)
Early Creative Years (1883--1900)	160	(17)
Intermediate Creative Years (1901--1910)	177	(19)
Late Creative Years (1911--1922)	196	(11)
Distribution	207	(5)
Conclusion	211	(1)
CONCLUSION	212	(17)
Appendices
1. Principal Greek and Roman gods and goddesses	217	(1)
2. Dates and places of publication or date of composition of literary writing excluding A la recherche du temps perdu	218	(10)
3. Dates correlating to each volume of correspondence	228	(1)
Bibliography	229	(8)
Index	237