Pihlanto Pekka
14 Unhappy Love Affairs

• Sick of jealousy
• A High-class Prostitute
• Love was Blind!
• The Most Important Name
• Guide to the human consciousness
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Sick of jealousy

Both of these two stories describe an unhappy love affair: one of Mr. Swann, the other of the boy, i.e. the author's alter ego. Mr. Swann's affair starts with good hopes: Odette's behavior is sweet and lovely - Swann seems almost happy. Little by little the relationship changes and Odette is not anymore as good a companion as before. The more Swann commits himself to the relationship, the more Odette goes her own ways. She meets other men, and Swann becomes sick of jealousy.

A High-class Prostitute

The reader soon realises that Odette is - well, lets say it outright - a high-class prostitute. Swann gives her money on a monthly basis and visits her apartment when allowed. The description of this love affair is mostly very sad, because Swann suffers so much. Technically Proust's text is of master class, especially when he describes complicated movements of the human mind or consciousness. For example, the role of a music piece, the little theme, in Swann's mind is finely described indeed!

Love was Blind!

Also the social life - in the circle of the Verdurin's - is very interesting: in the circle, there we meet lot of funny, but often also cruel, characters, in particular Mrs. Verdurin herself. In many instances Proust compares Swann's state of mind during his unhappy affair to disease. At last, however, the disease is cured. A central medicine is distance from Odette: she has gone to a long voyage abroad with the Verdurins. Swann realises that Odette was actually neither his type of a woman nor beautiful at all. Indeed, love was blind!

The Most Important Name

In "Place-names " Proust describes thoughts that different names of places bring to the mind of the boy, familiar to the reader from "Combray". Most of this piece concentrates on description of the unhappy love of the boy to Gilberte, the daughter of Swann. He gets no sympathy from Gilberte, not to speak about love he desires. The reader experiences a great surprise: Mr. Swann's wife is Odette, the person, who was reason of his sickness in the former novel! Gilberte's name is the most important of all names to the boy. Everything, which has something to do with Gilberte and her family - even their servants - become sacred in his mind. Another unhappy love!

Guide to the human consciousness

The story lines of these two novels are not very interesting as such, but the way Proust deals with the complicated processes of the human mind makes them masterful. This is most enjoyable reading indeed! Moreover, I suggest that if the readers succeed to learn to observe and steer their own minds on the basis of this description, Proust would become them an extremely interesting and useful guide to the human consciousness.

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