Amandine Gay, artiste-essayiste : "Charles W. Mills nous ouvre les yeux : le contrat social est un contrat racial"

This novel, often referred to as 'In Search of Lost Time' in English, is a comprehensive work that delves into the narrator's memories and experiences from late 19th-century and early 20th-century high-society France. It is renowned for its exploration of involuntary memory, as exemplified by the famous 'episode of the madeleine'. The work is structured into seven volumes: 'Du côté de chez Swann', 'À l’ombre des jeunes filles en fleur', 'Le Côté de Guermantes', 'Sodome et Gomorrhe', 'La Prisonnière', 'Albertine disparue', and 'Le Temps retrouvé'. Proust began writing the novel in 1906 and continued until his death in 1922, with the last three volumes published posthumously.

Written in epistolary form, the novel tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant and ambitious scientist who, driven by Enlightenment-era ideas of progress and science, creates a living being from dead body parts. However, upon seeing the creature come to life, Frankenstein is horrified and abandons it. The creature, shunned by society due to its appearance, seeks revenge against its creator, leading to a series of tragic events. The novel explores themes of guilt, loss, and the emotional and moral consequences of scientific hubris, blending elements of Gothic and Romantic literature.