Proust's Gods Christian and Mythological Figures of Speech in the Works of Marcel Proust

Proust's works are peculiarly rich in figures of speech drawn from Christian and biblical, and classical and mythological sources. This study explores the functions and effects of these interweaving cycles of imagery--cycles which are vital to key thematic areas of A la recherche du temps perdu . Proust's Gods also opens up a wider, diachronic perspective, analyzing the increasing sophistication of Proust's style from his earliest writings onwards, and re-evaluating the role of the largely-ignored correspondence in his stylistic development.

Margaret Topping is Lecturer in French at the University of Wales at Bangor.