Proust's Stairways to Lost Time

Although they have been neglected in the critical study of A Ia Recherche de
temps perdu. staircases play a crucial role in the great architecture of Proust's text.
Evoking the most recent theories of time and space, the Proustian staircase at once moves
and docs not move; it is both fluid and tl·ozcn, as an object in material space and in the
mental space of memory. From simpler architectural construct to overarching metaphor,
the staircase transfonns into a space-time amalgam resonating throughout the text. From
grand marble staircases to fetid back stairs, Proust also uses stairways to dramatize
ascending, socially ambitious characters and abject, declasscd failures . More than just a
representation of social hierarchy or scientific progress, however, Proust's staircases
model life and time, both their progression and their decay, and ultimately the coming-towriting
of the narrator.