The Proustian Quest

CHAPTER 2 Women as Landscapes

CHAPTER 2 Women as Landscapes Aimer et mourir Au pays qui te ressemble! —Charles Baudelair e Votre &me est un paysage choisi. . . —Paul Verlain e en ktant amoureux d'unefemme nous projetons simplement en elle un Hat de notre dme; que par consequent Vimportant n*est pas la valeur de la femme, mais la profondeur de Vitat. . . . (I , 833) All th e women desire d by Proust's narrator have two element s i n common: thei r fugacit y an d thei r identificatio n wit h a precis e geographic location . An d al l o f them ar e see n fo r th e firs t tim e out-of-doors an d i n motion. 1 Indeed , fo r Prous t th e constan t identification o f girl and landscape—as thoug h th e experienc e o f sighting a girl moving along the beach o r in a forest wa s total an d unique—seems t o indicat e tha t th e gir l has no bein g an d n o lif e distinct from tha t o f the locale i n which sh e is seen; yet, fo r rea sons tha t I wil l examine , th e gir l hersel f an d he r pas t remai n deeply mysterious. The young Narrator first desire d a peasant girl of Combray when h e wa s strolling near Roussainville, just prior t o witnessin g the lesbian love scene between Mile Vinteuil and her friend. I n his 23 24 TH E PROUSTIAN QUEST mature years , he comment s o n hi s earl y belief tha t eac h perso n and each site was unique, the one a product of the other : nous croyons d'une foi profonde a Toriginalite, a la vie individuelle du lieu ou nous nous trouvons—la passante qu'appelait mon desir me semblait etre non un exem plaire quelconqu e d e ce type general: la femme, mai s un produit necessaire et naturel de ce sol. (I, 156-57) In the same passage he remarks, "ell e etait . . . pour moi comm e une plant e locale. . . ."2 For the concep t o f each girl as a "plant e locale" Proust may have been influenced by Darwinism.3 The Nar rator 's way of discovering these women resembles that of a naturalist or botanist exploring the animal or floral kingdoms in that eac h woman i s a part o f the flora an d fauna o f her nativ e region , th e place in which the Narrator first sees her: "Entr e cette province et le temperament d e la jeune fille . . . je percevais un beau dialogue. Dialogue, non pas discorde. Aucune ne saurait diviser la jeune fill e et son pays natal. Elle, c'est lui encore" (I, 910).4 In depictin g th e passantes, Prous t combine s naturalis m fo r the origi n o f th e species , wherei n eac h gir l embodie s a uniqu e species and is the product o f a particular habitat, with impression ism , wherei n eac h gir l i s seen outdoor s i n th e light o f a specifi c time an d place. Just a s the Impressionist s depicte d an entir e serie s of railway stations , bridges, cathedrals , popla r trees , wate r lilies , and s o forth, wit h eac h painting i n th e serie s reflecting th e ligh t of a particula r moment , Prous t give s u s man y version s o f th e major femal e character s a s they appea r a t differen t time s an d i n different surroundings . Proust's manner o f representation is that o f an Impressionis t i n tha t hi s description s o f these passantes always take int o accoun t th e locatio n an d th e "couleu r d u temps " i n which eac h of them is seen. Une femme-paysage Proust's conceptio n o f femme-paysage may hav e bee n inspire d i n part b y th e "Cart e d u Tendre, " an allegorica l ma p o n whic h th e WOMEN AS LANDSCAPES...