And as he had decided that the importance which Odette
attached to receiving cards tot a private view was not in itself any more
ridiculous than the pleasure which he himself had at one time felt in
going to luncheon with the Prince of Wales, so he did not think that the
admiration which she professed for Monte-Carlo or for the Righi was any
more unreasonable than his own liking for Holland (which she imagined as
ugly) and for Versailles (which bored her to tears). And so he denied
himself the pleasure of visiting those places, consoling himself with the
reflection that it was for her sake that he wished to feel, to like
nothing that was not equally felt and liked by her.
Like everything else that formed part of Odette's environment, and was no
more, in a sense, than the means whereby he might see and talk to her more
often, he enjoyed the society of the Verdurins. With them, since, at the
heart of all their entertainments, dinners, musical evenings, games,
suppers in fancy dress, excursions to the country, theatre parties, even
the infrequent 'big evenings' when they entertained 'bores,' there were
the presence of Odette, the sight of Odette, conversation with Odette, an
inestimable boon which the Verdurins, by inviting him to their house,
bestowed on Swann, he was happier in the little 'nucleus' than anywhere
else, and tried to find some genuine merit in each of its members,
imagining that his tastes would lead him to frequent their society for the
rest of his life.
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