Swann's Way, Combray II, pp.121-139, Bergotte, and Swann and his daughter

This is basically an auto-biography, and because I am tired of writing "our hero" or "our narrator" I am going to refer to the teller of the tale as MP from now.

(p.121) Apparently the arrival of French soldiers marching through on a training exercise can throw the household, or at least the household's servants, into a tizzy. I find it interesting that their movement through the streets is compared to that of a swollen river, as though there is no stopping them, no slowing them, and as though there is no thought, no planning, in their movement.

Bloch is the friend who introduces MP to the (fictional) author Bergotte. He is a bit of a nihilist, having no interest in the quantifiable world and insisting that poetic lines would be "finer if they meant absolutely nothing". He is Jewish, like Swann (and Ephrussi), something of political note in that day thanks to the Dreyfus affair. Bloch is banned from the family home for telling MP that his great-aunt was a kept woman, but not before tells him "(a piece of news which had a great influence on [his] later life, making it happier at one time and then more unhappy) that no woman ever thought of anything but love, and that there was not one of them whose resistance could not be overcome." (p.129) Foreshadow much? Also notable, the "kept" great-aunt was previously mentioned as being bound to duty and convention, and MP insinuates later that Bloch's impression of her was incorrect ("but in the matter of Bergotte he had spoken truly" implying previous falsehood [p,129])

Bergotte is a fictional character, an author. Since names of several real writers are also used I can only imagine that this creation will have some meaning throughout our tale (and perhaps the same goes with the earlier relation of actors). MP is obsessed with Bergotte. He mentions Bergotte's writing about nature, architecture (cathedrals), and literature, holds his opinions as godly, and refers to his writings as "mirrors of truth" (p.133).

"I had no doubt that [his opinion] would differ entirely from my own, since his came down from an unknown sphere toward which I was striving to raise myself [and] if I happened to find in one of his books something which had already occurred to my own mind, my heart would swell as though some deity had, in his infinite bounty, restored it to me, had pronounced it to be beautiful and right." (p.132)

Swann compares Bloch to a "Bellini portrait of Mahomet II" (p.134) (because Swann compares life to art a lot) and tells MP that he knows Bergotte well, that Bergotte's favorite actress is Berma (the one fictional writer loves the one fictional actor mentioned in the book).

More on Swann. He also likes Berma, and Bergotte. MP refers again to Swann's reluctance to express an opinion. I'm seeing this as a major character trait. He qualifies things only through their relation to art pieces. Does this remove him from feeling them? Is it similar to the grandmother's desire to have many layers of art between herself and a physical thing? MP does also imply that his mother and grandmother commit the same error.
Swann's wife is said by some to be having an affair with M. de Charlus. The daughter becomes an object of adoration for MP because she is friendly with Bergotte. Because of this, Swann's daughter becomes the woman in MP's dreams, standing on Cathedral steps, sharing with him his love for architecture and Bergotte.

Passages to remember:

"'Are there any books in which Bergotte has written about Berma?' I asked M. Swann.
'I think he has, in that little essay on Racine, but it must be out of print. Still, perhaps there has been a second impression. I'll find out. In fact I can ask Bergotte himself all you want to know next time he comes to dine with us. He never misses a week, from one year's end to another. He's my daughter's greatest friend. They go and look at old towns and cathedrals and castles together.'" (p.137)

Cool stuff:
(p.122) 1870 was the Franco-Prussian War which ended the second empire and led to the third republic.

(p.124) Bergotte is a fictional author, while Alfred de Musset was a real 19th century French author, and Jean Racine was a French playwright from the 17th century. Racine wrote both Athalie and Phédre (p.131)

(p.125) "cher maître" means "dear master".

(p.134) Bellini's portrait of Mahomet II:

Swann's Way, Combray II, pp.91-110

We meet M. Legrandin. He is an engineer by trade, and a writer in his spare time. His job makes him more middle class, as opposed to Swann who is able to sometimes work on writing, sometimes do nothing, but the narrator's family considers him a gentleman of the "noblest and most delicate manner." All excepting the grandmother, that is, who thinks him unnatural, and we already know her affinity for the natural. Legrandin thinks highly of our hero's intellectual abilities, saying to him "You have a soul in you of rare quality, and artist's nature; never let it starve for lack of what it needs." (p.93)

Théodore is a wealth of information, being in regular contact with everyone in town because he is cantor and grocer's assistant, and what does everyone need? Food for the spirit and food for the physical body.

Eulalie is a retired maid or lady's companion and is now a regular visitor of Léonie. Eulalie's visits to Léonie are another example of habit, and of the discomfort of broken habits, since Léonie suffers greatly when she doesn't come or when she comes later than usual.

Uncle Adolphe, our hero's grandfather's brother, seems to have a love for theater, or at least for its women, and for "ladies of another class," as well. Our narrator's family will not associate with these women, but he sneaks an opportunity to do so and is disappointed to find that the actress (?) is not unlike other women. He is bothered by the fact that an immoral person could be so disguised as normal. Our narrator seems drawn to what is considered immoral, and yet repulsed by it.

The narrator's adoration of actors, even though he has yet to see a performance, is an example of obsession. It also fits into his tendency to compare life to art.

Social Triangles
Definitely a recurring theme. The narrator witnesses a triangle between Adolphe, the actress, and "the grand duke" that somewhat resembles (foreshadows) the triangle we see later with Swann and Odette. Also, the narrator is caught in a triangle that includes also his parents and his uncle, a triangle that because of miscommunication robs them all of each other's company.

Notable passages
"...thinking of the weary and fruitless novitiate eminent men would go through, perhaps for years on end, on the doorstep of some such lady who refused to answer their letters and had them sent packing by the hall-porter," (p.103) Foreshadowing/Swann

Interesting stuff:
Morris Columns (p.100) are cylindrical advertising structures on the sidewalks of Paris, a place for paper ads to be displayed. According to this article they've been a part of the Paris landscape for over 150 years, and their numbers have been (controversially) cut back in the last few.

Opéra-Comique (p.100)
Comédie-Française (p.101)

Diamants de la couronne and Domino Noir (p.101) are both works by Daniel Auber from the mid 19th century.

(p.102) Got, Delaunay, Febvre, Coquelin are real 19th century French actors, and I can find reference to a M. Thiron and Maubant as well.

(p.102) Sarah Bernhardt, Bartet, and Madeleine Brohan are all real 19th century French actresses. Jeanne Samary is also a real actress from the time, and was additionally a mistress of Renoir, showing up in many portraits, including the Luncheon of the Boating Party, which also includes our friend Charles Ephrussi (Swann). Art, mistress, Ephrussi...



I can find no reference to a Berma of the French theater, though.

Vocabulary
Blue (p.108) according to my book notes a blue, or bleu, is an "express letter transmitted by pneumatic tube (in Paris)"