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The Captive by Marcel Proust

The architecture of jealousy is rarely built on stone, but rather on the fragile scaffolding of suspicion and the terror of the unknown. In *The Captive*,…

The Captive by Marcel Proust
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Runtime: 21 hr 38 min · Watch the full audiobook on YouTube · Subscribe to Ion Books

The architecture of jealousy is rarely built on stone, but rather on the fragile scaffolding of suspicion and the terror of the unknown. In *The Captive*, the fifth volume of Marcel Proust’s monumental *In Search of Lost Time*, the narrator finds himself trapped within the very walls he constructed to secure his beloved. Published posthumously in 1923, this section of the larger work marks a decisive turn inward, moving away from the broad social panoramas of earlier volumes to focus on the claustrophobic intimacy of a shared Parisian apartment. Here, love is not a romantic ideal but a forensic inquiry, a relentless attempt to decipher the enigmatic behavior of another human being. As you listen and follow the text, observe how Proust transforms domestic routine into a psychological labyrinth. The narrator’s surveillance of Albertine reveals less about her character than it does about his own inability to accept the fundamental mystery of another soul. This is a work to revisit slowly, savoring the intricate sentences that map the contours of consciousness.

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Public domain & narration

The Captive was first published in 1923. Works first published before 1931 are in the public domain in the United States, so the text is free to read, share and adapt. This English edition is the translation by C. K. Scott-Moncrieff. The text comes from Project Gutenberg Australia.

The narration is the LibriVox recording read by Michael O'Kelly. LibriVox volunteers dedicate their recordings to the public domain.

Ion Books adds the synchronized scrolling text and video, so you can read along while you listen, for free.

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Chapters

  1. Chapter 1: Life with Albertine part 1 (49:28) · watch
  2. Chapter 1: Life with Albertine 2 (1:01:08) · watch
  3. Chapter 1: Life with Albertine 3 (46:57) · watch
  4. Chapter 1: Life with Albertine 4 - Albertine asleep (48:37) · watch
  5. Chapter 1: Life with Albertine 5 (27:07) · watch
  6. Chapter 1: Life with Albertine 6 (41:48) · watch
  7. Chapter 1: Life with Albertine 7 (51:34) · watch
  8. Chapter 1: Life with Albertine 8 (45:40) · watch
  9. Chapter 1: Life with Albertine 9 (53:30) · watch
  10. Chapter 1: Life with Albertine 10 (44:03) · watch
  11. Chapter 1: Life with Albertine 11 (55:41) · watch
  12. Chapter 1: Life with Albertine 12; death of Bergotte (47:25) · watch
  13. Chapter 1: Life with Albertine 13 [Chapter ends]; Chapter 2: The Verdurins quarrel with M de Charlus 1 (54:55) · watch
  14. Chapter 2: The Verdurins quarrel with M de Charlus 2 (58:40) · watch
  15. Chapter 2: The Verdurins quarrel with M de Charlus 3 (56:47) · watch
  16. Chapter 2: The Verdurins quarrel with M de Charlus 4 (1:05:20) · watch
  17. Chapter 2: The Verdurins quarrel with M de Charlus 5 (48:07) · watch
  18. Chapter 2: The Verdurins quarrel with M de Charlus 6 (43:08) · watch
  19. Chapter 2: The Verdurins quarrel with M de Charlus 7 (51:14) · watch
  20. Chapter 2: The Verdurins quarrel with M de Charlus 8 (1:00:45) · watch
  21. Chapter 3: Flight of Albertine 1 (1:04:36) · watch
  22. Chapter 3: Flight of Albertine 2 (47:12) · watch
  23. Chapter 3: Flight of Albertine 3 (51:47) · watch
  24. Chapter 3: Flight of Albertine 4 (41:15) · watch
  25. Chapter 3: Flight of Albertine 5 (21:45) · watch
  26. Chapter 3: Flight of Albertine 6 (59:53) · watch

Full text

This work is too long to show on one page. Read it on Project Gutenberg Australia · download ebook.txt

Sources

Raw pipeline data (admin)