A homemade strawberry jam, the salty sea air or a song loved by parents for some. The scent of a grandmother, the soundtrack of an old movie or the texture of a blanket for others. The opening credits of a cartoon, a collection of comics, the sounds of a video game for some... Everyone has their own Proust madeleine, their own trigger for a childhood memory. But what is the origin of this expression that has entered everyday language? And what is its echo in contemporary culture?

The madeleine before Proust: a simple but original pastry, originally from Lorraine

Before becoming a literary icon thanks to the writer Marcel Proust, this small pastry from Commercy in Lorraine was already a staple of French gastronomic heritage. Its creation is due to Madeleine Paulmier, according to the most widespread version. She was a servant working in the kitchens of Stanislas Leszczynski, former King of Poland, Duke of Lorraine and Bar, and father-in-law of Louis XV, who had the Château de Commercy, in the village of the same name, as his second home. To satisfy their master and his guests, cooks competed in imagination. One day when the king was receiving distinguished guests, and for lack of a planned dessert, the young Madeleine Paulmier improvised with the simple ingredients at her disposal: eggs, sugar, butter, flour, and lemon zest. King Stanislas loved this little cake so much that he had it sent to his daughter, the queen, wife of Louis XV, who decided to pay homage to the servant by naming this original creation the "Madeleine de Commercy." The pastry then conquered Parisian salons and eventually established itself as a staple of French culinary heritage.

Commercy, France.

Literary origin: Proust's madeleine as a childhood memory

The book In search of lost time by Marcel Proust, a writer born in 1871 and died in 1922, is considered one of the greatest writings of the 20th century and earned its author great national and international renown. In this monumental seven-volume work, which deals with memory and time, the narrator recounts his life, from childhood to adulthood, through his social relationships in the Parisian aristocracy and bourgeoisie, his loves and his disillusionments. The author strives to recount experiences that are intended to be universal, the emotions and psychology of the characters are deeply described and analyzed.

The first volume, published in 1913, is entitled The Swann. At the beginning of the novel, the narrator, an adult in Paris, returns home tired and depressed one winter day, and mechanically accepts tea and madeleines. From the first bite, a wave of emotion invades him: the long-buried childhood memory remains intact, he recalls with precision and great poetry the Sunday mornings when his aunt offered him the famous pastry after dipping it in her infusion. This passage, which establishes the madeleine as a true object of involuntary memory, illustrates the power of sensations and memories in the construction of identity and individual memory. It has remained so famous that since then, the expression "Proust's madeleine" has been used to mean an object, a sound, a food or a gesture, anything that sensorially recalls a past moment and allows, in a certain way, to make up for lost time... the iconic Madeleine goes down in history and can also signify a collective memory, a shared heritage.

The house of Marcel Proust's aunt, Léonie, in Illiers-Combray, France. (Photo by Bernard Annebicque/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images)

The contemporary echo of Proust's madeleine

In contemporary culture, Proust's madeleine continues to inspire many fields. Great names in pastry and major figures in contemporary French and international gastronomy, such as chefs Pierre Hermé and Philippe Conticini, have revisited the traditional recipe, playing with flavors and textures to offer new and refined versions.

In cinema, the madeleine and Proustian memory have served as a source of inspiration for directors. In " the fabulous destiny of Amelie Poulain » (2001) by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, the director establishes an aesthetic of memory. The color palette (greens, reds, sepia) can evoke old childhood photos, as can the grain of the image and the sound mix which create an atmosphere tinged with nostalgia. As if the world of Amélie (Audrey Tautou), a young waitress in a Montmartre bar who observes people and gives free rein to her imagination, was bathed in memory. Also, the voice-over of the omniscient narrator (André Dussolier), plunges the spectator into a double temporality: the lived moment and the memory, as if to better bring them together. Or again in the film « Delicacy » (2011) by David and Stéphane Foenkinos. The madeleine makes a symbolic appearance, playing an emotional and narrative pivotal role. In a scene between Nathalie Kerr (Audrey Tautou) and Markus (François Damien), the latter offers her some madeleines, a gesture charged with emotional intention in a staging that reinforces this symbolism: a warm, golden light, a restrained, silent tone, a camera that films the gesture more than the words. Here, it is less a question of awakening memories, than a desire to reanimate the present, by building a bridge between two emotional states, but the echo of Proust is direct.

The Madeleine de Commercy, inspired by Proust's pen, has become a universal symbol of reminiscence. From the royal cuisine of Lorraine to a masterpiece of French literature, it embodies those sensations that are seemingly innocuous but powerful enough to revive buried memories and intimately connect the past and the present, both personally and collectively. A humble pastry for gourmets and literature lovers alike, which confirms its status ascultural heritage icon French.