8 ms·

The Affair Rekindled: Dreyfus and the effect it had on a young Marcel Proust

54 points by Thevet 4y ago

ggm 4y ago
Proust's writing of the explicitly Jewish character Bloch in "lost time", has anger and inner conflict which I think speaks to his own emotions. The casual antisemitism of others, speaks to to his experience. Bloch is distinctly unlovable and has characteristics of the of-the-time antisemitic tropes. Swann is an inferred jew. It's an indistinct quality, and he is definitely damaged goods in the story arc. I would think Proust identified with bits of both Bloch and Swann. The Dreyfus affair speaks to present time in "fake news" but also, in the division lines inside parties where a commitment to truth overrides other concerns. Cheney has little in common with the democrats. She just had a personal Rubicon crossing moment. A man who is antisemitic, finds evidence of a miscarriage of justice against a Jewish officer, exposes it and is banished to an outpost in Tunisia is a literary/historical example of the fate Cheney is bringing forward. Most of the people in the center of the Dreyfus Affair are opportunists. Even Zola. Can we not see elements of this in Trumpism and current politics? Guy Chapman's book on Dreyfus is the factual one I enjoyed the most. It's older, there may be better more recent appraisals. Robert Harris captures the feverish spying between the armed forces of the time, and competition between agencies inside the state. Even "Papillon" has its Dreyfus moments, Henri Charriere writes of the devils island prisoners making souvenirs to hawke to the credulous- each said to be "once belonged to Dreyfus" Some of the factual elements of the detective story in Dreyfus are strongly filmic: the paper tests in the fakes are Hitler-diaries level crude it becomes blindingly obvious it's a mishmash of real and faked writing. The cynical double dealing of the agencies offering plea bargains knowing he's innocent to save face. Dreyfus served his country post rehabilitation in WW1.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- nl 4y ago
  Good comment. I was going to point to the Robert Harris book too and the clear parallels with fake news. I'd add the current popular blaming of "the elites" by populist politicians has uncomfortable echos too. I also like this piece in the linked article: On one side were the Dreyfusards who defended reason and believed that France’s identity was defined by the abstract principles of equality and liberty. On the other side were the anti-Dreyfusards who deified unreason, convinced that France’s identity was rooted in la terre et les morts—the soil and the generations of dead buried in it.
  - ggm 4y ago
    The Terre and Les morts side, that's where Vichy had roots.
  - tarakat 4y ago
    > the Dreyfusards who defended reason and believed that France’s identity was defined by the abstract principles of equality and liberty. This makes sense as long as you don't think about it for longer than 30 seconds. Is every country, every person, striving towards the abstract principles of equality and liberty then "French"? Did being French hold no meaning when they were still a monarchy? Was everyone on the wrong side of the French revolution then not French, but some other nationality? And is Jewish identity likewise meaningless outside of a commitment to some abstract principles (and if so, which ones?), or do they, unlike the French, get to define it with other criteria, such as kinship and shared history?
    - WastingMyTime89 4y ago
      > Did being French hold no meaning when they were still a monarchy? Absolutely none. People were first and foremost from their region and each region had its own laws, customs and often language. What French view as the French identity very much is a post-revolutionary idea which was mercilessly spread through the eradication of regional cultures and languages and the standard curriculum by public schools during the nineteenth century.
      - pyrale 4y ago
        > What French view as the French identity very much is a post-revolutionary idea which was mercilessly spread through the eradication of regional cultures and languages and the standard curriculum by public schools during the nineteenth century. While there's no doubt that unspeakable horrors were done in the name of forging a collective narrative later on, it's also wrong to claim that's the origin of the french identity. During the _états généraux_ people who had a strong regional bond also sought to collaborate and build alliances outside of their group (e.g. the _club Breton_ [1], which grew into the _club des Jacobins_). Collaboration and common interests forged a new identity overlapping existing identities. If this process hadn't happened, there would never have been new revolutions happening simultaneously across France in the 19th century, way before the 3rd republic's schools opened. That process is pretty similar to post-revolution US colonies growing (and figuring out the details, and, at times, arguing about it) a new sense of common future on top of their existing independent identity. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club_Breton https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club_Breton
- ZeroGravitas 4y ago
  Umberto Eco's The Prague Cemetary touches on this too (and a lot of other interesting stuff).
Cupertino95014 4y ago
- becquerel 4y ago
  Without reference to the present, the past is useless.
  - Cupertino95014 4y ago
    Don't bother reading about it, then. You'll just find confirmation for what you already believe.
- ggm 4y ago
  The interesting thing for me about the past are how present the human frailties are, which inform both the past and the present. Woodrow Wilson was naive. You're telling me there's no naive politicians any more? Charles Dickens personifies "do as I say, not as I do" and we're not allowed to remark on Victorian hypocrisy as it informs contemporary mores? Who made you the history police? You want to tell people not to pull down statues? Or, only the ones we could judge by civil war era morals? Sure. If it's an essay do what your teachers ask. Out here in the unreal world, we draw comparisons all the time. (I am the proust reader and the dreyfus affair reader who posted a Trump reference above)
  - Cupertino95014 4y ago
    - ggm 4y ago
      That isn't all I said, and that isn't all I think. Stop writing ad hominem.
      - Cupertino95014 4y ago
        > Who made you the history police? You want to tell people not to pull down statues? I think you were the one who started ad hominem. I just suggested treating the past as the past and you got offended.
bambax 4y ago
> And to continue to place stones even when you no longer know why the reason why. OT, but I always enjoy that kind of typos that offer us a glimpse into the editorial process. Usually editing is cutting, so it's likely that the first version was "even when you no longer know the reason why", that was then changed to "even when you no longer know why" (which I think is better). But if the editor (or the author) had simply deleted "the reason" then there would be no typo (either the deletion would have worked or it wouldn't, but in both cases there would be only one instance of 'why'). So I gather the editor added the 'why' before 'the', and then intended to delete the rest of the sentence, but for some reason that didn't happen.
twic 4y ago
This humorous cartoon captures (perhaps exaggerates) the degree to which the affair divided society: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Un_d%C3%AEner_en_famille#/media/Fichier:Caran-d-ache-dreyfus-supper.jpg https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Un_d%C3%AEner_en_famille#/medi... On one message board i frequent, it has been taken up as a meme template. Simply replace "l'Affaire Dreyfus" with "the C++20 modules proposal", and you're done.

54 points by Thevet 4y ago

ggm 4y ago

Proust's writing of the explicitly Jewish character Bloch in "lost time", has anger and inner conflict which I think speaks to his own emotions. The casual antisemitism of others, speaks to to his experience. Bloch is distinctly unlovable and has characteristics of the of-the-time antisemitic tropes. Swann is an inferred jew. It's an indistinct quality, and he is definitely damaged goods in the story arc. I would think Proust identified with bits of both Bloch and Swann. The Dreyfus affair speaks to present time in "fake news" but also, in the division lines inside parties where a commitment to truth overrides other concerns. Cheney has little in common with the democrats. She just had a personal Rubicon crossing moment. A man who is antisemitic, finds evidence of a miscarriage of justice against a Jewish officer, exposes it and is banished to an outpost in Tunisia is a literary/historical example of the fate Cheney is bringing forward. Most of the people in the center of the Dreyfus Affair are opportunists. Even Zola. Can we not see elements of this in Trumpism and current politics? Guy Chapman's book on Dreyfus is the factual one I enjoyed the most. It's older, there may be better more recent appraisals. Robert Harris captures the feverish spying between the armed forces of the time, and competition between agencies inside the state. Even "Papillon" has its Dreyfus moments, Henri Charriere writes of the devils island prisoners making souvenirs to hawke to the credulous- each said to be "once belonged to Dreyfus" Some of the factual elements of the detective story in Dreyfus are strongly filmic: the paper tests in the fakes are Hitler-diaries level crude it becomes blindingly obvious it's a mishmash of real and faked writing. The cynical double dealing of the agencies offering plea bargains knowing he's innocent to save face. Dreyfus served his country post rehabilitation in WW1.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
nl 4y ago
Good comment. I was going to point to the Robert Harris book too and the clear parallels with fake news. I'd add the current popular blaming of "the elites" by populist politicians has uncomfortable echos too. I also like this piece in the linked article: On one side were the Dreyfusards who defended reason and believed that France’s identity was defined by the abstract principles of equality and liberty. On the other side were the anti-Dreyfusards who deified unreason, convinced that France’s identity was rooted in la terre et les morts—the soil and the generations of dead buried in it.
- ggm 4y ago
  The Terre and Les morts side, that's where Vichy had roots.
- tarakat 4y ago
  > the Dreyfusards who defended reason and believed that France’s identity was defined by the abstract principles of equality and liberty. This makes sense as long as you don't think about it for longer than 30 seconds. Is every country, every person, striving towards the abstract principles of equality and liberty then "French"? Did being French hold no meaning when they were still a monarchy? Was everyone on the wrong side of the French revolution then not French, but some other nationality? And is Jewish identity likewise meaningless outside of a commitment to some abstract principles (and if so, which ones?), or do they, unlike the French, get to define it with other criteria, such as kinship and shared history?
  - WastingMyTime89 4y ago
    > Did being French hold no meaning when they were still a monarchy? Absolutely none. People were first and foremost from their region and each region had its own laws, customs and often language. What French view as the French identity very much is a post-revolutionary idea which was mercilessly spread through the eradication of regional cultures and languages and the standard curriculum by public schools during the nineteenth century.
    - pyrale 4y ago
      > What French view as the French identity very much is a post-revolutionary idea which was mercilessly spread through the eradication of regional cultures and languages and the standard curriculum by public schools during the nineteenth century. While there's no doubt that unspeakable horrors were done in the name of forging a collective narrative later on, it's also wrong to claim that's the origin of the french identity. During the _états généraux_ people who had a strong regional bond also sought to collaborate and build alliances outside of their group (e.g. the _club Breton_ [1], which grew into the _club des Jacobins_). Collaboration and common interests forged a new identity overlapping existing identities. If this process hadn't happened, there would never have been new revolutions happening simultaneously across France in the 19th century, way before the 3rd republic's schools opened. That process is pretty similar to post-revolution US colonies growing (and figuring out the details, and, at times, arguing about it) a new sense of common future on top of their existing independent identity. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club_Breton https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club_Breton
ZeroGravitas 4y ago
Umberto Eco's The Prague Cemetary touches on this too (and a lot of other interesting stuff).

Cupertino95014 4y ago

becquerel 4y ago
Without reference to the present, the past is useless.
- Cupertino95014 4y ago
  Don't bother reading about it, then. You'll just find confirmation for what you already believe.
ggm 4y ago
The interesting thing for me about the past are how present the human frailties are, which inform both the past and the present. Woodrow Wilson was naive. You're telling me there's no naive politicians any more? Charles Dickens personifies "do as I say, not as I do" and we're not allowed to remark on Victorian hypocrisy as it informs contemporary mores? Who made you the history police? You want to tell people not to pull down statues? Or, only the ones we could judge by civil war era morals? Sure. If it's an essay do what your teachers ask. Out here in the unreal world, we draw comparisons all the time. (I am the proust reader and the dreyfus affair reader who posted a Trump reference above)
- Cupertino95014 4y ago
  - ggm 4y ago
    That isn't all I said, and that isn't all I think. Stop writing ad hominem.
    - Cupertino95014 4y ago
      > Who made you the history police? You want to tell people not to pull down statues? I think you were the one who started ad hominem. I just suggested treating the past as the past and you got offended.

bambax 4y ago

> And to continue to place stones even when you no longer know why the reason why. OT, but I always enjoy that kind of typos that offer us a glimpse into the editorial process. Usually editing is cutting, so it's likely that the first version was "even when you no longer know the reason why", that was then changed to "even when you no longer know why" (which I think is better). But if the editor (or the author) had simply deleted "the reason" then there would be no typo (either the deletion would have worked or it wouldn't, but in both cases there would be only one instance of 'why'). So I gather the editor added the 'why' before 'the', and then intended to delete the rest of the sentence, but for some reason that didn't happen.

twic 4y ago

This humorous cartoon captures (perhaps exaggerates) the degree to which the affair divided society: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Un_d%C3%AEner_en_famille#/media/Fichier:Caran-d-ache-dreyfus-supper.jpg https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Un_d%C3%AEner_en_famille#/medi... On one message board i frequent, it has been taken up as a meme template. Simply replace "l'Affaire Dreyfus" with "the C++20 modules proposal", and you're done.