Swann's Way: In Search of Lost Time, Volume One

Food is one of the main ways Marcel revisits his past. The taste of food is a symbolic connection between Time and Memory, transporting the older Marcel to his younger self whenever he encounters a familiar taste. The madeleine dipped in tea is one of the novel’s most potent symbols, speaking to the power of food to inspire a nearly overwhelming rush of emotion and memory. Food symbolizes the sensation of taste, allowing Marcel to link the memories of his past with the reality of his present. The mundanity of food also plays into this symbolism. As Marcel states, he has eaten madeleines dipped in tea on many occasions. Only when he finally understands the symbolic link between the two points in his life does the taste of the food inspire a literary significance.

Food also symbolizes the importance of social events in the novel’s French middle-class society. Swann is noted for his absence from the social dinners hosted by the Verdurins. He attends the salon, but not the dinners. When he is eventually ostracized by the Verdurins, he begins to desire an invitation to the events that he previously skipped.