For many years, especially before his marriage, even though Monsieur Swann, the son, often came to visit at Combray, my great aunt and grandparents never suspected he no longer moved at all in the society his family had frequented and that, behind a kind of incognito created in us by the familiar name Swann, they were sheltering—with the perfect innocence of honest hoteliers that have among them, unwittingly, a celebrated brigand—one of the most elegant members of the Jockey Club, a favored friend of the Comte de Paris and the Prince of Wales, one of the most pampered high-society men of Faubourg Saint-Germain.
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Pendant bien des années, où pourtant, surtout avant son mariage, M. Swann, le fils, vint souvent les voir à Combray, ma grand’tante et mes grands-parents ne soupçonnèrent pas qu’il ne vivait plus du tout dans la société qu’avait fréquentée sa famille et que sous l’espèce d’incognito que lui faisait chez nous ce nom de Swann, ils hébergeaient,—avec la parfaite innocence d’honnêtes hôteliers qui ont chez eux, sans le savoir, un célèbre brigand,—un des membres les plus élégants du Jockey-Club, ami préféré du comte de Paris et du prince de Galles, un des hommes les plus choyés de la haute société du faubourg Saint-Germain.
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N o t e s
Monsieur Swann. Who was the real-life inspiration for the character Charles Swann? According to an entry at Proust-ink.com, in a 1913 letter, not long after he published Swann’s Way, “Proust denied having portrayed anyone from life … because he was ‘too lazy’ to write anything that merely ‘duplicated reality.’” But in that same letter, he said that Charles Haas (1832–1902) “‘was the departure point for my Swann.’” I’ve seen no indication that Proust’s family knew the family of Haas or that Proust knew Haas as a child.
The author Henri Raczymow has written a book, Le Cygne de Proust (trans. as Swan’s [sic] Way), that blends criticism, history, and fiction in exploring Haas as the inspiration for Swann.
Another possible basis for Swann is American expatriate Willie Heath, to whom Proust dedicated one of his books.
Celebrated brigand. In earlier translations, brigand became “highwayman.” Some other words that come to mind are “bandit,” “robber,” or “outlaw,” but Proust did write “célèbre brigand.” While brigand has the same meaning in French and English, célèbre can mean “famous,” “celebrated,” and their synonyms, but also “notorious.”
Jockey Club. This “gentlemen’s club” was founded in 1834.
Comte de Paris. Philippe d’Orléans (1838–1894), claimant to the French throne. He lived sometimes in exile in England, and he fought for the Union in the American Civil War.
Prince of Wales. Albert Edward (1841–1910).
Faubourg St. Germain. In the 1800s, Parisian high nobility concentrated in this district in the seventh arrondissement. By the time of the action of Swann’s Way, the area was no longer a political center but retained its exclusiveness.