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My doctor has just lost his wife in dreadful circumstances<ref name="n2" />. Also as you told me you no longer need information on Doctor M.<ref name="n3" />, only out of retrospective curiosity, if you do not tell me otherwise, I will wait a little to write to him. But I did write to Robert on this subject a few days ago<ref name="n4" />. I hope that he will respond, even if he is terribly busy at the moment. And, apparently, he is no longer at the Salvange clinic<ref name="n5" /> where I addressed the letter. But I hope it will be passed on to him.
My doctor has just lost his wife in dreadful circumstances<ref name="n2" />. Also as you told me you no longer need information on Doctor M.<ref name="n3" />, only out of retrospective curiosity, if you do not tell me otherwise, I will wait a little to write to him. But I did write to Robert on this subject a few days ago<ref name="n4" />. I hope that he will respond, even if he is terribly busy at the moment. And, apparently, he is no longer at the Salvange clinic<ref name="n5" /> where I addressed the letter. But I hope it will be passed on to him.


I thank you very much for Nice, but alas I ceased to be “invitable” a long time ago. My ceaseless steam treatments etc. do not allow me to stay with friends, or at least their discomfort, in turn, would be a form of torture for me. Two years ago the Clerment-Tonnerres had “neutralised” a whole part of Glisolles so that I could be “at home”<ref name="n6" /> there, and I could not make up my mind about it. What would be more feasible, would be for you to stay in Nice<ref name="n7" /> and should I not be conscripted, I rent something there. If the climate favours me, maybe I would have the good fortune to be a little less sequestered away than I am now in Paris, and then I could benefit from being in the same town as you. Otherwise, this would be of no use to me because it would be as in Paris. Besides, it seems to me that because of my hay fever, it is already a little late to go to Nice. If I went there, it would be with the secret hope to be able to live there exclusively for at least a year. But I think it would be better to make an attempt towards September when I would have a while to acclimatise before Spring.
I thank you very much for Nice, but alas I ceased to be “invitable” a long time ago. My ceaseless fumigations, etc. do not allow me to stay with friends, or at least their discomfort, in turn, would be a form of torture for me. Two years ago the Clerment-Tonnerres had “neutralised” a whole part of Glisolles so that I could be “at home”<ref name="n6" /> there, and I could not make up my mind about it. What would be more feasible, would be for you to stay in Nice<ref name="n7" /> and should I not be conscripted, I rent something there. If the climate favours me, maybe I would have the good fortune to be a little less sequestered away than I am now in Paris, and then I could benefit from being in the same town as you. Otherwise, this would be of no use to me because it would be as in Paris. Besides, it seems to me that because of my hay fever, it is already a little late to go to Nice. If I went there, it would be with the secret hope to be able to live there exclusively for at least a year. But I think it would be better to make an attempt towards September when I would have a while to acclimatise before Spring.


If you can write me news of Charles, you would make me very happy. I would also like to know what you think of the war. I’ve been hearing talk of three years. Is that truly possible? I swear that Charles is one of the reasons, but not the only one, why such a long war would terrify me. At least, he has the good sense not to go back. And really, do you not find, does he not find that it would be impossible for him to go back? When I read the other day the fate of these unfortunate alpine soldiers on The Hartmannswillerkopf<ref name="n8" />, I had a terrible sinking feeling when imagining that Charles could have been there, and I was thankful for the little complications of his injury.
If you can write me news of Charles, you would make me very happy. I would also like to know what you think of the war. I’ve been hearing talk of three years. Is that truly possible? I swear that Charles is one of the reasons, but not the only one, why such a long war would terrify me. At least, he has the good sense not to go back. And really, do you not find, does he not find that it would be impossible for him to go back? When I read the other day the fate of these unfortunate alpine soldiers on The Hartmannswillerkopf<ref name="n8" />, I had a terrible sinking feeling when imagining that Charles could have been there, and I was thankful for the little complications of his injury.

Revision as of 20:24, 3 October 2022


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Marcel Proust to Madame Catusse [first days of February 1915]

(Click on the link above to see this letter and its notes in the Corr-Proust digital edition, including all relevant hyperlinks.)

[1]

Dear Madam

My doctor has just lost his wife in dreadful circumstances[2]. Also as you told me you no longer need information on Doctor M.[3], only out of retrospective curiosity, if you do not tell me otherwise, I will wait a little to write to him. But I did write to Robert on this subject a few days ago[4]. I hope that he will respond, even if he is terribly busy at the moment. And, apparently, he is no longer at the Salvange clinic[5] where I addressed the letter. But I hope it will be passed on to him.

I thank you very much for Nice, but alas I ceased to be “invitable” a long time ago. My ceaseless fumigations, etc. do not allow me to stay with friends, or at least their discomfort, in turn, would be a form of torture for me. Two years ago the Clerment-Tonnerres had “neutralised” a whole part of Glisolles so that I could be “at home”[6] there, and I could not make up my mind about it. What would be more feasible, would be for you to stay in Nice[7] and should I not be conscripted, I rent something there. If the climate favours me, maybe I would have the good fortune to be a little less sequestered away than I am now in Paris, and then I could benefit from being in the same town as you. Otherwise, this would be of no use to me because it would be as in Paris. Besides, it seems to me that because of my hay fever, it is already a little late to go to Nice. If I went there, it would be with the secret hope to be able to live there exclusively for at least a year. But I think it would be better to make an attempt towards September when I would have a while to acclimatise before Spring.

If you can write me news of Charles, you would make me very happy. I would also like to know what you think of the war. I’ve been hearing talk of three years. Is that truly possible? I swear that Charles is one of the reasons, but not the only one, why such a long war would terrify me. At least, he has the good sense not to go back. And really, do you not find, does he not find that it would be impossible for him to go back? When I read the other day the fate of these unfortunate alpine soldiers on The Hartmannswillerkopf[8], I had a terrible sinking feeling when imagining that Charles could have been there, and I was thankful for the little complications of his injury.

Your respectful friend

Marcel Proust

Gautier-Vignal is rather, how can I put it, more my book’s friend than mine. You would misunderstand me completely if you believed that I am intending to renounce in any way a creature who seems so utterly sensitive, sympathetic, and who was so kind (and is remarkably intelligent). But I mean that I know little of him and only for a short time[9]. This does not prevent us from having affection for one another, I hold him to be the most diligent and understanding reader and he has, on many occasions, obliged and charmed me. He, too, is quite unwell.


[10] [11]

Notes

  1. ↑ Note 1
  2. ↑ Note 2
  3. ↑ Note 3
  4. ↑ Note 4
  5. ↑ Note 5
  6. ↑ Note 6
  7. ↑ Note 7
  8. ↑ Here, Proust seems to allude to an article which appeared in the newspaper “Le Figaro” on 31 January, 1915, p.3, under the title of “The Affair of Hartmannwillerkopf”. It reads: “This is nothing but an episode of war; but it is a magnificent incident. At the summit of Hartmannwillerkopf, we had a large reconnaissance team which was violently attacked by heavy forces on 19 January. We had wanted to disengage. It was a difficult situation. The slopes in this part of the Vosges are a mess of rocks. [...] It was snowing. You could not see further than 10 metres because of the mist. Because the objective was to save our comrades, our officers and our troops did not hesitate [...]” Following this report of their gruelling ascent, hope of saving their comrades dwindled but their ambition to reclaim the summit remained intact. — The battles to reclaim the summit of Hartmannswillerkopf lasted from January to June 1915, and the fighting over positions that resulted from it (each army occupying one part of the heights) continued until 1918. [PK]
  9. ↑ Note 9
  10. ↑ Translation notes:
  11. ↑ Contributors: hhamiltongru, Maddyhill, Bward, Gbyrne, Rohana, SZong
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