I can't help but think of how this passage itself isn't remembered perfectly by the writers (of biographies and psychology, as much as literary) who refer to it. For example, how much emphasis is on the tea, as much as the madeleine. It is a tea-soaked madeleine! Also Proust changed this from earlier drafts, a biscotto and (perhaps the truly autobiographical?) honeyed toast. Apparently he thought the madeleine was both more French and more elegant! I think it very accurately depicts the scenes from his childhood being reconstructed, piece by piece, not like seeing a film of the past, a carbon copy, but little pieces being fitted like puzzle pieces, some, like the feeling ofhappiness, at once, and some more gradually . I remember reading "Proust was a Neuroscientist", which actually had very little on Proust and quite a bit more on emphasis on "neuroscience," at least for educated laypeople, not other scientists. How ironic, the literary tidbit that references vague childhood memories, is itself misremembered!
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Gail Mercuri Sep 19, 2025
"Create. It is face to face with something which does not so far exist, to which it alone can give reality and substance which it alone can bring into the light of day." Cooking, like psychology is science. And like literary works, cooking is art. Cooking is creating something substantial and meaningful from simple ingredients.
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