Do you remember the “sudden change of heart towards Albertine”?

Do you remember the “sudden shift towards Albertine”? It occurs precisely in Balbec ⛱️, in “Sodom and Gomorrah”, II, 4.

Whilst the narrator had promised his mother he would end his relationship with Albertine, she inadvertently revealed to him something he could never have imagined, which was to stir his jealousy: in her younger days, she had associated with Mlle Vinteuil and her friend, notorious lesbians, whose amorous escapades he had observed at Montjouvain 🪟🛋️ in the first volume. Thus:

🖋️ “It was no doubt something like what I had just learnt, it was something like the friendship between Albertine and Mlle Vinteuil, something my mind could never have invented, but which I had dimly sensed when I felt so anxious at seeing Albertine with Andrée. It is often only for lack of creative imagination that we do not go far enough in our suffering. And the most terrible reality brings, along with the suffering, the joy of a beautiful discovery, because it merely gives a new and clear form to what we had been mulling over for a long time without realising it.”

The truth has come to light, but it had already been right in front of him, and his prying suspicions 🔍 had long been trying to uncover it, to no avail.

The narrator feels personally betrayed by this confession from Albertine 💔, even though it concerns a time before their relationship began. And the moment when it strikes a chord with him 📌 is described here as a mixture of pain and joy.

Do you know of any other sudden changes of heart among characters in novels? 📚 If so, tell us about them in the comments! 📝

#MarcelProust #SodomeetGomorrhe #RTP #proustagram #ÀlaRechercheduTempsperdu #AlbertineSimonet #Balbec