Swann's Way, Overture summary

What happens

1. The narrator wakes from reading and dreams, briefly losing his sense of place, time, and identity.
2. His body's remembered positions summon former bedrooms, and he describes how habit makes unfamiliar surroundings bearable.
3. Memories settle on Combray, where magic lantern pictures unsettle his bedroom rather than relieve his bedtime sadness.
4. His grandmother favors outdoor activity and suffers teasing when his great-aunt encourages his grandfather to drink forbidden brandy.
5. The narrator depends on his mother's bedtime kiss, which she withholds on evenings when dinner guests visit.
6. M. Swann visits the family, whose familiar view of him excludes knowledge of his aristocratic connections.

In this chapter

What to notice

The kiss concentrates the child's need for reassurance. Its brevity and absence on guest evenings explain why bedtime becomes a source of anxiety.

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