Marcel Proust was a French writer and novelist whose works continue to captivate readers more than a century after their publication. His most famous work, In Search of Lost Time (also known as Remembrance of Things Past), is widely regarded as one of the greatest literary achievements of the 20th century.
Proust’s writing is known for its introspective and deeply reflective nature, as well as its vivid descriptions of life in early 20th century France. His work explores themes such as memory, love, art, and time, and has influenced countless writers and thinkers.
In addition to his novels, Proust is also remembered for his insightful and profound quotes. His words continue to inspire and provoke thought, offering a unique perspective on the human experience.
46 Marcel Proust Quotes
- “My destination is no longer a place, rather a new way of seeing.”
2. “Always try to keep a patch of sky above your life.”
3. “We are healed of a suffering only by experiencing it to the full.”
4. “Everything great in the world is done by neurotics; they alone founded our religions and created our masterpieces.”
5. “Happiness serves hardly any other purpose than to make unhappiness possible.”
6. “Happiness is beneficial for the body, but it is grief that develops the powers of the mind.”
7. “Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.”
8. “Let us leave pretty women to men with no imagination.”
9. “If a little dreaming is dangerous, the cure for it is not to dream less, but to dream more, to dream all the time.”
10. “Time, which changes people, does not alter the image we have of them.”
Marcel Proust Quotes About Life
11. “All our final decisions are made in a state of mind that is not going to last.”
12. “Mystery is not about traveling to new places but about looking with new eyes.”
13. “Only through art can we emerge from ourselves and know what another person sees.”
14. “When two people part it is the one who is not in love who makes the tender speeches.”
15. “Our desires cut across one another, and in this confused existence it is rare for happiness to coincide with the desire that clamoured for it.”
16. “It is not only by dint of lying to others, but also of lying to ourselves, that we cease to notice that we are lying.”
17. “Love is a reciprocal torture.”
18. “The person with whom we are in love is to be recognised only by the intensity of the pain that we suffer.”
19. “As long as men are free to ask what they must, free to say what they think, free to think what they will, freedom can never be lost and science can never regress.”
Marcel Proust Quotes About Imagination
20. “Reading is that fruitful miracle of a communication in the midst of solitude.”
21. “It is often hard to bear the tears that we ourselves have caused.”
22. “One becomes moral as soon as one is unhappy.”
23. “People are not always very tolerant of the tears which they themselves have provoked.”
24. “The fixity of a habit is generally in direct proportion to its absurdity.”
25. “Only imagination and belief can differentiate from the rest certain objects, certain people, and can create an atmosphere.”
26. “Remembrance of things past is not necessarily the remembrance of things as they were.”
27. “It is our imagination that is responsible for love, not the other person.”
28. “It is always thus, impelled by a state of mind which is destined not to last, we make our irrevocable decisions”
Marcel Proust Quotes About Love
29. “Love is a striking example of how little reality means to us.”
30. “We don’t receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us.”
31. Love is space and time measured by the heart.”
32. “The only true paradise is paradise lost”
33. “Happiness is good for the body, but it is grief which develops the strengths of the mind.”
34. “We must never be afraid to go too far, for truth lies beyond.”
35. “It is grief that develops the powers of the mind.”
36. “A change in the weather is sufficient to recreate the world and ourselves.”
37. “Everything that seems imperishable tends to extinguishment.”
Famous Marcel Proust Quotes
38. “Do not wait for life. Do not long for it. Be aware, always and at every moment, that the miracle is in the here and now.”
39. “The true paradises are the paradises that we have lost.”
40. “It comes so soon, the moment when there is nothing left to wait for.”
41. “Love is not vain because it is frustrated, but because it is fulfilled. The people we love turn to ashes when we posess them.”
42. “One cannot change, that is to say become a different person, while continuing to acquiesce to the feelings of the person one has ceased to be.”
43. “Facts do not find their way into the world in which our beliefs reside – they did not produce our beliefs, there, they do not destroy them.”
44. “With intelligent people, three-quarters of the things they suffer from come from their intelligence.”
45. “When you work to please others you can’t succeed, but the things you do to satisfy yourself stand a chance of catching someone’s interest.”
46. “The courage of one’s opinions is always a form of calculating cowardice in the eyes of the “other side.”
Additional Read: Marcel Proust
Marcel Proust was a French writer and novelist born in 1871 in the city of Auteuil, France. He came from a wealthy family and spent much of his life surrounded by the cultural elite of Paris, which greatly influenced his writing. Proust was an astute observer of human behavior, and his writing is characterized by its introspective and psychological nature, as well as its exquisite prose.
Proust’s most famous work, In Search of Lost Time, was published in seven volumes between 1913 and 1927. It is a vast, sprawling novel that explores themes of memory, time, love, and art, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest literary achievements of the 20th century. The novel is known for its intricate plotting, detailed characterizations, and its exploration of the inner lives of its characters.
In addition to his literary achievements, Proust is also remembered for his insightful and profound quotes, which continue to resonate with readers today. His words offer a unique perspective on the human experience, and his insights into the nature of love, art, and the passage of time continue to inspire and provoke thought.
Marcel Proust died in 1922 at the age of 51, leaving behind a rich legacy of writing that continues to captivate readers more than a century after his death. His influence on literature and culture cannot be overstated, and his work remains a testament to the enduring power of the written word.