Editing In Search of Lost Time (section)

=== Volume Six: ''The Fugitive'' ===
The Narrator is anguished at Albertine's departure and absence. He dispatches Saint-Loup to convince her aunt Mme. Bontemps to send her back, but Albertine insists the Narrator should ask, and she will gladly return. The Narrator lies and replies he is done with her, but she just agrees with him. He writes to her that he will marry Andrée, then hears from Saint-Loup of the failure of his mission to the aunt. Desperate, he begs Albertine to return, but receives word: she has died in a riding accident. He receives two last letters from her: one wishing him and Andrée well, and one asking if she can return. The Narrator plunges into suffering amid the many different memories of Albertine, intimately linked to all of his everyday sensations. He recalls a suspicious incident she told him of at Balbec, and asks Aimé, the headwaiter, to investigate. He recalls their history together and his regrets, as well as love's randomness. Aimé reports back: Albertine often engaged in affairs with girls at Balbec. The Narrator sends him to learn more, and he reports other liaisons with girls. The Narrator wishes he could have known the true Albertine, whom he would have accepted. He begins to grow accustomed to the idea of her death, despite constant reminders that renew his grief. Andrée admits her own lesbianism but denies being with Albertine. The Narrator knows he will forget Albertine, just as he has forgotten Gilberte.

He happens to meet Gilberte again; her mother Mme. Swann became Mme. de Forcheville and Gilberte is now part of high society, received by the Guermantes. The Narrator publishes an article in ''[[Le Figaro]]''. Andrée visits him and confesses her relations with Albertine. She also explains the truth behind Albertine's departure: her aunt wanted her to marry another man. The Narrator and his mother visit Venice, which enthralls him. They happen to see Norpois and Mme. de Villeparisis there. A telegram signed from Albertine arrives, but the Narrator is indifferent. Returning home, the Narrator and his mother receive surprising news: Gilberte will marry Saint-Loup, and Jupien's niece will be adopted by Charlus and then married to Legrandin's nephew, an invert. There is much discussion of these marriages among society. The Narrator visits Gilberte in her new home where he also realizes that the telegram was from her, not Albertine, who is not alive, and is shocked to learn of Saint-Loup's affair with Morel, among others. He despairs for their friendship.