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By Root 1661 0

slightly tarnished duchess. Mme de Guermantes’s rudeness to Mme de Chaussepierre. Different conjectures about Swann’s conversation with the Prince de Guermantes. The Duc de Guermantes’s strictures on Swann’s Dreyfusism. Mme de Guermantes refuses to meet his wife and daughter. Mme de Lambresac’s smile. Mme de Guermantes intends to forgo the Saint-Euverte garden-party, much to the delight of M. de Froberville. Beauty of Mme de Surgis-le-Duc’s two sons. Mme de Citri and her nihilism. M. de Charlus absorbed in contemplation of the Surgis boys. Swann: signs of his approaching death. Arrival of Saint-Loup, who expresses approval of his uncle Charlus’s womanising, sings the praises of bawdy-houses, and tells me of a house of assignation frequented by Mlle d’Orgeville and Mme Putbus’s chambermaid. M. de Charlus is presented to the Surgis boys by their mother. Saint-Loup’s changed attitude towards the Dreyfus case.

Curious conversation between Swann and the Prince de Guermantes. M. de Charlus exercises his insolent wit at the expense of Mme de Saint-Euverte. Swann’s concupiscent stares at Mme de Surgis’s bosom. His account of the Prince de Guermantes’s conversion to Dreyfusism, and also his wife’s. Swann invites me to visit Gilberte. The Princesse de Guermantes’s secret passion for M. de Charlus.

Departure and return home. M. de Guermantes takes leave of his brother: affectionate reminiscences and a gaffe. I leave with the Duke and Duchess: scene on the staircase. Mme de Gallardon. Mme d’Orvillers. Return home in the Guermantes’ coupé. The Duchess’s refusal to introduce me to Baroness Putbus. The Guermantes prepare for their fancy-dress ball in spite of the death of their cousin d’Osmond.

Visit from Albertine. Françoise and her daughter. Linguistic geography. I await Albertine’s arrival with growing anxiety. A telephone call from Albertine. “This terrible need of a person”: my mother and Albertine. How Françoise announces Albertine; the latter’s visit. Afterwards I write to Gilberte Swann, with none of the emotion of old. The Duc de Guermantes’s conversion to Dreyfusism.

Social visiting before my second trip to Balbec. I continue to see other fairies and their dwellings. Changes in the social picture; the Verdurin salon and the rise of Odette’s salon, centred round Bergotte. Mme de Montmorency.

The Intermittencies of the Heart

My second stay in Balbec. The hotel manager’s malapropisms. Principal motive for coming to Balbec: the hope of meeting at the Verdurins’ Mme de Putbus’s maid and other unknown beauties. Upheaval of my entire being: the living presence of my grandmother is restored to me; at the same time I discover that I have lost her for ever. My dream, my awakening and my heart-rending memories. A message from Albertine: I have no desire to see her, or anyone. An invitation from Mme de Cambremer, which I decline. My grief, however, is less profound than my mother’s. Her resemblance to my grandmother. Meeting with Mme Poussin. The new young page at the hotel and the domestic staff from the chorus of Athalie. Françoise’s revelations about the circumstances in which Saint-Loup’s photograph of my grandmother had been taken. Further revelations, from the manager: my grandmother’s syncopes. Another dream about her. I suddenly decide to see Albertine. Apple-trees in blossom.

Chapter Two

Resumption of intimacy with Albertine, and first suspicions. My grief at the death of my grandmother wanes and Albertine begins to inspire me with a desire for happiness. Sudden return of my grief in the little train. Albertine’s visit to Balbec. The Princesse de Parme. My links with Albertine’s friends. The lift-boy goes to fetch her: his manners and his speech. Beginnings of my mistrust of Albertine: Cottard’s remark while she is dancing with Andrée. Albertine fails to turn up one evening. Painful curiosity about her secret life. Her lies about her proposed visit to a lady in Infreville. In the casino at Balbec: the girls she sees in the mirror. The memory of Odette’s character applied to Albertine.

Visit from Mme de Cambremer