Translations:CP 02844/57/en

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[1]

  1. The use of the masculine adjective "gentil", indicates that he is referring to the name rather than the person. Proust is perhaps responding here to Lucien Daudet's sarcastic comments about the first name chosen for his young niece. In an unpublished letter to Albert Flament dated 19 October 1914, Daudet wrote: "That name Odile is ludicrous!" (Centre André Gide - Jean Schlumberger, Fondation des Treilles). In his 1929 edition of Proust's letters Daudet transforms Proust's postscript into a simple "Odile is very nice", probably to avoid any offence to members of his family. [CSz]