Combray Summary

The narrator describes the country scenery at Combray and his family. The narrator describes the church at Combray, which he greatly admires for its aesthetic value. His great-aunt Leonie brags that she never sleeps, though the narrator catches her sleeping occasionally. Francoise loves the narrator and his mother, who gratifies Francoise by expresses interest in her life. Aunt Leonie is very interested in strangers; since there are no strangers in Combray she knows everyone. There is a writer in Combray, M. Legrandin, who the narrator's grandmother dislikes. Aunt Leonie dislikes everyone except her friend Eulalie.

The narrator greatly admires his Uncle Adolphe and visits him often. The narrator is in love with theater and his uncle's affiliation with actresses makes his quite interesting to his nephew. When the narrator visits unexpectedly one day, he finds his uncle talking to an actress. Uncle Adolphe...