In Search of Lost Time (also translated as Remembrance of Things Past) is considered a landmark in Western literature. Though Proust wrote comparatively little outside of this sequence of novels, his literary technique became famous and much imitated. The term “Proustian” was coined to refer to his use of long scenes, long sentences, and a sentimental style of revery that explores themes in depth. The term “Proustian memory” refers to an intense, involuntary memory inspired by a sensation such as taste. The most famous instance of a Proustian memory occurs early in Swann’s Way when the narrator dips a madeleine into a cup of hot tea and has a vivid memory of his childhood when he first experienced the taste.

A key influence on Proust’s work was the philosopher Henri Bergson, who also happened to marry Proust’s cousin. (Proust served as the best man at their wedding.) Bergson published an essay titled “Time and Free Will: An Essay on the Immediate Data of Consciousness” in 1899. In the essay, Bergson proposes that traditional conceptions of time are flawed. Scientists had traditionally suggested that time should be considered quantitative. Bergson instead believes that time should be thought of as qualitative.