Cities of the Plain is the fourth volume of Marcel Proust's masterpiece, In Search Of Lost Time. It was released in 1921/22, and was the last volume over which Proust supervised publication, before his death in November 1922.
The volume marks a major thematic shift and opens with the Narrator secretly witnessing a sexual encounter between the aristocratic Baron de Charlus and the tailor Jupien. This acts as a catalyst for Proust’s complex reflections on homosexuality. Charlus emerges as a dominant, tragi-comic figure navigating Parisian society while pursuing his desires.
At the same time, the Narrator returns to Balbec, where his relationship with Albertine deepens into an obsessive, tormented jealousy, fuelled by his paranoid suspicions regarding her own sexuality and potential affairs with other women.
Alongside this personal turmoil, Proust continues his critique of French high society, contrasting the aristocratic Guermantes circle with the vulgar, socially ambitious salon of Madame Verdurin. The volume ultimately underscores the pervasive themes of illusion, hidden truths, and the impossibility of fully knowing another person.
