Glimpse Quote by Marcel Proust
““The hedge allowed us a glimpse, inside the park, of an alley bordered with jasmine, pansies, and verbenas, among which the stocks held open their fresh plump purses, of a pink as fragrant and as faded as old Spanish leather, while on the gravel-path a long watering-pipe, painted green, coiling across the ground, poured, where its holes were, over the flowers whose perfume those holes inhaled, a vertical and prismatic fan of infinitesimal, rainbow-coloured drops. Suddenly I stood still, unable to move, as happens when something appears that requires not only our eyes to take it in, but involves a deeper kind of perception and takes possession of the whole of our being.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: In Search of Lost Time, Volume 3, 1919
A vivid sensory scene can arrest us, demanding deeper perception beyond mere sight.
In simple terms: Deep perception stops us in our tracks.
Allow moments to fully absorb sensory detail.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- art criticism
- nature walks
- creative writing
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- When have you been stopped by a sensory moment?
- How can you balance observation with action?
Overemphasis on sensory detail may distract from narrative flow.