Marcel Proust’s influence on twentieth century literature is broad and has been well documented. This dissertation attempts a comparative reading of À la recherche du temps perdu that places it in contrast with Colombian writer Marvel Moreno’s 1987 novel, En diciembre llegaban las brisas, and Alison Bechdel’s 2006 comic memoir, Fun Home. Starting from a Deleuzian reading of the Recherche, this dissertation proposes the notion of the “proustian truth seeker”, a thematic and stylistic phenomenon which can be traced in all three writers. The characteristics of the truth seeker can be used to understand the ways in which the narrators of these novels are driven by a particular sort of desire that determines the novel’s structure, style, and thematic concerns. Ultimately, the concept of the proustian truth seekers offers a way to understand the complex connection between these three writers as well as a powerful tool to study novels that blur the line between fiction and autobiographical non-fiction.
","abstract_html":"<p>Marcel Proust’s influence on twentieth century literature is broad and has been well documented. This dissertation attempts a comparative reading of <em>À la recherche du temps perdu</em> that places it in contrast with Colombian writer Marvel Moreno’s 1987 novel, <em>En diciembre llegaban las brisas</em>, and Alison Bechdel’s 2006 comic memoir, <em>Fun Home</em>. Starting from a Deleuzian reading of the <em>Recherche</em>, this dissertation proposes the notion of the “proustian truth seeker”, a thematic and stylistic phenomenon which can be traced in all three writers. The characteristics of the truth seeker can be used to understand the ways in which the narrators of these novels are driven by a particular sort of desire that determines the novel’s structure, style, and thematic concerns. Ultimately, the concept of the proustian truth seekers offers a way to understand the complex connection between these three writers as well as a powerful tool to study novels that blur the line between fiction and autobiographical non-fiction.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Parga Linares, Santiago"],"institution":"The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy","degree_level":"Doctoral","degree_discipline":"Comparative Literature","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Giancarlo Lombardi"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":["André Aciman","Bettina Lerner"],"year":2017,"date_issued":"2017-09-30T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2017-09-30T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:58:57Z","subjects":["Comparative Literature","French and Francophone Literature","Latin American Languages and Societies","Literature in English, North America","Modern Literature","Other Arts and Humanities","Marcel Proust","Marvel Moreno","Alison Bechdel","Comics"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/2174","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Giancarlo Lombardi"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["André Aciman","Bettina Lerner"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Parga Linares, Santiago"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2019-09-30T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Comparative Literature"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Doctoral"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Comparative Literature","French and Francophone Literature","Latin American Languages and Societies","Literature in English, North America","Modern Literature","Other Arts and Humanities","Marcel Proust","Marvel Moreno","Alison Bechdel","Comics"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/2174"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Marcel Proust’s influence on twentieth century literature is broad and has been well documented. This dissertation attempts a comparative reading of À la recherche du temps perdu that places it in contrast with Colombian writer Marvel Moreno’s 1987 novel, En diciembre llegaban las brisas, and Alison Bechdel’s 2006 comic memoir, Fun Home. Starting from a Deleuzian reading of the Recherche, this dissertation proposes the notion of the “proustian truth seeker”, a thematic and stylistic phenomenon which can be traced in all three writers. The characteristics of the truth seeker can be used to understand the ways in which the narrators of these novels are driven by a particular sort of desire that determines the novel’s structure, style, and thematic concerns. Ultimately, the concept of the proustian truth seekers offers a way to understand the complex connection between these three writers as well as a powerful tool to study novels that blur the line between fiction and autobiographical non-fiction.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Desire, Curiosity, and the Search for Truth in Proust, Moreno, and Bechdel"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Giancarlo Lombardi"],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["André Aciman","Bettina Lerner"],"dc:creator":["Parga Linares, Santiago"],"dc:date.available":["2019-09-30T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Marcel Proust’s influence on twentieth century literature is broad and has been well documented. This dissertation attempts a comparative reading of À la recherche du temps perdu that places it in contrast with Colombian writer Marvel Moreno’s 1987 novel, En diciembre llegaban las brisas, and Alison Bechdel’s 2006 comic memoir, Fun Home. Starting from a Deleuzian reading of the Recherche, this dissertation proposes the notion of the “proustian truth seeker”, a thematic and stylistic phenomenon which can be traced in all three writers. The characteristics of the truth seeker can be used to understand the ways in which the narrators of these novels are driven by a particular sort of desire that determines the novel’s structure, style, and thematic concerns. Ultimately, the concept of the proustian truth seekers offers a way to understand the complex connection between these three writers as well as a powerful tool to study novels that blur the line between fiction and autobiographical non-fiction.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/2174"],"dc:subject":["Comparative Literature","French and Francophone Literature","Latin American Languages and Societies","Literature in English, North America","Modern Literature","Other Arts and Humanities","Marcel Proust","Marvel Moreno","Alison Bechdel","Comics"],"dc:title":["Desire, Curiosity, and the Search for Truth in Proust, Moreno, and Bechdel"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Comparative Literature"],"thesis:degree_level":["Doctoral"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy"],"thesis:institution_name":["The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:58:57Z"}