Orient, Colonialism and the Other in Marcel Proust

Abstract

This paper attempts to highlight the role and function of the Orient as a significant semantic category in Marcel Proust’s novel In Search of Lost Time. Through a careful reading of passages from the second, fourth, and seventh volumes of the novel, this paper aims to illuminate the ways in which Proust employs—but also subverts—the colonial vision through which he approaches issues such as social exclusion, the formation of the social subject, and sexuality.
The Orient, as the ultimate category of Otherness, delineates the framework and boundaries of what the permissible, while confronting subjects with the constant threat of their exile into the abyss of no-meaning. As an absolute Other, the Orient becomes a privileged space for exploring forbidden forms of existence. Through the stained lenses of the Orient of French Orientalism, Proust creates a space in which to reflect on queerness—one that has not been freed from the prejudices and contradictions of the colonial gaze.
The aim of the paper is to document the importance of the Orient as a meaningful analytical category for Proust’s work and to shed light on certain overlooked aspects concerning its role and function.