Abstract: What is the relationship between Proust’s personal journey as a writer and his bachelor of art characters in the Recherche? A number of little-known documents may help to shed some light on this, including a note that plans to retitle Les Plaisirs et les Jours, “Premières années dans la Société et dans la Solitude” and the Recherche, “Retour à la Solitude”. The question arises as to how to delineate the period devoted to the bachelor of art in Proust’s work and the autobiographical value of his novel.
