Figure 2.--I believe these are the Proust brothers. The French were not as taken with the kilt as the British and Americans, but the dresses worn by these boys in a photograph dating about the 1870s has been clearly influenced by the kilt. Here Robert wears a white kilt. I'm not sure if this was done because he was the younger brother. He also has his hair styled in a kinf of large curl. Marcel wears his hair in bangs. They look to be about 5-7 years old.

Biography: Marcel Proust (1871-1922)

Marcel's parents were solid French bourgeois. His father, Adrien Proust, was a respected doctor. His mother, Jeanne Weil, was from a prosperous, educated Jewish family from Alsace. Marcel was born in Paris during 1871 and the rise of the Pais Commune. He was a sickly child, suffering from asthma from his early childhood. We have only limited information on Marcel's boyhood clothes. Proust (and I think his bother) as a boy wore dresses and other skirted garments. He appears to have worn smocks in school. Gradually his different essays merged into one single project to write a more comprehensive work. The book turned into a novel that he would continue to write for the rest of his life. He mamed his book À la recherche du temps perdu (Remembrance of Things Past). This autobiographical novel was written mostly in the stream-of-consciousness style. The work includeds a dizzying collection of childhood memmories, literary ans sociological discusions from cultured salons, observations of the wealthy life style, social gossip, and much more. Proust is not the easiest author to read. Literary critics at the time disagreed about the merits of his novel. Some saw him as a brilliant writer. Others complained that it was impossible to read the wok. Most modern scholars see À la recherche du temps perdu as a major achievement in French letters and a major example of French expression. Literary historiand see Proust as a pioneer of the modern novel. Proust made modern distinctioins between man and work.

Parents

Marcel's parents were solid French bourgeois. His father, Adrien Proust, was a respected doctor. His mother, Jeanne Weil, was from a prosperous, educated Jewish family from Alsace. His mother was very attentaive, in fact a classic Jewish mother.

Brother

Marcel had a brother named Robert. They appear to hve been very close. Robert was born in 1873.

Childhood

Marcel was born in Auteuil during 1871 and the rise of the Pais Commune. He was a sickly child, suffering from asthma from his early childhood. A great deal is known about Marcel's childhood. This is because Proust begin's is great novel with childhood recollections. These memmories at first emerge as rather stilted and disconected. This begins to change into a more personal, direct form when he tastes a madeleine cake dipped in linden tea, a common treat his mother gave him as a child.

Childhood Clothing

We have only limited information on Marcel's boyhood clothes. Proust and I think his bother as a boy wore dresses and other skirted garments. The image here shows them wearing matching kilt suits. The only difference being that Robert's kilt is white. The image here shows Proust at aged 16 in 1887. It looks like his school clothing, perhaps a smock which he is wearing with a wide white collar and bow. Some HBC readers disagree. A French reader disagrees, "I believe that Proust is wearing a shirt with a separated white collar. The French smock with a such sort of collar has never been common in France. I think this style was more common in Italy. In this Lycée the smock ws never compulsory." Another reader writes, "I agree with comments of your french reader. Smocks with big collars and bows were a specialty of Italy." HBC agrees that this style was very common in Italy, but we have noted some late 19th century images of French boys wearing smocks with white collars and bows. A reader advises us, "Unless strictly Catholic (which is not the case of lycée Condorcet), French lycées did not require smocks."

Hair Styles

We do not yet have details on Marcel's hair style as a younger boy. We do not know if they had long hair as younger children. One image taken about 1878 shows Robert's hair in a kinf of large curl on top his head, perhaps an eraly version of the choupette. Marcel's hair is done inmore boyish bangs, presumably because he was older. It is interesting to note that while his smock, collar, and bow would not be very popular with modern 16 year olds, his hair cut in 2002 is the height of fashion. We are not sure just hy he has such short hair. We rather doubt that this was a hair style hs mother selected. We think that this was probably a hair style that was required by his Lycée, but we can not yet confirm this. Some of oyr readers disagree. A French reader tells us, "Short hair cuts were very popular for teenagers during mant times in France. It was a sign of neatness. This style was less common for the younger for the younger boys. There were many hair styles for younger boys: long, curly, barette, choupette, and many others according to the mother's fashion style." Another reader advises us, "The hair style is certainly own choice of Proust or his parents. Only lycées with a military type of education would have requested such type of short hair."


Figure 2.--The image here shows Proust at aged 16 in 1887, presumably in hisLycée Condorcet uniform. It is unclear, but it looks to be a smock. He wears his white collar with a bow--I'm not sure about the color. Some HBC readers disagree and do not think that he is wearing a smock here.

Education

Proust attended an acdemically selected secondry school, the Lycée Condorcet (1882-89). A bit information about the " Lycée Condorcet " It is one of the old and prestigious secondary school in Paris . Only the best pupils of the Paris region were accepted. The Marquis Condorcet was academician; he was a philospher and a mathematician just before the French Révolution. At first this school was named " lycée classique 1ér cycle ". In France it was the name given to the secondary school until the new reform institued by Minister Berthion in 1959. A " Collège " is a secondary school for students 11-14 years old ( class 6 to 3 ) and " Lycée " for the student 15 -17 years old ( class 2 to terminale ). The school still exits.

The Lycée Condorcet it is a public school. A French reader tells us that "... as it was a public school, there would have been no rules for the garments. The pupils shoud be ( and are to day ) only obliged to be clean. Some boys wore smocks, sailor suit, or other outfits in line with the contemporary. The specific outfits would have been chosen by the parents and not set by the school. As the boys at the school came from respected, established families, it islikely that they were well dressed."

Proust's literary abilities were first noted at the Lycée Condorcet. His asthma continued to give him problems in school. He volunteered for service with the 76th infantry regiment at Orléans, and served for a year. His asthma could have been used to avoid military service, but Marcel did not choose to do so. Next Proust began his university studies. Proust studied law at the Sorbonne in the the École des Sciences Politiques.

Paris Salons

The salon was an important French cultural institution. A salon was the drawing room of a Parisian cultural devote invited writers, poets, artists, muscicians, and others to discuss issuesof interest. Usually the hoist was a married oman. (Her husband normally had a job and his wife had time to persue her cultural interests.) Proust as a young man began to frequent salons such as that of Mme Arman who was a friend of Anatole France. He impressed France who in 1896 helped Proust launch his writing careet by assisting him publish his first book.

Early Career

Proust's first bok was Les Plaisirs et les Jours which was a eclectic collection of short stories, essays and poems. It was not well received and only a few copies sold. While this was his first published book, Proust had begun another book earlier in 1895. He worked on it for several years, but gave up on it in 1899. (It was published after his death in 1952 as Jean Santeuil.) Disappointed with the poor reception to his first book, Proust worked several years to translating and annotating the works of the famous Victorian art crtic John Ruskin. He also published several articles about Ruskin. Other translations included: La Bible d'Amiens (1904) and Sésame et les Lys (1906). The prefaces to these works are early views of Proust's subsequent work.

Personal Life

Proust continued to suffered from asthma as an adult. His mother cared for him even as a young man and adult. He was very attached to her and never married. His father died in 1903, folowed by his mother in 1905. Until this time Proust was essentially a social climber, in trendy Paris salons. After his mother's death, Proust gradually withdrew from the salons and socity in general. He devoted himself to his writing in a sound-proof apartment.

Literary Career

Proust's writing career began in the late 1900s after his mother's death in 1905 which affected his deeply. One of his earliest works after his mother's death was "Sentiments filiaux d'un parricide" which appeared in the major Paris newspaper Le Figaro in February 1907 . It was showed his focus on the psychological approach and concern with memory and guilt. He continued writing articles for Le Figaro Some of the most popular were pastiches imitating great writers such as Balzac, Michelet, Flaubert, Sainte-Beuve and other important 19th cebtury authors.

Proust intended to focus on writing articles of literary and sociological criticsm. Gradually his different essays merged into one single project to write a more comprehensive work. The book turned into a novel that he would continue to write for the rest of his life. He mamed his book À la recherche du temps perdu (Remembrance of Things Past). This autobiographical novel was written mostly in the stream-of-consciousness style. The work includeds a dizzying collection of childhood memmories, literary ans sociological discusions from cultured salons, observations of the wealthy life style, social gossip, and much more.

Proust in 1913 published the first part Du Côté de chez Swann. He was not able to publish the second part until after World War I --À l'ombre des jeunes filles en fleurs in June 1919. Proust was awarded the Prix Goncourt. Prouse for the next 3 yers of his life continued writing additional parts of his novel: Le côté de Guermantes I (1920), Le côté de Guermantes II - Sodome et Gomorrhe I (1921), and Sodome et Gomorrhe II (1922).

Proust died of pneumonia in 1922. He left his great noel unfinished. Actually he had written the remaining parts, but bever finished never editing them for final publication. They were published by his brother Robert assissted by Jacques Rivière and Jean Paulhan--better known as the directors of La Nouvelle Revue Française. The three final parts were: La Prisonnière (1923), Albertine disparue (1925) and Le Temps retrouvé (1927).

Assessment

Proust is not the easiest author to read. Literary critics at the time disagreed about the merits of his novel. Some saw him as a brilliant writer. Others complained that it was impossible to read the wok. Most modern scholars see À la recherche du temps perdu as a major achievement in French letters and a major example of French expression. Literary historiand see Proust as a pioneer of the modern novel. Proust made modern distinctioins between man and work.

Reader Comments

A French reader writes, "I know several of his works, such named A la recherche du temps perdu . I recall also of A l'hombre des jeunes filles en fleurs . I rather like this author, even if he is a bit complicated to read. I think he was a bit a pertubed and intovated person. Proust was a brillant student, both his writing skills and in politic science."







Christopher Wagner




Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Return to Main M-R biography page]
[Return to Main biography page]
[Introduction] [Activities] [Chronology] [Clothing styles] [Countries]
[Bibliographies] [Contributions] [Essays] [FAQs] [Glossaries] [Satellites] [Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]




Created: October 13, 2002
Last updated: October 17, 2002