The Guermantes Way, by Marcel Proust

Table of Contents

  1. Names of People: The Duchesse de Guermantes — Saint-Loup at Doncières — Mme. de Villeparisis at home — My grandmother’s illness — Bergotte’s illness — The Duke and the Doctor — Decline and death of my grandmother.
  2. A visit from Albertine — Prospect of rich brides for certain friends of Saint-Loup — The wit of the Guermantes, as displayed before the Princesse de Parme — A strange visit to M. de Charlus — His character puzzles me more and more — The red shoes of the Duchess.

AUTHOR’S DEDICATION

A LEON DAUDET

A l’auteur du VOYAGE DE SHAKESPEARE, du PARTAGE DE L’ENFANT, de L’ASTRE NOIR, de FANTOMES ET VIVANTS, du MONDE DES IMAGES, de tant de chefs-d’oeuvre, A l’incomparable, ami en témoignage de reconnaissance et d’admiration

M. P.

TRANSLATOR’S DEDICATION

To MRS. H——- on her Birthday

OBERON, in the ATHENIAN glade,
Reduced by deft TITANIA’S power,
Invented arts for NATURE’S aid
And from a snowflake shaped a flower:
NATURE, to outdo him, wrought of human clay
A fairy blossom, which we acclaim to-day.

HEBE, to high OLYMPUS borne,
Undoomed to death, by age uncurst,
XERES and PORTO, night and morn,
Let flow, to appease celestial thirst:
Ev’n so, untouched by years that envious pass
YOUTH greets the guests to-night and fills the glass.

HESIONE, for monstrous feast,
Against a rock was chained, to die;
Young HERCLES came, he slew the beast,
Nor won the award of chivalry:
E. S. P. H., whom monsters hold in awe,
Shield thee from injury, and enforce the law!

C. K. S. M.

The French text of Le Côté de Guermantes being extremely inaccurate, every care has been taken to correct it in the process of translation. In three places in this volume the sequence of paragraphs has been altered, as the reader may discover by comparing the French and English texts. [C. K. S. M.]

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Last updated Saturday, November 10, 2012 at 21:02