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<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="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"> Four stripes on the forearm of military tunics were the distinctive insignia of medical officers 1st class (a rank equivalent to Major or Commanding Officer in the infantry). We could find no trace in 1914-1915 of a medical officer with the name of Vigne in the 56th Regiment of Infantry (the medical officer 1st class was called Ramally, the others: Abord, Rais and Bourgeot). It must refer instead to Édouard Urbain Hippolyte (Hipolyte) Vigné (born 5 August 1871 at Neffiès in Hérault), medical officer 1st class of the 31st Regiment of Infantry, the regiment to which Reynaldo Hahn was attached and which he was soon to rejoin at Argonne. Medical officer Vigné was to be made chevalier of the Légion d'honneur by decree of 3 January 1915, and mentioned in the Army Orders 14 March 1915: "Since the beginning of the campaign has supervised with competence of the highest order and untiring devotion to duty his regiment's medical corps such that it can be held up as a model example". [FL] </ref>
<ref name="n4"> Four stripes on the forearm of military tunics were the distinctive insignia of medical officers 1st class (a rank equivalent to Major or Commanding Officer in the infantry). We could find no trace in 1914-1915 of a medical officer with the name of Vigne in the 56th Regiment of Infantry (the medical officer 1st class was called Ramally, the others: Abord, Rais and Bourgeot). It must refer instead to Édouard Urbain Hippolyte (Hipolyte) Vigné (born 5 August 1871 at Neffiès in Hérault), medical officer 1st class of the 31st Regiment of Infantry, the regiment to which Reynaldo Hahn was attached and which he was soon to rejoin at Argonne. Medical officer Vigné was to be made chevalier of the Légion d'honneur by decree of 3 January 1915, and mentioned in the Army Orders 14 March 1915: "Since the beginning of the campaign has supervised with competence of the highest order and untiring devotion to duty his regiment's medical corps such that it can be held up as a model example." [FL] </ref>


<ref name="n5"> The portrait by Sargent, Le Docteur Pozzi dans son intérieur (1881), is now in the Hammer Museum (Armand Hammer Collection) in Los Angeles. [LJ, FL]</ref>
<ref name="n5"> The portrait by Sargent, Le Docteur Pozzi dans son intérieur (1881), is now in the Hammer Museum (Armand Hammer Collection) in Los Angeles. [LJ, FL]</ref>


<ref name="n6"> Adrien Proust and Samuel Pozzi were professional colleagues, their two families often socialising together: "The memory of him, his handsome features, are associated with my whole childhood, with the whole of my youth [...], sometimes dining with my parents, sometimes entertaining us in the Place Vendôme [...]" (see Proust's letter to Jean Pozzi of [Saturday 15 June 1918]: CP 03556; Kolb, XVII, no. 116). A member of the high society, friend of artists and writers (among them Leconte de Lisle, but also Sarah Bernhardt, Anatole France, etc.), in the mind of the young Proust Pozzi enjoyed the prestige that the writer would later attribute to Swann. Like Swann in the novel, it was Pozzi who afforded the adolescent Marcel Proust the means of introduction to the writers he admired. (See Lawrence Joseph, "Marcel Proust et 'Docteur Dieu': lettres inédites à Samuel Pozzi", BMP, no. 51, 2001, p. 13-15 and p. 19.) [LJ, FL] </ref>
<ref name="n6"> Adrien Proust and Samuel Pozzi were professional colleagues, their two families often socialising together: "The memory of him, his handsome features, are associated with my whole childhood, with the whole of my youth [...], sometimes dining with my parents, sometimes entertaining us in the Place Vendôme [...]" (see Proust's letter to Jean Pozzi of [Saturday 15 June 1918]: CP 03556; Kolb, XVII, no. 116). A member of the high society, friend of artists and writers (among them Leconte de Lisle, but also Sarah Bernhardt, Anatole France, etc.), in the mind of the young Proust Pozzi enjoyed the prestige that the writer would later attribute to Swann. Like Swann in the novel, it was Pozzi who afforded the adolescent Marcel Proust the means of introduction to the writers he admired. (See Lawrence Joseph, "Marcel Proust et 'Docteur Dieu': lettres inédites à Samuel Pozzi," BMP, no. 51, 2001, p. 13-15 and p. 19.) [LJ, FL] </ref>


<ref name="n7"> Similarly Proust wrote to Lucien Daudet [Monday 16 November 1914, or shortly after]: "I am to go before a medical board and I shall probably be taken, because they take everybody. But I have been stupid because I didn’t need to get myself registered, having been struck off the staff as an officer and these Boards are only for privates [...]" (CP 02844; Kolb, XIII, no. 193). [LJ] </ref>
<ref name="n7"> Similarly Proust wrote to Lucien Daudet [Monday 16 November 1914, or shortly after]: "I am to go before a medical board and I shall probably be taken, because they take everybody. But I have been stupid because I didn’t need to get myself registered, having been struck off the staff as an officer and these Boards are only for privates [...]" (CP 02844; Kolb, XIII, no. 193). [LJ] </ref>

Revision as of 22:42, 5 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. ↑ Four stripes on the forearm of military tunics were the distinctive insignia of medical officers 1st class (a rank equivalent to Major or Commanding Officer in the infantry). We could find no trace in 1914-1915 of a medical officer with the name of Vigne in the 56th Regiment of Infantry (the medical officer 1st class was called Ramally, the others: Abord, Rais and Bourgeot). It must refer instead to Édouard Urbain Hippolyte (Hipolyte) Vigné (born 5 August 1871 at Neffiès in Hérault), medical officer 1st class of the 31st Regiment of Infantry, the regiment to which Reynaldo Hahn was attached and which he was soon to rejoin at Argonne. Medical officer Vigné was to be made chevalier of the Légion d'honneur by decree of 3 January 1915, and mentioned in the Army Orders 14 March 1915: "Since the beginning of the campaign has supervised with competence of the highest order and untiring devotion to duty his regiment's medical corps such that it can be held up as a model example." [FL]
  5. ↑ The portrait by Sargent, Le Docteur Pozzi dans son intérieur (1881), is now in the Hammer Museum (Armand Hammer Collection) in Los Angeles. [LJ, FL]
  6. ↑ Adrien Proust and Samuel Pozzi were professional colleagues, their two families often socialising together: "The memory of him, his handsome features, are associated with my whole childhood, with the whole of my youth [...], sometimes dining with my parents, sometimes entertaining us in the Place Vendôme [...]" (see Proust's letter to Jean Pozzi of [Saturday 15 June 1918]: CP 03556; Kolb, XVII, no. 116). A member of the high society, friend of artists and writers (among them Leconte de Lisle, but also Sarah Bernhardt, Anatole France, etc.), in the mind of the young Proust Pozzi enjoyed the prestige that the writer would later attribute to Swann. Like Swann in the novel, it was Pozzi who afforded the adolescent Marcel Proust the means of introduction to the writers he admired. (See Lawrence Joseph, "Marcel Proust et 'Docteur Dieu': lettres inédites à Samuel Pozzi," BMP, no. 51, 2001, p. 13-15 and p. 19.) [LJ, FL]
  7. ↑ Similarly Proust wrote to Lucien Daudet [Monday 16 November 1914, or shortly after]: "I am to go before a medical board and I shall probably be taken, because they take everybody. But I have been stupid because I didn’t need to get myself registered, having been struck off the staff as an officer and these Boards are only for privates [...]" (CP 02844; Kolb, XIII, no. 193). [LJ]
  8. ↑ Translation notes:
  9. ↑ Contributors: Lking, Clang, Yorktaylors
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