{"id":3199,"date":"2018-02-12T22:14:26","date_gmt":"2018-02-12T22:14:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/?page_id=3199"},"modified":"2018-02-19T19:27:15","modified_gmt":"2018-02-19T19:27:15","slug":"letter-from-marcel-proust-to-jacques-hebertot-31-january-1917","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/letter-from-marcel-proust-to-jacques-hebertot-31-january-1917\/","title":{"rendered":"Letter from Marcel Proust to Jacques H\u00e9bertot, 31 January 1917"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By <a href=\"https:\/\/www.english.illinois.edu\/people\/sylee8\">Sabrina Y. Lee<\/a>, graduate student in English<\/p>\n<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-3199 gallery-columns-4 gallery-size-full'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_001_1.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1967\" height=\"2672\" src=\"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_001_1.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-3206\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_001_1.jpg 1967w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_001_1-221x300.jpg 221w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_001_1-768x1043.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_001_1-754x1024.jpg 754w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1967px) 100vw, 1967px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-3206'>\n\t\t\t\t1\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_002_2.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1982\" height=\"2658\" src=\"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_002_2.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-3208\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_002_2.jpg 1982w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_002_2-224x300.jpg 224w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_002_2-768x1030.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_002_2-764x1024.jpg 764w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1982px) 100vw, 1982px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-3208'>\n\t\t\t\t2\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_002_3.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2663\" height=\"1992\" src=\"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_002_3.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-3209\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_002_3.jpg 2663w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_002_3-300x224.jpg 300w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_002_3-768x574.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_002_3-1024x766.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2663px) 100vw, 2663px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-3209'>\n\t\t\t\t3\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_001_4.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2671\" height=\"1999\" src=\"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_001_4.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-3207\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_001_4.jpg 2671w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_001_4-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_001_4-768x575.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_001_4-1024x766.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2671px) 100vw, 2671px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-3207'>\n\t\t\t\t4\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_003_5.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1971\" height=\"2672\" src=\"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_003_5.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-3210\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_003_5.jpg 1971w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_003_5-221x300.jpg 221w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_003_5-768x1041.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_003_5-755x1024.jpg 755w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1971px) 100vw, 1971px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-3210'>\n\t\t\t\t5\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_004_6.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1988\" height=\"2668\" src=\"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_004_6.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-3211\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_004_6.jpg 1988w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_004_6-224x300.jpg 224w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_004_6-768x1031.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_004_6-763x1024.jpg 763w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1988px) 100vw, 1988px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-3211'>\n\t\t\t\t6\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_004_7.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2667\" height=\"1982\" src=\"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_004_7.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-3212\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_004_7.jpg 2667w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_004_7-300x223.jpg 300w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_004_7-768x571.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_004_7-1024x761.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2667px) 100vw, 2667px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-3212'>\n\t\t\t\t7\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_005.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2196\" height=\"1509\" src=\"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_005.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-3213\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_005.jpg 2196w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_005-300x206.jpg 300w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_005-768x528.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2018\/02\/proust_letters_06_hebertot_43_005-1024x704.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2196px) 100vw, 2196px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-3213'>\n\t\t\t\tEnvelope\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>Letter from Marcel Proust to Jacques H\u00e9bertot, 31 January 1917<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"#_ftn1\" name=\"_ftnref1\">[1]<\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: right\">102 b<u><sup>d<\/sup><\/u> Haussmann <a href=\"#_ftn2\" name=\"_ftnref1\">[2]<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Sir<\/p>\n<p>I am sending you a translation of <em>St. Mark\u2019s Rest<\/em>, one of <em>The Stones of Venice<\/em> and <em>Swann\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"#_ftn3\" name=\"_ftnref2\">[3]<\/a>. Regarding <em>The Seven Lamps<\/em>, I have been unable to find it because the translation was printed by a publisher that went bankrupt <a href=\"#_ftn4\" name=\"_ftnref3\">[4]<\/a>. As it was among the titles you mentioned, I had wanted to send you a complete package and this is why my expression of gratitude is so late in coming. But it is very sincere and your kind words were especially touching because I felt Ren\u00e9 Blum\u2019s friendship was behind them <a href=\"#_ftn5\" name=\"_ftnref4\">[5]<\/a>. The copies I am sending you (except for <em>Swann<\/em>) are ones I have used, and are quite worn, so do not hesitate to keep them if you would like, or to toss them along the way if they are a bother. In any case they are yours now. They are what you asked for, not what I would have chosen. With Ruskin, there is too much genius that is hidden and held captive in the middle of outdated theories; a Ruskinian not yet fully initiated should not read things besides <em>Selected Pages<\/em> \u2014 or what in the case of Ruskin we should call delivered pages. I once gathered together such a collection of pages, but I destroyed it upon the entreaty or, rather, following the order \u2014 because that is more his style \u2014 of M. de la Sizeranne who himself had put together but not yet published a similar collection and did not want to find himself one-upped <a href=\"#_ftn6\" name=\"_ftnref5\">[6]<\/a>. It was a moral dilemma, Ruskinian if you will, to obey someone whom I do not regard as a master but who, concerning Ruskin at least, for me, held seniority and with whom I had expected to remain, without any false humility on my part, quite distant. Having a clear path, then, he brought out a collection with Hachette. I can send it to you if you would like, unless you would rather continue on your own through the so-often murky undergrowth and forest, searching for the golden bough <a href=\"#_ftn7\" name=\"_ftnref6\">[7]<\/a>. Sir I would be grateful if you would let Ren\u00e9 Blum know that I think of him fondly. I do not write to him because my eyes hurt quite badly and it takes a matter about Ruskin, and about providing an Open Sesame\u00a0<a href=\"#_ftn8\" name=\"_ftnref7\">[8]<\/a>\u00a0to a writer keen on penetrating the enchanted cave, in order for me to \u201cflourish my quill\u00a0<a href=\"#_ftn9\" name=\"_ftnref7\">[9<\/a><a href=\"#_ftn78\" name=\"_ftnref7\">]<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0But I often think of him.<\/p>\n<p>High regards<\/p>\n<p>Marcel Proust<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref1\" name=\"_ftn2\">[1]<\/a>\u00a0Letter catalogued as Proust-Series 7 (Items by Proust) \/ Item Proust 43, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref2\" name=\"_ftn2\">[2]<\/a> Proust rarely dated his letters; however, this particular letter is still paired with its postmarked envelope. In addition to dating this letter with certainty, the envelope is also remarkable because it bears Proust\u2019s home address, 102 boulevard Haussmann, in Proust\u2019s own hand. I thank Caroline Szylowicz for this insight.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref3\" name=\"_ftn3\">[3]<\/a> Proust is referring here to <em>Du c\u00f4t\u00e9 de chez Swann<\/em>, the only volume of <em>\u00c0 la recherche du temps perdu <\/em>published and, thus, able to be mailed by 1917. However, in other letters, he refers to other volumes of the <em>Recherche<\/em> as \u201c<em>Swann\u201d<\/em> as well, perhaps as a kind of shorthand.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref4\" name=\"_ftn4\">[4]<\/a> Except for <em>Swann<\/em>, these works are by John Ruskin. The publisher in question, Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 d\u2019\u00c9dition artistique, seems to have gone out of business sometime between 1900 and 1904: see Philip Kolb,\u00a0<em>Corr<\/em>, vol. 3, p. 181, note 4. For more information on these translations and their publication dates, see Fran\u00e7oise Leriche,\u00a0<em>Lettres<\/em>, p. 795, notes 2-4.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref5\" name=\"_ftn5\">[5]<\/a> Ren\u00e9 Blum was a journalist, writer, theater director, and the brother of the French Prime Minister L\u00e9on Blum (see the biographical notice by Virginie Greene in\u00a0<em>Lettres<\/em>, p. 1189). Like H\u00e9bertot, Blum was a writer for the periodical <em>Gil Blas<\/em>. He also helped arrange the connection between Proust and the publisher Bernard Grasset (see Juliette Hassine\u00a0in <em>Dictionnaire Marcel Proust<\/em>, p.\u00a0158).<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref6\" name=\"_ftn6\">[6]<\/a>\u00a0The volume of <em>Selected Pages<\/em> in question is <em><a href=\"http:\/\/gallica.bnf.fr\/ark:\/12148\/bpt6k9649500w\">Pages choisies, avec une introduction de Robert de La Sizerann<\/a>e<\/em>,\u00a0first published by Hachette in 1908 (see Fran\u00e7oise Leriche, <em>Lettres<\/em>, p. 445). La Sizeranne was a noted art critic and, as Proust notes in his letter, an important scholar of Ruskin. An <a href=\"https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=ZgHucDDOU8YC&amp;lpg=PA900&amp;ots=a0N3aYHj-N&amp;dq=Pages%20Choisies.%20Avec%20une%20introduction%20de%20Robert%20de%20La%20Sizeranne&amp;pg=PA900#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false\">advertisement in the September-October 1908 issue of <em>La\u00a0Revue de Paris<\/em><\/a> draws attention to the importance of <em>Pages Choisies<\/em>: this book was the first \u201cpanoramic\u201d view of Ruskin available in French.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref7\" name=\"_ftn7\">[7]<\/a> Fran\u00e7oise Leriche notes that the golden bough refers to Canto VI of\u00a0<em>The Aeneid<\/em> (<em>Lettres<\/em>, p. 795, note 7). The golden bough is a kind of talisman that Aeneus must find in order to safely enter and exit the underworld.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref8\" name=\"_ftn8\">[8]<\/a> In the story of \u201cAli Baba and the Forty Thieves\u201d in <em>1001 Nights<\/em>, the passcode that opens the magical cave is \u201cOpen Sesame.\u201d This is also one of the designs on Aunt L\u00e9onie\u2019s plates in <em>Combray I<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref9\" name=\"_ftn8\">[9]<\/a>\u00a0With his use of scare quotes and the subjunctive mood regarding\u00a0\u201cflourish my quill\u201d (\u201cprisse une plume\u201d), it seems as if Proust is ironically and self-mockingly posing as a grandstanding writer, too busy to answer his mail.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>On 31 January 1917, Marcel Proust had this letter mailed to alert Jacques H\u00e9bertot to the arrival of a package that included <em>Du c\u00f4t\u00e9 de chez Swann<\/em> and translations of a few works by the influential nineteenth-century art critic John Ruskin. <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jacques_H%C3%A9bertot\">H\u00e9bertot, a pseudonym for Andr\u00e9 Daviel<\/a>, was a theater director and critic, as well as a poet\u00a0<a href=\"#_ftn9\" name=\"_ftnref7\"><\/a><a href=\"#_ftn10\" name=\"_ftnref7\">[10<\/a><a href=\"#_ftn78\" name=\"_ftnref7\">]<\/a>. However, the address on this letter\u2019s envelope starkly highlights his situation during the war: H\u00e9bertot, a \u201cmar\u00e9chal des logis\u201d (a military rank comparable to a sergeant), served in France\u2019s 81<sup>st<\/sup> Heavy Artillery regiment. Moreover, Proust\u2019s permission to \u201ctoss\u201d the books \u201calong the way,\u201d evokes the life of a soldier who, often on the move, might be forced to leave a cumbersome package on the side of the road.<\/p>\n<p>Not merely a practical note, this letter provides Proust the occasion to mention a mutual friend (<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ren%C3%A9_Blum_(ballet)\">Ren\u00e9 Blum<\/a>), and share a few insights into his own relationship to Ruskin\u2019s work. Considered Proust\u2019s \u201cVirgil,\u201d Ruskin greatly influenced Proust\u2019s development as an artist <a href=\"#_ftn11\" name=\"_ftnref2\">[11]<\/a>. Indeed, as both an essayist and a translator, Proust was a Ruskin expert, and it seems as if H\u00e9bertot sought out his advice on this account. Here, then, Proust serves as a guide for H\u00e9bertot <a href=\"#_ftn12\" name=\"_ftnref2\">[12]<\/a>. Through an allusion to the golden bough that grants safe admittance to and return from the underworld, Proust positions himself as the Sybil who directs Aeneus to revelation, in Canto VI of <em>The<\/em> <em>Aeneid<\/em>. He then goes on to describe his knowledge as \u201can Open Sesame\u201d to \u201cthe enchanted cave,\u201d able to shepherd readers toward various aspects of Ruskin\u2019s \u201cgenius.\u201d Through this mythical and magical self-positioning, Proust effectively competes with and, possibly, supplants Robert de La Sizeranne as a guide to Ruskin.<\/p>\n<p>However, replacing La Sizeranne is hardly Proust\u2019s ultimate aim. In this letter, Proust also distances himself from Ruskin and from his earlier, enamored position as a Ruskinian disciple. Referencing initiation and \u201cdelivered pages,\u201d he parodies Ruskin\u2019s religiosity, as well as his own previous devotion to the critic\u2019s works. Furthermore, Proust judges some, though certainly not all, of Ruskin\u2019s theories to be \u201coutdated.\u201d The letter traces the arc of of Proust\u2019s evolving relationship with the famed art critic: Proust initially acts as a guide; later as a critic; and, now, as an independent creator. The contents of the accompanying package underscore the latter role. As Proust includes <em>Swann <\/em>\u2014 the first volume of <em>\u00c0 la recherche du temps perdu<\/em>, a project that grew exponentially during the war \u2014 alongside his old bibles, he positions himself as a new Dante, poised to outdo his master.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref10\" name=\"_ftn8\">[10]<\/a>\u00a0See the biographical notice by Virginie Greene, in <em>Lettres<\/em>, p. 1244.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref11\" name=\"_ftn2\">[11]<\/a> See Cynthia Gamble, p. 30.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref12\" name=\"_ftn2\">[12]<\/a> Long before this letter, Proust positioned himself as a Ruskin guide for the French public. After Ruskin\u2019s death in January 1900, Proust published several tributes to the English art critic. For example, \u201cRuskinian Pilgrimages in France\u201d (\u201cP\u00e8lerinages ruskiniens en France\u201d), <a href=\"http:\/\/gallica.bnf.fr\/ark:\/12148\/bpt6k285050d\/f5.item\">published in <em>Le Figaro <\/em>on 13 February 1900<\/a>, surveys the various places in France Ruskin had admired. Proust \u2014 both pilgrim and guide \u2014 journeyed to such sites himself (see Cynthia Gamble, p. 30).<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Works cited<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Gamble, Cynthia. \u201cFinding a voice: from Ruskin to the pastiches.\u201d <em>Marcel Proust in Context<\/em>. Ed. Adam Watt. Cambridge University Press, 2013, 27-33.<\/p>\n<p>Hassine, Juliette. \u201cBlum, Ren\u00e9.\u201d <em>Dictionnaire Marcel Proust<\/em>. Ed. Annick Bouillaguet and Brian G. Rogers. Paris: Honor\u00e9 Champion, 2004, 158.<\/p>\n<p>Proust, Marcel. <em>Correspondance<\/em>. Ed. Philip Kolb. Paris: Plon (21 vols), 1970-1993.<\/p>\n<p>Proust, Marcel. <em>Lettres<\/em>. Ed. Fran\u00e7oise Leriche with Caroline Szylowicz. Paris: Plon, 2004.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>(<a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/2018\/02\/19\/proust-and-the-great-war-part-2\/\">Back to list of letters<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Sabrina Y. Lee, graduate student in English Letter from Marcel Proust to Jacques H\u00e9bertot, 31 January 1917\u00a0[1] 102 bd Haussmann [2] Sir I am sending you a translation of St. Mark\u2019s Rest, one of The Stones of Venice and Swann\u00a0[3]. Regarding The Seven Lamps, I have been unable to find it because the translation [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":320,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3199","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/320"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3199"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3199\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3488,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3199\/revisions\/3488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/rbx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}