Abstract: Albertine’s death is all the more shocking because Marcel, who doubts everything about his friend, accepts it without question. The reality of her demise, however, is based only on the telegram from Mme Bontemps, a dishonest woman who has an interest in convincing Marcel that her niece is dead. Several textual clues, which seem to contradict the reality of her death, suggest that Proust would have “resuscitated” his heroine if he had been able to.
