Wednesday, February 17, 2021

“Wall lichen and cat fur”

The Guermantes complexion, hair, wit:

Marcel Proust, The Guermantes Way, trans. Mark Treharne (New York: Penguin, 2002).

Related reading
All OCA Proust posts (Pinboard)

comments: 7

Fresca said...

All that beauty... and then wall lichen & cat fur--
is this meant to imply something icky? That's how I feel about that combo.

Michael Leddy said...

I think it’s an instance of Proust’s penchant for striking, weirdly accurate comparisons, wherever they may range, though t I’m not sure how to find a halfway point between these things. No Guermantes would appreciate this comparison, for sure.

Michael Leddy said...

Make that “weirdly exact.”

Fresca said...

"Weirdly exact"--I like that.

Being compared to wall lichen--who would appreciate this comparison? LOL

Michael Leddy said...

Maybe tree moss?

Fresca said...

Peach fuzz?

Michael Leddy said...

Ha!