Chapter One. Privileged Moments And Felt Knowledge

Abstract

In this chapter, the term involuntary memory is shown to cover one segment of the group of the narrator's experiences relevant to the development of the notion of courageous vulnerability. In the discussion of the privileged moment in A la recherche, the chapter tries to do justice to Malcolm Bowie's remark in Proust Among the Stars that one should not attempt to tidy away parts of the work that appear to conflict with the narrator's own theoretical observations in the last book, Le temps retrouve. The main purpose of the chapter is to elaborate the notion of privileged moment and lay the foundation for the later chapters. The issues raised gives an impression of the plurality of situations found in A la recherche, and bringing them up in close connection rather than offering a parceled-out account does justice to the complex or web-like structure of the work.Keywords: A la recherche; courageous vulnerability; Malcolm Bowie; privileged moment