My Years With Proust - Day 422

   "Will you mind what you're saying, please.  I don't open my doors to trollops, Monsieur le Professeur," said Mme Verdurin, who had, on the contrary, done everything in her power to make Elstir return, even with his wife.  But before they were married she had tried to separate them, had told Elstir that the woman he loved was stupid, dirty, immoral, a thief.  For once in a way she had failed to effect a breach.  It was with the Verdurin salon that Elstir had broken; and he was glad of it, as converts bless the illness or misfortune that has caused them to withdraw from the world and has shown them the way of salvation.

Marcel Proust, Cities of the Plain, pp. 971-972

The Verdurins, and their class, are revealed to be more and more, at the least unpleasant, but more generally abhorrent.  Elstir was the artist who played a much more central role earlier in Remembrance of Things Past.  Marcel reflects on how Mme Verdurin had done everything in her power to convince Elstir not to marry his future-wife, including calling her "stupid, dirty, immoral, a thief."  Now, on the one hand I guess we could just revert to Percy Sledge, but what interests me is Mme Verdurin's effort in the first place, which doubtless has far more to do with her interest in maintaining her control (or at least her perceived control) over Elstir than it does her concern over his personal well-being.  As it turns out she did him a tremendous favor because it empowered him to free himself from her toxic community; "he was glad of it, as concerts bless the illness or misfortune that has caused them to withdraw from the world and has shown them the way of salvation."