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Proust's Stairways to Lost Time

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Date Issued:
2007
Summary:
Although they have been neglected in the critical study of A Ia Recherche de temps perdu. staircases play a crucial role in the great architecture of Proust's text. Evoking the most recent theories of time and space, the Proustian staircase at once moves and docs not move; it is both fluid and tl·ozcn, as an object in material space and in the mental space of memory. From simpler architectural construct to overarching metaphor, the staircase transfonns into a space-time amalgam resonating throughout the text. From grand marble staircases to fetid back stairs, Proust also uses stairways to dramatize ascending, socially ambitious characters and abject, declasscd failures . More than just a representation of social hierarchy or scientific progress, however, Proust's staircases model life and time, both their progression and their decay, and ultimately the coming-towriting of the narrator.
Title: Proust's Stairways to Lost Time.
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Name(s): Bradford, Marla R.
Hokenson, Jan W., Thesis advisor
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Date Created: 2007
Date Issued: 2007
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 56 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: Although they have been neglected in the critical study of A Ia Recherche de temps perdu. staircases play a crucial role in the great architecture of Proust's text. Evoking the most recent theories of time and space, the Proustian staircase at once moves and docs not move; it is both fluid and tl·ozcn, as an object in material space and in the mental space of memory. From simpler architectural construct to overarching metaphor, the staircase transfonns into a space-time amalgam resonating throughout the text. From grand marble staircases to fetid back stairs, Proust also uses stairways to dramatize ascending, socially ambitious characters and abject, declasscd failures . More than just a representation of social hierarchy or scientific progress, however, Proust's staircases model life and time, both their progression and their decay, and ultimately the coming-towriting of the narrator.
Identifier: FA00000898 (IID)
Degree granted: Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2007.
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Sublocation: Digital Library
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00000898
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.