Everything you always wanted to know about Proust's madeleine

A noise, a scent, a dish… The variations of “Proust’s madeleine” are endless.

On Twitter, some readers share their stories.

The madeleine can resurrect a taste: a “spoon of jam” from her grandmother, the “chocolate tart” from her grandfather or a “sip of Orangina”.

Smells are also creators of "madeleines": that of "Landes pines", "laundry", "rain on the warm ground".

Objects, places and noises are not to be outdone: “the Carteret customs path”, the Eagles song “Hotel California” and the “binding of old books” have all been mentioned.

Magdalen by Proust.

Never has an expression taken from a literary work left such a mark in everyday language.

Triggering element of an involuntary memory, we immerse ourselves with tenderness in the sensations that a “madeleine” brings us.

A madeleine is “necessarily involuntary”

First, where does the Madeleine come from?

To this question Jérôme Bastianelli, member of the Association of Friends of Proust and author of

(Paris-Sorbonne University Press), reminds us of the following passage:

Du near Swann's

This explanation must, according to the specialist, remind us of the most important element of a Proust madeleine, namely that it is

.

We often misinterpret thinking that the conscious search for a memory or a moment lived can constitute a madeleine.

Then, why the Madeleine?

Many passages illustrate the idea of ​​involuntary reminiscence in

, such as the reading of

, by George Sand.

Let us also remember this passage where the narrator stumbles against the cobblestones of the courtyard of the Hôtel de Guermantes.

For Jérôme Bastianelli, what explains the success of the Madeleine is both that it constitutes

and a

.

A timeless expression

We can then wonder if, in the digital age where permanent contact with our memories makes it more difficult for our memory to sediment, this expression retains the same meaning.

Indeed, having constant access to our photos on our phones could reduce this shift of memories into the unconscious necessary for involuntary reminiscence.

For the specialist, the expression "madelaine de Proust" retains all its meaning.

When

It must be taken into account that a madeleine does not necessarily bring back a happy memory.

For example in

, the moment when the narrator ties up his shoelaces in a hotel room in Balbec constitutes a madeleine that brings back the death of his grandmother.

Each person has his or her “madeleines”.

However, they all fulfill the same role: to provide access to “regained time”.