The Narrator

The narrator of the story is an adult male who reflects on his adolescence when he lived with his family in a town referred to as "C." He is sensitive, detail-oriented, and self-conscious. While unnamed, readers receive an intimate portrait of the narrator through the story's first-person perspective, as he shares his most consuming thoughts and emotions about wanting to be closer to the group of girls he sees intermittently in town. The narrator is notably observant, with artistic inclinations and an appreciation for the novelty the girls introduce into his life.

Because the story was included in a lengthy manuscript that sketches out many elements of Proust's seven-volume novel, In Search of Lost Time, the narrators are likely the same. In the novel, a man similarly reflects on his upbringing and the various social interactions he observed during his youth.

Monsieur T.

Monsieur T. is a...