Marcel Proust: Kinesic Styles and Consciousness as Interaction

Abstract

In Marcel Proust’s À la recherche du temps perdu, consciousness occurs as a dynamic cognitive event in such sensorimotor and psychophysical interactions as stumbling on uneven cobblestones, swallowing a dunked madeleine, or shaking hands with a member of the Guermantes clan. Gestures, such as a handshake, are a paramount focus of attention in La Recherche. Owing to Proust’s intensely kinesic style, they are multimodal and involve readers’ kinesthetic knowledge, kinesic intelligence, and active cognitive participation.