Proust What Links Does Proust Draw Between

Proust

what links does Proust draw between his unconscious and his conscious self?

Proust experiences a momentary union with self when he first bites the Madeleine. In this state of union, unconscious and conscious self are united in a mystical moment that is ineffable: it cannot be defined. It also cannot be replicated at will. It was unconsciously conjured. The mind is uncomfortable when it loses control of itself in such a way that it confuses the seeker with the sought. In other words, the conscious self is often looking for the unconscious. In the moment the conscious and unconscious converge, it is impossible to capture because the conscious self -- the capturer -- is no longer available.

The unconscious self is a repository of memories, which seep into the conscious mind in series of deja-vu type experiences. In the present moment, the conscious mind reigns. The unconscious mind, on the other hand, is timeless. It is always linked to the conscious mind.

Physical sensations (like eating tea cakes) are what often trigger memories, but only on an emotional or fleeting level. It is impossible to chase down those memories, as Proust points out. One can train the conscious mind to shut out stimuli in a form of meditation, to still the mind so that the unconscious can speak. Yet that is still no guarantee that the past will resurface. It is important to let the conscious mind relax, so that it may encounter objects in the present moment that later liberate the soul of the past as the madeleine does for him. What is interesting is that Proust becomes aware that the sensations can be fragmented and not necessarily connected with one memory. The conscious mind tries to make sense of every sensation, but the unconscious mind does not need to be as literal.

Q2: What role does the Madeleine play in these relationships?

The Madeleine is a catalyst for Proust's awakening to memory, and to the direct experience of joy via what he had previously referred to as the liberation of a soul entrapped in an inanimate object. Of course, the sensation might have likewise been a sorrowful memory. The important thing is that the madeleine is a trigger. Tasting the madeleine liberated a feeling of joy and happiness, linked to a memory from his distant past.

Furthermore, Proust does not know exactly why the madeleine represents happiness so much that he knows that the taste of the madeleine dipped in tea is a direct connection to a memory of his aunt and Combray. Perhaps the memory of his aunt triggers a general sense of happiness, which is trapped in the madeleine. Musing on the madeleine allows Proust to see that memories are fragmented, contained in general ways. The taste of the madeleine brings forth the feeling of happiness, which is loosely linked not to a specific moment in time but to a whole era of his life: a whole town, a whole place, a whole sense of being.