Purifying Proust: Transfiction, heterotopia, and the reimagining of homosexuality in contemporary Chinese reception

This article examines two contemporary Chinese short stories by Yan Bin (阿尔贝蒂娜的呼唤 “The Call of Albertine” [2021] and 夏吕斯的爱情 “The Love of Charlus” [2024]) that reimagine the homosexual characters in Marcel Proust's À la recherche du temps perdu . Drawing on Gérard Genette's hypertext theory and Richard Saint-Gelais's concept of transfictionality, the analysis reveals how these rewritings invert Proust's original depictions of Albertine and Charlus by stripping them of their homosexuality. The countryside emerges as a Foucauldian heterotopia that promises “moral purity,” counteracting the perceived decadence of urban modernity. This transformation resonates with a broader conservative turn in contemporary Chinese society, reflecting shifting moral paradigms and a renewed emphasis on patriarchal values. The article illustrates how foreign literary classics can be adapted—or moralized—through creative reception, resulting in a new vision of Proust shaped by Confucian influences and heteronormative frameworks.