[Proust] discovered the device, or the design, of what could be called a play outside a play. By seeing his personal situation from outside as if it radiated a larger, more generalized narrative action of loss and recovery, he transformed his failure into potential success and his isolation into communication.
–Roger Shattuck, Proust’s Way: A Field Guide to In Search of Lost Time
Marcello Mastroianni, in Federico Fellini’s 8 1/2
