The nineteenth-century French critic Sainte-Beuve believed that to understand a writer it was necessary to know as much as possible about the exterior man, the details of his life. It is a beguiling method, using the man to illuminate the work. It might ‘seem:unassailable. But Proust is able very convincingly to pick it apart.This method of Sainte-Beuve, Proust writes, "ignores what a very slight degree of self-acquaintance teaches us: that a book is the product of a different self from the self we manifest in our habits, in our social life, in our vices...Those words of Proust should be? with us whenever we are reading the biography of a writer or the. biography. of anyone who depends on what can be called: inspiration. All the details of the life and the quirks and friendships:can be laid out for us, but the mystery of the writing will remain.:No amount of documentation, however fascinating, can take us:there. The biography of a writer - or even the autobiography- will:always have this incompleteness.
According to Proust, it is ____ to know the writer's life to understand his/her work.
Created: 2 years ago |
Updated: 2 years ago
After help, we can use object + infinitive (with or without to).
| Can you help me (to) find my ring? (NOT | |
| Thank you so much for helping us (to) repair the car. | |
| Our main task is to help the company (to) become profitable. |
Help can also be followed directly by an infinitive without an object.
| Would you like to help pack? |
If you say that you cannot/can’t help doing something (especially in British English), you mean that you can’t stop yourself, even if you don’t want to do it.
| She’s a selfish woman, but somehow you can’t help liking her. | |
| Excuse me – I couldn’t help overhearing what you said. | |
| Sorry I broke the cup – I couldn’t help it. |
Can’t help can be followed by but + infinitive (without to), with the same meaning as can’t help verb + ing. This is common in American English.
| I can’t help but wonder what I should do next. |
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