
Science and Structure in Proust's A la recherche du temps perdu
Nicola Luckhurst(Author)
Oxford University Press
Published on 17. February 2000
Book
Hardback
276 pages
978-0-19-816002-1 (ISBN)
Description
Proust's A la recherche du temps perdu is a hybrid, a novel-essay, a capacious work of fiction containing a commonplace-book. It might, as Roland Barthes has suggested, be thought of as the product of profound and cherished indecision, Proust's indecision between two styles of writing, the moralistic and the fictive/novelistic/romanesque. Structure and Science is an exploration of this indecision.
The shorter Proust, Proust the moraliste, is a prolific writer of maxims, from the laws of the passions to the aesthetic manifesto of the Temps retrouve to the [?rapacious] teeming/fertile/spawning/exuberant/luxuriant reflection(s) on sexuality, politics, society. Yet these maxims, whose grammar lays claim to timelessness, are bound up in narrative, the story of their evolution. And disintegration. Proust's moralizing exposes our affective relationship with law statements, with authority, and it is this question that engages A la recherche in an epistemological debate which crosses the boundaries between the two cultures, art and science. What might be called the epistemological alertness of Proust's text is explored at this interface between 'modernist' science and literature.
The shorter Proust, Proust the moraliste, is a prolific writer of maxims, from the laws of the passions to the aesthetic manifesto of the Temps retrouve to the [?rapacious] teeming/fertile/spawning/exuberant/luxuriant reflection(s) on sexuality, politics, society. Yet these maxims, whose grammar lays claim to timelessness, are bound up in narrative, the story of their evolution. And disintegration. Proust's moralizing exposes our affective relationship with law statements, with authority, and it is this question that engages A la recherche in an epistemological debate which crosses the boundaries between the two cultures, art and science. What might be called the epistemological alertness of Proust's text is explored at this interface between 'modernist' science and literature.
Reviews / Votes
Interesting and timely study ... this is a very welcome contribution to Proust studies - not least for the connections made between Proust's writing and the theories of contemporaneous scientists, notably Poincare * Forum for Modern Language Studies * Luckhurst convincingly redraws the map to show the common geography of literature and science; any stodgy, pedantic hesitations are soon cast aside as Luckhurst guides us through the 'abundant metaphoric, speculative, and regulatory presence' of science in the recherche. * Margaret E. Gray, Times Literary Supplement *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 222 mm
Width: 145 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
524 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-816002-1 (9780198160021)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Author
Research Fellow, School of Advanced StudyResearch Fellow, School of Advanced Study, University of London
Content
Introduction ; Maxims ; Correspondence between Art and Science ; Retroduction ; Hypothesis ; Modelling ; Knowledge as Revolution and Revelation ; Theory-laden souffrance ; Serendipity ; Bibliography ; Index