breathedout | Proust Day Celebrations (Reply)

I posted this as a Twitter thread originally, but thought I would cross-post since I expect there are more people in my circle here who have read the books. Add your own should you desire!

I used to celebrate Anaïs Nin's bday every year by handing out flowers & poetry to strangers. Just realized yesterday was Proust's bday and was trying to think of a fitting way to spend it. Potential Proust Day celebrations:

Go to a party. Spend the whole evening thinking about the superior caliber of amusement undoubtedly being had by people at a different party, to which you were also invited but decided not to go.

Have tea with a great beauty who was always standoffish when you loved them but who, now that you find them rather tiresome, actively solicits your company. Later, in the afternoon, take a melancholy carriage ride through the Bois. Make notes on the hats.

Concoct an elaborate ritual of heterosexuality in order to closet yourself to your society friends—most of whom, unbeknownst to you, are either queer themselves or have been trying to communicate their acceptance for decades.

Accidentally befriend your childhood artistic hero, whose art you no longer hold in high esteem. Wow, are they a piece of work!

Go for a walk. If you are in the mood to be a voyeur to sexual sadism, peek in literally any window you pass & observe at your leisure. If not, keep walking. Arrive at a place you remember from childhood, but which you believed to be located elsewhere.