À la recherche du temps perdu is a novel, that seems to be understood, but Proust asked himself in 1908, as he held his master idea : " Should it be a novel, a philosophical study, am I a novelist ? " And he doubted. Could La Recherche have taken the form of an essay ? Are there any essays in La Recherche ? Did Proust write essays alongside, before or after La Recherche ? And besides, what did novelist and essayist mean when Proust embarked on his work ?
Symposium