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The Nature of Habit and Memory (Close Reading of Proust) (Patreon)

Published:
2021-07-05 16:22:35
Imported:
2026-06
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Content

Today we're living literature through etymology, conjuring memories like ghosts through the power of scent, and pondering upon the three layers of jealousy.

Bioscopes, decadent Louis XVI rooms, phantasmagoria shows, the aroma of vetiver, English summer rain, and how talking with a 94-year-old man can teach one to appreciate Proust - It's all here!

Proustian reading assignments are below the timestamps.

Video Timestamps

  • 0:00 pages 4-5 of Proust
  • 1:00 living literature through etymology
  • 2:00 the significance of language
  • 2:45 the importance of defining one’s terms
  • 4:00 how to find a word’s etymology in the dictionary
  • 5:00 Aristotle on habit, ethics, and virtues
  • 6:00 defining oneself as a writer without writing consistently
  • 7:00 the difficulty of habit creation
  • 9:00 the difficult of breaking habits
  • 10:30 Marcel and the habit of his Mamma’s goodnight kiss
  • 11:00 exploring the etymology of ‘habit’
  • 13:30 deep reading begins
  • 15:00 Marcel’s reference to the bioscope
  • 15:20 the first film ever (horse in motion)
  • 16:00 the nature of memory is bioscopic
  • 16:40 how talking with a 94-year-old man improved my reading of Proust
  • 17:00 why age helps one appreciate Proust
  • 20:00 an interlude of English summer rain
  • 21:00 sentence length and the necessity of listening to Proust read aloud
  • 21:50 Louis XVI rooms and bringing him back to life
  • 22:30 primitive cinema and phantasmagoria
  • 24:50 the scent of vetiver and smell being the most evocative sense
  • 25:00 involuntary memory and foreshadowing the Madeleine scene
  • 25:30 “the insolent indifference of a clock that chattered away”
  • 26:50 Proust the enfant nerveux
  • 27:10 why those with neurotic temperaments enjoy Proust
  • 28:00 Habit!
  • 28:30 an aesthetic meditation and rereading assignment
  • 29:00 Freud’s ‘Certain Neurotic Mechanisms in Jealous, Paranoia, Homosexuality’ (1922)
  • 29:40 jealousy and the goodnight kiss from Mamma
  • 30:30 the three layers of jealousy: competitive, projected, delusional
  • 32:00 thinking in Freudian terms as a Freudian culture

And some ideas for rounding out our reading:

1) The scent of vetiver - I know one of you has already procured some vetiver-scented aromatherapy. I have a vial on its way to me and am keen to see whether it unlocks any involuntary memories. Why not treat yourself to an array of scents too and see what comes of it? I will also encourage some Madeleine baking and tasting when we arrive at the famous scene.

2) Go on an etymological hunt - Next time you see a word that is repeated, seems significant, or simply one that appeals to you, find out where it comes from. Burrowing down dictionary rabbit holes is a fun and illuminating way to spend an afternoon, and you might just have a surprise waiting for you.

3) Share a favourite passage - Let us know anything you've encountered that you would like others to examine and we'll appreciate it together.

Happy reading!

Files

Previews only

The Nature of Habit and Memory - Proust's In Search of Lost Time (Pages 4-5)

0:00 pages 4-5 of Proust 1:00 living literature through etymology 2:00 the significance of language 2:45 the importance of defining one’s terms 4:00 how to find a word’s etymology in the dictionary 5:00 Aristotle on habit, ethics, and virtues 6:00 defining oneself as a writer without writing consistently 7:00 the difficulty of habit creation 9:00 the difficult of breaking habits 10:30 Marcel and the habit of his Mamma’s goodnight kiss 11:00 exploring the etymology of ‘habit’ 13:30 deep reading begins 15:00 Marcel’s reference to the bioscope 15:20 the first film ever (horse in motion) 16:00 the nature of memory is bioscopic 16:40 how talking with a 94-year-old man improved my reading of Proust 17:00 why age helps one appreciate Proust 20:00 an interlude of English summer rain 21:00 sentence length and the necessity of listening to Proust read aloud 21:50 Louis XVI rooms and bringing him back to life 22:30 primitive cinema and phantasmagoria 24:50 the scent of vetiver and smell being the most evocative sense 25:00 involuntary memory and foreshadowing the Madeleine scene 25:30 “the insolent indifference of a clock that chattered away” 26:50 Proust the enfant nerveux 27:10 why those with neurotic temperaments enjoy Proust 28:00 Habit! 28:30 an aesthetic meditation and rereading assignment 29:00 Freud’s ‘Certain Neurotic Mechanisms in Jealous, Paranoia, Homosexuality’ (1922) 29:40 jealousy and the goodnight kiss from Mamma 30:30 the three layers of jealousy: competitive, projected, delusional 32:00 thinking in Freudian terms as a Freudian culture

Comments

Linda Falcone

The description of the little cave of warmth in the middle of the room in winter is one of my favorite things I have ever read.

Annie

This is in response to Marcel’s having been “mentally poisoned by the unfamiliar scent of vetiver.” I noticed that “j’avais été intoxiqué moralement par l’odeur inconnue du vétiver” (Humanis, 2012) was translated by Moncrieff (in my Random House edition of 1934) to “my mind was drugged by the unfamiliar scent of flowering grasses,” and I wonder if there are several things going on here. Moncrieff, with his “flowering grasses,” could have interpreted Marcel’s reaction as the blooms, the “flowering grasses,” had triggered an episode of asthma. If so, we need to suspend our disbelief and set aside the fact that vetiver does not flower, does not seed, etc. (Tiny tangent—the vetiver scent/essential oil, as is used in fragrances today, is “excavated” from the roots, which is why it has a bit of a murky, bitter quality.) On the other hand, there is, however, the oddity of Marcel’s having been “intoxiqué moralement” bit that puzzles me, and which got lost in translation. Was it that Marcel’s bon chic, bon genre (wealthy and proper bourgeois) style would have found a smell from the French Indochina morally flawed, vulgar perhaps? (Another tiny tangent—Chanel No. 5 shocked at almost the same time with some-thought-vulgar ylang-ylang, also imported from the French Indochina.) Vetiver is an acquired taste (many people struggle with it), but I wonder if maybe this is a case of prudish othering, a tiny bit of colonialism common in les petits salons of the day, one which Moncrieff didn’t give a voice to, lovingly I’m sure.