Marcel Proust Quotes

A collection of quotes by Marcel Proust.

Marcel Proust (1871-1922) was a French novelist, critic, and essayist renowned for his monumental work, "In Search of Lost Time." Born in Auteuil, France, Proust developed a passion for literature early on and began publishing his writings in various literary journals. However, his greatest achievement came with the seven-volume novel, "In Search of Lost Time," which is considered one of the most influential works of the 20th century.

Proust's writing style focused on the exploration of memory, time, and the intricate workings of the human mind. By delving into the various aspects of memory and its impact on human existence, he provided profound insights into the complexities of life and human relationships. His introspective and moody prose offered an intimate portrayal of characters, their emotions, and the changing world around them.

Although Proust faced numerous setbacks during his writing career, including bouts of poor health and constant revisions to his manuscript, "In Search of Lost Time" was eventually published between 1913 and 1927. The novel's themes and philosophies continue to captivate readers to this day, and Proust's innovative narrative techniques and literary devices have left a lasting impact on the literary world.

Marcel Proust's work pushed the boundaries of traditional storytelling, captivating readers with its introspective exploration of memory and human experience. His legacy as one of the greatest writers of modern literature endures, ensuring his lasting influence on generations of authors to come.

Our worst fears, like our greatest hopes, are not outside ou

Our worst fears, like our greatest hopes, are not outside our powers, and we can come in the end to triumph over the former and to achieve the latter.

Illness is the doctor to whom we pay most heed; to kindness,

Illness is the doctor to whom we pay most heed; to kindness, to knowledge we make promise only; pain we obey.

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.

We must never be afraid to go too far, for truth lies beyond

We must never be afraid to go too far, for truth lies beyond.

But,instead of what our imagination makes us suppose and whi

But,instead of what our imagination makes us suppose and which we worthless try to discover,life gives us something that we could hardly imagine.

Life Imagination Opportunity Life Lessons Life And Living Unexpected

Everything that seems imperishable tends to extinguishment.

Everything that seems imperishable tends to extinguishment.

Life Life Lessons

In reality, in love there is a permanent suffering which joy

In reality, in love there is a permanent suffering which joy neutralizes, renders virtual, delays, but which can at any moment become what it would have become long earlier if one had not obtained what one wanted, atrocious

Love Joy

If a little dreaming is dangerous, the cure for it is not to

If a little dreaming is dangerous, the cure for it is not to dream less but to dream more, to dream all the time.

Time

It has been said that beauty brings a promise of happiness,

It has been said that beauty brings a promise of happiness, but it could be otherwise that the possibility of joy is the beginning of beauty.

Beauty

Let us leave pretty women to men with no imagination.

Let us leave pretty women to men with no imagination.

Imagination Beauty Women Proust

Like everybody who is not in love, he thought one chose the

Like everybody who is not in love, he thought one chose the person to be loved after endless deliberations and on the basis of particular qualities or advantages.

Age Love

Every reader finds himself. The writer's work is merely a ki

Every reader finds himself. The writer's work is merely a kind of optical instrument that makes it possible for the reader to discern what, without this book, he would perhaps never have seen in himself.

Work

We don't receive wisdom we must discover it for ourselves af

We don't receive wisdom we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us.

Wisdom

There are perhaps no days of our childhood we lived so fully

There are perhaps no days of our childhood we lived so fully as those we spent with a favorite book.

Youth

Things don't change, but by and by our wishes change.

Things don't change, but by and by our wishes change.

Change

It is comforting when one has a sorrow to lie in the warmth

It is comforting when one has a sorrow to lie in the warmth of one's bed and there, abandoning all effort and all resistance, to bury even one's head under the cover, giving one's self up to it completely, moaning like branches in the autumn wind. But there is still a better bed, full of divine odors. It is our sweet, our profound, our impenetrable friendship.

Sleep

The charms of the passing woman are generally in direct prop

The charms of the passing woman are generally in direct proportion to the swiftness of her passing.

Charisma

We are healed of a suffering only by experiencing it in full

We are healed of a suffering only by experiencing it in full.

Suffering

I understood that all the material of a literary work was in

I understood that all the material of a literary work was in my past life, I understood that I had acquired it in the midst of frivolous amusements, in idleness, in tenderness and in pain, stored up by me without my divining its destination or even its survival, as the seed has in reserve all the ingredients which will nourish the plant.

Creativity

I perceived that to express those impressions, to write that

I perceived that to express those impressions, to write that essential book, which is the only true one, a great writer does not, in the current meaning of the word, invent it, but, since it exists already in each one of us, interprets it. The duty and the task of a writer are those of an interpreter.

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