Who Charles Swann is
Charles Swann moves easily through fashionable Paris, but the narrator's family knows him chiefly as a modest neighbour. He is cultured and witty, with social connections that the family does not fully understand. His visits to Combray interrupt the boy's bedtime ritual, keeping his mother downstairs when he longs for her kiss.
What Charles Swann wants
Swann wants to see Odette every day, and not knowing where she is makes him restless. At first she is not the kind of woman he usually admires. Her resemblance to a figure in a Botticelli painting gives his attraction a new force. A tender phrase from Vinteuil's sonata also becomes bound up with his feelings for her.
How Charles Swann changes
As his attachment deepens, Swann finds less ease in Odette's company and more cause for worry. He follows her, questions her and searches small remarks for signs of what she might conceal. His refinement offers little protection against a desire that grows stronger through uncertainty.
Questions
Who is Charles Swann?
Charles Swann is a wealthy, cultured neighbour of the narrator's family whose love affair occupies the novel's middle part.
Why does Swann fall for Odette?
His attraction grows partly through art and imagination, especially her resemblance to a figure in a Botticelli painting.
How does Swann know Madame Verdurin?
Odette brings him into Madame Verdurin's social circle, where he attends gatherings because he wants to see her.
