When Albertine came back to my room, she was wearing a black satin dress which had the effect of making her seem paler, of turning her into the pallid, intense Parisian woman, etiolated by lack of fresh air, by the atmosphere of crowds and perhaps by the practice of vice, whose eyes seemed the more uneasy because they were not brightened by an colour in her cheeks.
Marcel Proust, The Captive, p. 97
I'm not certain why I culled out this passage except that it reminded me so much of the John Singer Sargent painting of Madame X - and also my belief that we should all try and use the word etiolated more frequently in polite company. What's strange about the description, however, is that it is at variance with how Proust normally describes Albertine as strong and tanned, which may be one more example to the role that perception plays in the novel and more broadly in life.
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| I know I've referenced this painting before, but it is one of my favorites. |
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