... can be viewed as an imaginative literary illustration of Bergson's contemporary theories, as the many voices of its narrator are seen to comply with the philosopher's need "de se juxtaposer pour se penetrer", this innovative narrator seemingly as fascinated by the unexpected, yet familiar revelations of his own subconscious as Bergson. It is probably worthwhile to momentarily ponder on the fact that some critics, along with Bryan Rogers, consider Combray as a "spiritual autobiography" of its author, Marcel Proust. In this way Proust's quest for self discovery by processes of exploring his own subconscious is seen to be the author's objective analysis of his own memory. It is no accident, perhaps, that the rather dramatic tensions within the Oedipal love triangle in the family of the little Marcel occupy such a central role in his story, for Marcel Proust himself was known to love his own mother Jeanne very dearly. ...

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