Proust's Snobs, Inverts, and Jews: Performing and Subverting Identity in La Recherche

(Hardback)

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An intersectional investigation of identity formation in Marcel Prousts magnum opus. As metonyms for broader categories such as class, sexuality, and ethnicity, the three most discussed identity groups in Prousts la Recherche du Temps Perdu snobs, inverts, and Jews prove to be deeply intertwined and perplexing representations. Attentive to these interwoven complexities, Proust's Snobs, Inverts, Jews examines the novelists exploitation of classification systems as a means to subvert the notion of a fixed identity. To illustrate Prousts challenges to a social order that restricts our perceptions of identity, Adeline Soldin addresses the inconsistencies and friction surrounding the portrayal of these key figures in his seven-volume novel. Many scholars have recognized that the narrators formative journey in La Recherche leads to disillusionment and increased mockery of his fellow characters. Soldin contends, however, that Proust does not merely deride characters behavior, but rather interrogates their diverse motivations and tendencies, thereby exposing the performative nature of identity. Proust's Snobs, Inverts, and Jews draws on Judith Butler's theories of performativity to illustrate Prousts precocious portrayal of identity in La Recherche as an elusive, unattainable idea that characters pursue yet consistently fail to establish. Ultimately, the enigmatic and anonymous narrator models fluidity and promotes fantasy and imagination to compensate for the limitations imposed on individuals by social and linguistic conventions.

Author Bio

Adeline Soldin is Associate Professor of French and Francophone Studies at Dickinson College, USA.