Just below the surface of A la recherche du temps perdu by Marcel Proust, a theme is slightly distinguishable. As the work progresses, this theme becomes omnipresent, in the narrator under the guise of a wish; this theme is travel. / At first glance, it is the very movement of travelling (real and imaginary) which propels the text. Although all Proustian characters travel, the richness of this theme is most eloquently expressed in Marcel. For this character, travelling takes on many forms: dreamed, accomplished, and written; it becomes at once real and mythic. / It has often been said that the Recherche told the story of a literary career. Given this, it seems that the search for writing is an integral part of this narrative of travel. Let us say that the very construction of the story, which is more related to the imaginary than to a real description of Venice, emphasizes the transition of reading to writing. It is this passage we wish to illustrate in this master's thesis; for Marcel, the act of reading is intimately connected to his desire of travel.

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