Marcel Proust: portrait d'un jeune écrivain en philosophe by Claudio Rozzoni

Abstract

Reviewed by: Marcel Proust: portrait d'un jeune écrivain en philosophe by Claudio Rozzoni Jennifer Rushworth Marcel Proust: portrait d'un jeune écrivain en philosophe. By Claudio Rozzoni. Paris: Classiques Garnier. 2016. 251 pp. €31. ISBN 978–2–8124–4720–4. This book is an interesting account of the early philosophical formation of Marcel Proust. Claudio Rozzoni's study is organized chronologically, from Proust's childhood up until early adulthood. It deliberately stops short of Proust's work on John Ruskin, but makes frequent reference to A la recherche du temps perdu since its interest lies in the development and prefiguration of Proust's philosophical ideas. The first part consists of a short section on Proust's parents and a much longer section on his school education. Rozzoni comments especially on Proust's father's career as having inspired Proust's use of medical metaphors and terminology and on his mother as having provided exposure to literature and languages as well as to habits of humour and letter-writing. Rozzoni emphasizes the importance for Proust of his philosophy teacher Alphonse Darlu, unearthing new materials while also drawing explicitly on the earlier studies of André Ferré, Les Années de collège de Marcel Proust (Paris: Gallimard, 1959), and Henri Bonnet, Alphonse Darlu (1894–1921): le maître de philosophie de Marcel Proust (Paris: Nizet, 1961). Rozzoni's analysis dwells especially on Darlu's contribution to journals such as the Revue de Métaphysique et de Morale founded in 1893 by lycée friends of Proust, while acknowledging both the paucity of written evidence of Darlu's thinking and Proust's eventual 'renversement' (a term that recurs, but see e.g. p. 205) of Darlu's views on truth and morality. The second part takes us into Proust's post-school years, initially with a focus on his 'année sabbatique' (p. 148) in military training, his entry into society and first writings about society, and his interactions with his cousin by marriage Henri Bergson. Continuing with the focus on Proust's education, Rozzoni also considers his university studies, first in law and then in literature and philosophy, the latter including formative lessons in aesthetics from Gabriel Séailles. It is a shame that we do not have access to material from Proust's university years comparable to his school essays and notes, on which Rozzoni earlier draws so fruitfully. Proust's obtaining of the 'licence en lettres et philosophie' on 27 March 1895 is the book's purported endpoint. That said, as noted, Rozzoni makes frequent connections with Proust's eventual novel, especially with an eye to aspects which can be said (in a typical phrase) to 'anticipe[r] le chef-d'œuvre proustien à venir' (p. 59). The book and its reading of Proust are thus strongly teleological, and the 'jeune écrivain' of the title can at times feel overshadowed by discussion of the later novel. Nonetheless, contemporary theories of memory and of the self, or multiple selves, are interestingly reviewed in this light, especially in the middle section of the second part, on 'Le milieu psychologique' (pp. 163–203). Rozzoni concurs with Luc Fraisse about the eclecticism of Proust's philosophical sources (see especially Fraisse, L'Éclectisme philosophique de Marcel Proust (Paris: PUPS, 2013)), while emphasizing what is idiosyncratic about Proust's theory of memory in particular. Alongside its historical, biographical approach, the book is also characterized by a sustained dialogue with Gilles Deleuze, and while fascinating and meticulously explored, this dialogue can likewise at times feel like a distraction from the book's [End Page 246] avowed focus. At the end of the Prologue Rozzoni explains that 'Une première version de ce texte a paru en italien'—that is, I segni del giovane Proust: per un ritratto filosofico del futuro autore della 'Recherche' (Milan: AlboVersorio, 2009)—and he thanks 'Adeline Thulard et Pietro Allia pour leur traduction du texte en français' (p. 20). It seems important to acknowledge the work of Rozzoni's translators here, too, in bringing this useful and wide-ranging work to new readers. Jennifer Rushworth University College London Copyright © 2023 Modern Humanities Research Association