In Search of Lost Time, Volume IV_ Sodom and Gomorrah - Marcel Proust [317]
Albertine comes up to my room. The lift-boy’s anxious and despondent air; its cause: the absence of the customary tip. The hotel staff and money. My calculated protestations of coldness towards Albertine and love for Andrée. Albertine denies having had relations with Andrée. Reconciliation and caresses. Excursions with Albertine. Brief desires for other girls. Jealousy.
Scandal in the Grand Hotel provoked by Bloch’s sister and an actress, hushed up through the good offices of M. Nissim Bernard. Why the latter likes the hotel. My friendship with two young “couriers”; their language. Renewed suspicions about Albertine’s Gomorrhan proclivities: the unknown woman in the casino; suspect rudeness to a friend of her aunt’s. M. Nissim Bernard and the tomatoes. I go to Doncières with Albertine. A fat, vulgar, pretentious lady on the train. Albertine and Saint-Loup. M. de Charlus appears on the platform at Doncières. His first meeting with Morel.
An evening with the Verdurins at La Raspelière. The little train and its “habitués”: Cottard, Ski, Brichot. Social development of the Verdurin salon. Saniette; Ski. Princess Sherbatoff. Cottard and the Verdurin “Wednesdays”. The handsome unknown girl with the cigarette. Mme Verdurin has invited the Cambremers, whose tenant she is. Remarks of the “faithful” about the Cambremers. Brichot’s etymologies. I recognise Princess Sherbatoff as the fat lady in the train to Doncières. News of the death of Dechambre, formerly Mme Verdurin’s favourite pianist. Mme Verdurin and the death of the faithful. Beauty of the countryside. Dechambre disowned in the interests of Morel, who is coming with Charlus. The latter’s sexual proclivities better known among the “faithful” than in the Faubourg Saint-Germain. The Verdurins’ indifference to the beauties of nature.
Arrival of Morel and M. de Charlus; evidence of the latter’s femininity. Morel’s request to me; his rudeness once he has obtained satisfaction. Arrival of the Cambremers, he vulgarly ugly, she haughty and morose; introductions. Mme Verdurin and social etiquette. The Cambremers’ garden. M. de Charlus’s momentary mistake about Cottard. The name Chantepie. Combination of culture and snobbery in Mme de Cambremer. M. de Cambremer takes an interest in my fits of breathlessness. My mother and Albertine.
More etymology from Brichot. The Norwegian philosopher. M. Verdurin bullies Saniette. Conversation about Elstir. A letter from the dowager Marquise de Cambremer: the rule of the three adjectives. M. de Charlus’s claim to the rank of Highness. The Verdurins’ attitude to Brichot. M. de Charlus’s historical anecdotes. Mme de Cambremer’s musical snobbery. Brichot holds forth. M. de Charlus and the Archangel Michael. M. de Cambremer discovers the identity of Professor Cottard. Mme Cottard dozes off. Sleeping draughts. A game of cards. The arms of the Arrachepels. M. de Charlus expresses a preference for strawberry-juice. His first skirmish with Mme Verdurin. She invites me to her next “Wednesday” with my “cousin” and even suggests that I should bring her to stay. Renewed outburst by M. Verdurin against Saniette. Cottard and du Boulbon. M. de Cambremer’s tip. Mme de Cambremer’s good-bye.
Chapter Three
The squinting page. Sleep after a visit to La Raspelière; reflections on sleep. M. de Charlus dines at the Grand Hotel with a footman. His strange letter to Aimé.
Excursions with Albertine. Through the forest of Chantepie. Presents for Albertine. Virtues of the motor-car. Visit to the Verdurins. The “views” from La Raspelière. Charm of social life in the country. Other customers of our chauffeur: Charlus and Morel. One of their luncheons on the coast. Morel’s cynical projects