MUSIC AS A CALL TO CREATION (VINTEUIL).
Item
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Title
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MUSIC AS A CALL TO CREATION (VINTEUIL).
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Identifier
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AAI8801766
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identifier
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8801766
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Creator
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STREFEZZA-INCANTALUPO, ROSE.
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Contributor
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Burton Pike
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Date
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1987
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Literature, Comparative | Music
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Abstract
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The discussions of Vinteuil's music in A la Recherche du temps perdu represent a linear progression from doubt to understanding which closely parallels the spiritual and intellectual growth which permeates the entire length of the narrative. The four sections of A la Recherche which describe the composer's sonata and septet form a kind of microcosm of the entire novel and develop ideas concerning music which will eventually be extended to encompass art in general. By examining these episodes and the impressions evoked by Vinteuil's music within the overlapping characters of Swann and Marcel, the reader can achieve a better understanding of the evolution of thought which characterizes A la Recherche, and ends in the eventual reconciliation of all of Marcel's doubts concerning the nature of art and his own ability to write.;When considering Vinteuil's music, Swann may be viewed as the initial stages in the process of evolution which leads to Marcel's total understanding of art. The depiction of Swann's impressions of Vinteuil's sonata which characterizes the first three sections are basically a portrayal of error with Swann reaching his point of maximum growth in his assumption that the importance of music lies in its ability to incarnate the beauty of nature. Swann remains a somewhat static character, and in a sense, the point at which his growth ends, is where that of Marcel begins. The process of evolution remains incomplete in the character of Swann and continues with Marcel and the introduction of the septet. The point of transition between the two characters occurs in the third section when Marcel is introduced to the sonata by Swann and Odette. Although the sonata incarnates, in essence, the same message as the septet, it comes to be associated with the misconceptions and growth which accompany a period of initiation. In this dissertation, I plan to study the process of evolution which becomes apparent in the four sections devoted to Vinteuil's sonata and septet and relate it to Marcel's ultimate realization of his creative potential. Vinteuil's music becomes Marcel's stimulus to creation, the turning point from which his ultimate revelation will spring. For Marcel, Vinteuil becomes the artist who has captured the essence of reality, the artist he must strive to emulate.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Comparative Literature
