We go back in time, to about the time our hero was born, and we move to Paris to begin the second chapter, "Swann In Love."
Right away we are introduced to Mme Verdurin and her "little clan" of Bohemians.
Of the group we are introduced to Odette de Crécy, whom Proust calls a "demi-monde." That term, used in France during the Belle Epoque, refers to a woman who is kept as a mistress, a hedonist, a sexually promiscuous person, or a prostitute of the upper classes.
We are also introduced to M. Swann as a young social elite bored with the women in his own class, and who seeks out the company of what Proust calls, "the distinctive vulgar type."
Odette asks Mme Verdurin if she can bring her new friend Swann to the next gathering of the little clan. There we learn more about M. Swann and the kind of idle, aristocratic life he leads.
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