Proust’s novel Swann’s Way is rife with philosophical ponderings, which he portrays through a variety of vivid descriptions and complex characters. His philosophy ranges across many themes, but he focuses heavily on the pursuit of happiness and love in a world filled with unspoken rules of conduct, and  class, or more importantly, how one’s perceived class can be the determinant of your access to happiness and love. These same themes have come up in lectures and films in the In Search of Lost Time program. A section of  Swann’s Way which is ripe with the aforementioned concepts can be found on pages 270, starting at the beginning of the last paragraph of the page, to page 272. First this paper will highlight the manner in which the themes of happiness/love and class are expressed in the passage, and how they are used to express the idea that the drive to find love and joy in life is powerful, but the power of class can limit one’s access to such prizes, leaving only the privileged class to take or leave their position in life as it suits them. Secondly, to illustrate the thematic nature of the topics of pleasure and class, the passage will be tied to a previous portion of the novel. Lastly, the manner in which the passage relates to the program over all will be explored.

The passage starts by contrasting the character Swann to most other people who who have a “sense of obligation laid upon them by their social grandeur” to confine themselves to a particular portion of life. Right away the author is touching on the topic of class and how it can confine people. Using a beautiful simile he likens it to being a “moored house-boat.” He goes on to say that this manner of existing causes them to “abstain from the pleasures” which exist outside their station. They “remain confined” resigning themselves to “mediocre distractions.”In other words, the structure of class often keeps people from accessing that which would make them truly happy, and believing they can’t overcome their class, they settle for less.

In contrast, specifically in the case of romance, Swann does not force himself to enjoy what he already has before him, but seeks out that which he already enjoys naturally: “Swann did not make an effort to find attractive the women with whom he spent his time, but sought to spend his time with women he already found attractive.” So for swan, love, or at least lust and the pursuit of his desires, transcended class. The manner in which Swann approaches the issue of intimate relations was described as being rather shallow in contrast to how he approached  his appraisal of intellectual matters such as art. “Depth of character-would freeze his senses, which were aroused at the sight of abundant, rosy flesh.”

The succeeding paragraph continues with the theme of class, saying that if Swann happened upon a family which it would be inappropriate for him to associate with, or  “cultivate,” that the sight of a woman with a “special charm” would override such codes of conduct. It is made clear that Swann sees class as something of an obstruction to his desires. To him, to stay on his “high horse”, that is to turn up his nose because of being of a higher station, rather than engaging in an available pleasure, would be “cowardly”. To use the word cowardly in this context implies that Swann sees his romantic exploits as a sort of adventure, as if trying to cross the imaginary lines of class was a daring and  noble feet.  Yet Swann’s pursuits seem to fall some what short of noble, because it is pleasure rather than love which seems to be his true obsession.  As someone with a lofty class standing he may harvest the attention and affections of women from any station he so chooses without fear of repercussion, at least not to the degree that a subordinate male may. So though he may at times resent how his privileged status creates some difficulty in obtaining the objects of his desire, he has the freedom to take or leave it at will. A clever metaphor is used at the bottom of page 271 to express this; Swann’s class is described as a collapsible tent and “any part of it which could not be adapted to some fresh pleasure he would have given away for nothing.”

Swann’s class can even be used to his advantage in many cases, for instance he may use the social credit he has with a duchess, due to her infatuation with him, to get close to the daughter of someone who works for her. He is likened to a “starving man bartering a diamond for a crust of bread.” In this way Swann manipulates others with his class, using it when it is convenient for him and abandoning it when it isn’t. Ironically, he is casting aside that which gives him the freedom to do so.

Due in part to Swanns uncommon disregard for his class, It is almost humorous how important the matter is to other characters, especially the narrator’s family. Throughout the beginning of the novel, the family of Combray believes that he is of equal status to them, but that he is associating with those of a lower class, when he has in fact risen above their station. The family is described as having an “utter ignorance of the brilliant social life which Swann led(19).” The family is correct in some respects, for Swann’s friendship with them, in addition to many of his affairs, could be described as “slumming it “ with those below his station. The family also passes judgement on Swann’s romantic as well as social life, affirming the the passages claim that social class played a pivotal role in determining whom one could fall in love with. Swann’s wife, who they have never in fact met, is assumed to be of such low social standing that they liken her to a “prostitute(26).”

The passage at hand relates to many of the topics which we have been discussing in other parts of the program. For instance, this passage not only plays with the themes of the pursuit of pleasure and classes role in that, but how arbitrary class really is if one can only allow their mind to let go of what society has taught you about it’s importance. It is the mind which creates the imposing reality of class. Such an idea can be tied to the philosophy of Descartes and his pondering of weather it was ones own mind which created the physical world. This idea which we discussed in lecture is in a sense true when it comes to the limitations that we participating in helping setup, such as class.

During lecture the rise of the middle class in Europe was covered as well, and how determining one’s social status became about expressing your standing through material possessions, your occupation, and your income, more than through title alone. We discussed how succeeding in those areas was believed then, and now, to be the path to happiness. So class is really just as important today as it was in the time of M. Swann.

The film Boyhood, which we viewed in class, also focuses on the belief that class predicts happiness. The protagonist’s mother works tirelessly through the first half of the film to get a better job, make more money, buy a big house, and find love. Yet, towards the end, she laments that rather than making her happy, that materials which she has acquired to lift her status, now makes her feel bogged down.

The imaginative writing style of Proust allows him to make remarks on the matters of pleasure seeking and class in a number of ways. He presents a scenario in which it is easy for the reader, with some thought, to formulate an idea of how important the matter of class was back in 18th century France, and how it still may affect how we approach life, and what desires we deem to be within our grasp. The same themes, have also been key points of interest through out other aspects of the In search of Lost time Program, making Swann’s Way a sort of philosophical companion to the course.