FRANCOISE AND HER LANGUAGE IN "A LA RECHERCHE DU TEMPS PERDU"

Each character in La Recherche du temps perdu speaks a
distinct idiolect. Only the language of Fransoise has
complex characterological and symbolic functions.
Fransoise's language serves three consistent purposes:
First, it represents the speech of the peasantry or a whole
social class. Second, as exclusively spoken French, it
embodies the long rich history of the French language since
the Middle Ages, constituting indeed a living palimpsest of
the language. Third, as palimpsest, it verbally situates
the character Fransoise as creative counterpart to the
narrating artist Marcel. Fransoise is the French language
through history: she is the "genie linguistique a l'etat
vivant."