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In Search of Lost Time · Character

Legrandin

An engineer with literary pretensions and a horror of being thought a snob, whose elaborate evasions about the Cambremer family betray exactly the snobbery he denies.

supporting

Also known as M. Legrandin, Legrandin

First appearance: combray

As a supporting figure in In Search of Lost Time, Legrandin is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

Now styles himself Legrandin de Méséglise; his nephew's marriage to Mademoiselle d'Oloron elevates his social standing, though he soon ceases to pursue social ambitions.
In the storyA Fresh Light Upon Robert de Saint-LoupOpen this moment free

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Legrandin cultivates the air of a man above mere social climbing, discoursing on cathedrals and sunsets while carefully avoiding any introduction that might compromise him. Yet his elaborate excuses for not presenting…

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See Legrandin in combray

Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.

SetupEscalationAftermathClimax
  • Setup
  • Escalation
  • Breaking point
  • Aftermath
  • Closing

This is the story's dramatic climax because it marks the psychological rupture where the narrator’s intellectu…

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In the story

Legrandin appears across 1 companion beat. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

Chapter companion notes

Spoil-light check-ins for Legrandin unlock in the free preview.

See Legrandin in combray
Who is Legrandin in In Search of Lost Time?