The Gardens of Desire: Marcel Proust and the Fugitive Sublime

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The Gardens of Desire THE GARDENS OF DESIRE Marcel Proust and the Fugitive Sublime Stephen Gilbert Brown S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y O F N E W Y O R K P R E S S Published by STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PRESS, ALBANY© 2004 State University of New York All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher. For information, address State University of New York Press, 90 State Street, Suite 700, Albany, NY 12207 Production, Laurie Searl Marketing, Michael Campochiaro Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Brown, Stephen Gilbert, 1949– The gardens of desire : Marcel Proust and the fugitive sublime / by Stephen Gilbert Brown. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-7914-6113-0 (alk. paper) 1. Proust, Marcel, 1871–1922—Criticism and interpretation. 2. Desire in literature. I. Title. PQ2631.R63Z545417 2004 843'.912—dc22 2004045293 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 This book could not have been created without the assistance and inspiration of two men: my father, Harry N. Brown, who worked to provide for my education at the University of California, Santa Barbara; and Prof. Douwe Sturman, whose existential humanist readings opened the way to the inimitable gardens of Proust’s genius. It is to their inspiring example that I therefore dedicate this book. ...