The epistolary gift of young girls by the sea

Introduced at the last stage of the genesis of the second volume of the Recherche, the episode of the fictitious letter from Sophocles to Racine, written by Gisèle during her exams, seems, according to the archival documents discovered, to be inspired by Marcelle Larivière’s schoolwork when she was eighteen. This episode reflects Proust’s memories of his school years and sets the first landmark in Albertine’s intellectual development, one of the themes developed in the following volumes.