Proust's Lesbianism

A remarkably close reading of Proust's remarkably long novel, Ladenson's persuasive book will change the way we interpret Proust.... Ladenson's prose is also quite gratifying to read-a rare thing in the Academy that makes this erudite book both provocative and immensely entertaining.

Carefully orchestrated.... Ladenson scours Proust's early work... and converts the scattered evidence of lesbianism into a genuinely thought-provoking synthesis.

Through a series of finely articulated, close re-readings of Proust's Recherche, this book... provides us with what amounts to be no less than a systematic reassessment of the novel's entire sexual economy, the cornerstone of which being precisely what has been so far mostly ignored or dismissed by critics: Proust's representation of female homosexuality. A brilliant contribution to both the field of queer studies and Proustian criticism.

Elisabeth Ladenson has written the sort of book we all dream of writing-a book that figures something out no one has understood before but in a manner so utterly persuasive that afterward its point seems to go without saying. After reading Proust's Lesbianism, the reader says, 'but of course,' to what in all the decades of reading Proust no one had been able to see. On top of its completely convincing argument, the book is so gracefully written, so elegant and clear that it makes what Ladenson has achieved seem simple, deceptively simple. Ladenson has managed to produce a book of scholarship that is a pleasure to read, a major contribution to knowledge, and a complete tour de force. I'm green with envy.

This work stands as a forceful example of the importance of doing cultural analysis from the perspective of the lesbian subject and, by extension, for the paradoxical centrality of many other 'marginal' perspectives. Ladenson accomplishes her huge task comprehensively and persuasively. Her book represents a breakthrough for gender studies, gay and lesbian studies, queer theory, and Proust studies.