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<ref name="n1"> Note 1 </ref>
<ref name="n1"> The date of the post mark is 6 November 1914, so Proust must have written the letter either Thursday 5 in the evening of during the night of Thursday 5 to Friday 6 November. This letter follows a short period after the fruitless consultation that he had with Dr Pozzi shortly before 24 October (see note 2 below). [FL] </ref>


<ref name="n2"> Note 2 </ref>
<ref name="n2"> Pozzi had not wanted to give Proust a certificate vouching for his unfitness for military service. Shortly after 24 October 1914 Proust had written to Reynaldo Hahn: "with charming manners and faultless demeanour he [Pozzi] evaded the question and refused" (CP 02830; Kolb, XIX, no. 176). [LJ, FL] </ref>


<ref name="n3"> Note 3 </ref>
<ref name="n3"> Mobilized since 1st August 1914, Reynaldo Hahn had rejoined his regiment at their base in Melun but, from the beginning of September, he was confined to Albi where he was bored and keen to rejoin his regiment (the 31st Regiment of Infantry) at Argonne, despite Proust's efforts to dissuade him. Finally on 26 December 1914 he left Albi for the front. (See Philippe Blay, Reynaldo Hahn, Fayard, 2021, p. 347 and 350.) [LJ, FL]  </ref>


<ref name="n4"> Note 4 </ref>
<ref name="n4"> Note 4 </ref>

Revision as of 13:42, 4 October 2021


Other languages:

Marcel Proust to Samuel Pozzi [5 or 6 November 1914]

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

102 boulevard Haussmann[1]

Dear Sir,

Please do not think I am writing to you for myself, and after the failure of my visit the other day[2], I insist. No, I am simply a messenger today. Reynaldo Hahn, who is currently in Albi but departing for the front line,[3] telegraphed begging me to deliver you a message and ask, on his behalf, to recommend him to the medical officer Vigne, commanding officer of the 56th Infantry Regiment[4]. Reynaldo knows of him but may have wanted to ask him for various services, believing your valued recommendation would have a beneficial influence. When I received his telegram I hesitated for a moment. I was so afraid that you would just assume, when you caught sight of the envelope, that I was starting all over again with my vain requests, that I resolved to write back to Reynaldo saying that I couldn’t carry out his commission, but then I thought that my affection for him ought to surmount any fear of a misunderstanding, which in any case would be immediately dispelled when you read my letter. And I know that you too are very fond of him.

Dear Sir, although this sort of compliment is not pleasant between men, a writer must forget that he has a sex and make himself the voice of others. I would have liked to say the other day, that of all the works of art I saw at your house, the one that I admired the most was you! As you showed me Sargent’s marvelous portrait[5] and apologised for the lack of resemblance to the model, I didn't dare tell you, due to the same uneasy feeling which I mentioned earlier, that you are, in this instant, better. I may judge, as I have known you since I was a child, and because for me you have the great prestige of being a friend of Leconte de Lisle[6]. To speak purely of aesthetics, I think the silvery flecks of your beard, (thanks to the softness that this tone adds to your face) complements you in a way more flattering than the red beard of Sargent. I was comparing the two images and preferred the latter. I haven’t heard about my exemption from service, I registered at the town hall, in Paris, without declaring my officer status. So I will be summoned to the Review Board as a private, though it’s still uncertain whether I will be called upon at all.[7].

I hope you will accept, dear sir, my highest regards.

Marcel Proust

[8] [9]

Notes

  1. ↑ The date of the post mark is 6 November 1914, so Proust must have written the letter either Thursday 5 in the evening of during the night of Thursday 5 to Friday 6 November. This letter follows a short period after the fruitless consultation that he had with Dr Pozzi shortly before 24 October (see note 2 below). [FL]
  2. ↑ Pozzi had not wanted to give Proust a certificate vouching for his unfitness for military service. Shortly after 24 October 1914 Proust had written to Reynaldo Hahn: "with charming manners and faultless demeanour he [Pozzi] evaded the question and refused" (CP 02830; Kolb, XIX, no. 176). [LJ, FL]
  3. ↑ Mobilized since 1st August 1914, Reynaldo Hahn had rejoined his regiment at their base in Melun but, from the beginning of September, he was confined to Albi where he was bored and keen to rejoin his regiment (the 31st Regiment of Infantry) at Argonne, despite Proust's efforts to dissuade him. Finally on 26 December 1914 he left Albi for the front. (See Philippe Blay, Reynaldo Hahn, Fayard, 2021, p. 347 and 350.) [LJ, FL]
  4. ↑ Note 4
  5. ↑ The portrait by Sargent, Le Docteur Pozzi dans son intérieur (1881), is now in the Hammer Museum (Armand Hammer Collection) in Los Angeles.
  6. ↑ Note 6
  7. ↑ Note 7
  8. ↑ Translation notes:
  9. ↑ Contributors: Lking, Clang
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