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3.29.2014

The Guermantes Way III p 626-629

p 627 | squaring the circle: which was proven impossible in 1882; the expression is often used as a metaphor for trying to do the impossible
p 627 | minced pork of Tours: perhaps referring to these rillettes; biscuits of Rheims, which are pink. <<==


p 628 | conical mitre of the Jews: the Jewish hat <<==
p 628 | Academic robe ==>>
p 628 | pharisaical = marked by hypocritical censorious self-righteousness
p 628 | aroma of carbolic acidPhenol — also known as carbolic acid - is an aromatic organic compound, once was widely used as an antiseptic, especially as carbolic soap, from the early 1900s to the 1970s.
p 628 | <<==  gown of scarlet satin faced with ermine, like that of a Doge...
p 629 | The Council of Ten (1310-1797), one of the major governing bodies of the Republic of Venice.
p 629 | Veto: from the Latin vetare, I forbid.
p 629 | Juro: While playing the hypochondriac Argan in his last play Le Malade Imaginaire (The Imaginary Invalid), Molière, who suffered from pulmonary tuberculosis, was seized by a coughing fit & spat blood just before he was to speak the word Juro (I swear). He finished the performance and died a few hours later.
p 629 | Bar Council: Bar Association.
p 629 | Chargé d'affaires = diplomatic official who temporarily takes the place of an ambassador.
p 629 | Salon=The Salon or Salon de Paris, beginning in 1725, was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. From 1748-1890, it was the greatest annual or biannual art event in the Western world. In 1849, medals were introduced.

3.20.2014

The Guermantes Way III p 607-626

Château de Villebonp 607 | This castle, Château de Villebon, was the model for the Château de Guermantes.  It's located at #3 on this map. More photos here.  Proust used it as an early draft name for the Guermantes, but then re-edited (and camouflaged) the family & castle, referring now just to the Villebon - Gallardon - Courvoisier side of the family. Châteaudun is also a community in the  Eure-et-Loir department in northern France (probably not as grand).  The Rue de Grenelle is in Paris.
p 610 | Pliny the Younger (Roman writer). Mme Pauline de Simiane (1674-1737) was the granddaughter of Mme de Sévigné.
p 612 | fuliginous = sooty, murky, dark. Sui generis is a Latin phrase, meaning "of its own kind/genus" and hence "unique in its characteristics."
p 613 | Princess Bedr-el-Budur: Aladdin fell in love with this character from the Arabian Nights.
p 615 | Daniel Auber (French composer, 1782-1871) of operas such as Les diamants de la couronne, Le domino noir and Fra Diavolo.
p 616-17 | Prince / Princesse des Laumes: titles for Basin & Oriane before his father died & they became the Duc & Duchesse de Guermantes.
p 616 | "cutting the painter" :: an expression meaning, in terms of ships, making a clandestine departure, but also, in terms of an individual, gaining one's freedome, or departing this life. Ships' boats are secured alongside by means of their painters, and a silent or clandestine departure can only be made by cutting the painter and allowing the boat to drift silently away from the ship until it is out of earshot of those on board. cf. answers.com
p 617 | Évariste Desiré de Forges, vicomte de Parny (1753–1814), French poet, known for love poems & prose poems. Some of his work was banned.
p 619 | Charles Grandmougin (French playwright & librettist, 1850-1930); Gaston Lemaire (French composer, 1854-1928). Marquise de Souvré (friend of the Princesse de Parme).
p 626 | cupidity = inordinate desire for wealth; greed, avarice, lust.