No doubt they did not go so far as to repeat the public exhibition which had revolted everybody. But gradually they returned to their old ways. And one evening as I came out of the Casino, which was half in darkness, with Albertine and Bloch whom we had met there, they came by, linked together, kissing each other incessantly, and, as they pass us, crowed and chortled and uttered indecent cries. Bloch lowered his eyes so as to seem not to have recognised his sister, and I was tortured by the thought that this private and horrifying language was addressed perhaps to Albertine.
Marcel Proust, Cities of the Plain, p. 879
Apparently Marcel is now seeing homosexuals everywhere. Of course, as we all know, if you're looking for something you will inevitably find it. Bloch's reaction is interesting, although not particularly surprising. However, the presence of the two women together in the evening seems to contradict Marcel's earlier suggest that maybe the two women were merely trying to cause a scandal, as compared to a sincere relationship. Of course, all of this is overshadowed by his own growing jealousy and paranoia about Albertine, even going so far as to propose that "I was tortured by the thought that this private and horrifying language was addressed perhaps to Albertine." More on this front tomorrow.
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