I try every month to bring you a new snippet from the patron saint of this blog, the hypochondriac, painfully closeted, fabulously talented, Marcel Proust . . .
“There is no man however wise, who has not at some period of his youth said things, or lived a life, the memory of which is so unpleasant to him that he would gladly expunge it.
And yet he ought not entirely to regret it, because he cannot be certain that he has indeed become a wise man . . . unless he has passed through all the fatuous or unwholesome incarnations by which that ultimate stage must be preceded.
The lives that you admire, the attitudes that seem noble to you, have not been shaped by a paterfamilias or a schoolmaster, they have sprung from very different beginnings, having been influenced by everything evil or commonplace that prevailed about them. They represent a struggle and a victory.”
Wonderful quote, Sarah! I have tried reading 'In Search of Lost Time' a couple of times, and gave up each time. One of my friends sends quotes from it sometime and whenever I read that, I get inspired to try reading Proust again. Now after reading this beautiful passage, I am tempted to give it another go. It is also wonderful to know that Marcel is the patron saint of your blog 🙂
and you've also fixed the patron saint's name. 😉 d
Yes, I can't believe I had the name misspelled. Oh the shame! On a lit. blog too!
Vishy, you should keep trying IN SEARCH OF LOST TIME. I'm not going to lie, some bits are boring. But it is such a wonderful book, it is worth those bits. It took me probably a year to read, and at the end I was bereft. I honestly felt like someone I knew had died. It is SO worth it!
How true! How many times don't we wish we could change things, forgetting that where we are is as a result of the myriad little decisions we have made in the past. Your greatness today does not depend alone of the positive routes you took but also on the negative turns and twists.
Thanks Sarah for this…
I find it a very encouraging idea. Sometimes you forget that no one's life is perfect . .