L’odorat et la nappe phréatique du sensible

In this article, we examine the role of smell in Proust’s work, drawing on a passage from La Prisonnière devoted to «the smell of petrol». We demonstrate how this sensation triggers a complex involuntary memory, becoming a vehicle for sensory exaltation, merging interior and exterior space, and producing a dynamic of superimposition characteristic of Proust’s writing. The study highlights the originality of Proust’s treatment of smell, enriched by biographical (Agostinelli) and intertextual (Maeterlinck) dimensions, and demonstrates how the sense of smell proves to be fundamental to understanding the relationship between lived experience, memory and writing in Proust.