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Who are Charles Swann and Odette in In Search of Lost Time?
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Marcel Proust
French author Marcel Proust wrote what is considered one of the supreme achievements of modern fiction, the seven-part autobiographical novel Ă la recherche du temps perdu (1913â27; In Search of Lost Time).
In Marcel Proustâs masterpiece, In Search of Lost Time, Charles Swann and Odette are central fictional characters whose complex relationship is a focal point of the novelâs first volume, Swannâs Way.123
- Charles Swann is a cultured, intellectual, and sensitive man who serves as a leading figure in the narrative. His deep devotion to Odette leads him to lose many of his social connections.12
- Odette is a striking but vain and unintelligent woman who was formerly a courtesan. She becomes Swannâs mistress and eventually his wife, though she continues to see other men throughout their marriage.13
Together, they are the parents of Gilberte Swann, a character with whom the novelâs narrator, Marcel, falls in love during his youth.3