Centro Sefarad-Israel commemorates the centenary of the death of the French Jewish writer with an exhibition showing his unique vision of society, his unspeakable secrets and his relationship with Spain

In search of the Jewish time of Proust

It took Marcel Proust fourteen years to write In Search of Lost Time, one of the masterpieces of world literature, thanks to his capacity for analysis and observation of one of the most convulsive moments in the history of France and Europe. 

In those fifty years between the 19th and 20th centuries, France accentuated its rivalry with Germany, which would lead to three wars of global consequences, starting with the Franco-Prussian war, which would end with the defeat of Napoleon III and the definitive end of the Empire. These were times when the Jewish communities in France and in many European countries began to be singled out. Episodes such as the "Dreyfus affair" broke out, splitting French society in two, "in the manner of the two Spains", in the words of Brigitte Leguen, professor emeritus at the UNED and special advisor for the content of this exhibition. 

marcel proust centro sefarad atalayar

In conversation with Atalayar, Leguen emphasises the systematic concealment of the Jewish identity of many of its great figures: Proust himself, as well as the philosopher Bergson and the writer Montaigne. "The educational curricula consciously concealed this characteristic of their great figures, just as they were very careful to highlight the homosexuality of a large number of them," Leguen stresses. 

The exhibition now on display at the Centro Sefarad-Israel shows us how Proust's Judaism is presented in a multitude of identity and cultural aspects, which are mixed in his work with unsurpassed mastery. It captures his many references to the idea of time. In Judaism, past and present fracture the idea of chronology and always refer to one of the essences of the Jewish people: memory.

PHOTO/ATALAYAR - Marcel Proust centro sefarad Atalayar

The secret of his time

His homosexuality already began to manifest itself in The Pleasures and the Days, just when it was a subject that remained hidden in the society of his time, and which he would develop with the also habitual feeling of guilt for having a sexual orientation that did not conform to the established norms of the time. In the twilight of his days, however, he published Sodom and Gomorrah, two volumes of which came out in 1921 and 1922, respectively, and in which he explored this theme in great depth. 

In fact, until the death of his mother, Joanne Weil, in 1905, Proust avoided openly expressing what Elisabeth Ladenson calls "the damned trinity". Proust varies and calls it the "accursed race", while at the same time employing the concept of race in relation to Judaism. Proust describes the society around him and its social and worldly hypocrisy in such a way that he increasingly defends, through his characters, male homosexuality as an expression of nature. In Sodom and Gomorrah, his character, the virile and feminine Baron de Charlus, will make his greatest plea in defence of the visibility of homosexuality, which in this particular work also deals with female homosexuality. 

PHOTO/ATALAYAR - Marcel Proust centro sefarad Atalayar

All this took place in France at the same time as the Oscar Wilde case broke out in England, when he was arrested and convicted in 1895 "for indecent behaviour and sodomy", while in Germany the Eulenburg case focused on the relationship between Emperor Wilhelm II and Philippe zu Eulenburg. A relationship that ends with the condemnation of the prince and has a significant influence on the country's international politics. 

Proust uses fictitious names in his works, but there is one who is mentioned by his real name, the Spanish artist Mariano Fortuny (1871-1949), who was born in Granada and died in Venice. Proust gives him a sensual, poetic and painful role in his novel. In addition to his paintings, Proust admired Fortuny for his fashion creations, with inventions that were all the rage at the time, such as the Delphi tunic and the Knossos shawl, creations that were soon adapted by the great divas of theatre and dance, Sarah Bernhard, Isadora Duncan, Lilian Gish and Peggy Guggenheim. Orson Weles himself made the costumes for his Othello based on Fortuny's designs. 

An exhibition that fulfils its mission of discovering and delving into lesser-known facets of a great character. Organised in collaboration with the Institut Français de Madrid and the Fundación Hispanojudía, it will remain open until the end of 2022, punctuated by numerous conferences and debates that will help to understand even more about the complex personality of this universal and therefore timeless writer.
 

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