Subject: (urth) More Proust

From: Alex Groce <agroce+ at cs.cmu.edu>
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 14:39:32 +0000

It's strange, given how strong the atmospheric influence of Proust on
BOTNS and 5HC is, how few overt references Wolfe makes to Proust in his
fiction.  I count:  the quote that opens "Hour of Trust," the title of
"Suzanne Delage," and the opening of 5HC.  More subtle possibilities
include Severian's comment about the possibility of Dorcas and Jolenta
indulging in sexual play, which maps them onto Albertine and Andree, and,
although I cannot find it now that I'm looking for it, a line somewhere in
BOTNS (in Citadel, I believe), that is a VERY close echo of the "A large
part of what we believe to be true (and this applies even to our final
conclusions) with a persistence equalled only by our sincerity, springs
from an original misconception of our premisses" that closes the Venice
section of Albertine Disparue.

Does anyone know which translation Wolfe uses (or if he is like some of
our list members and sufficiently adept at French to brave the original).
I have a 1932 Random House copy of the C. K. Scott Moncrieff translation I
found in a used book store about bought because the writing in the front
of Vol I shows it was carried by some soldier through France in WWII.

"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free." John 8:32
--
Alex David Groce (agroce at cs.cmu.edu)
Ph.D. Student, Carnegie Mellon University School of Computer Science
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~agroce

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