Morel flees a rendezvous arranged by the Prince de Guermantes

Morel flees a rendezvous arranged by the Prince de Guermantes because he believes M. de Charlus has discovered and set a trap for him. The episode turns on a chain of mistaken identifications: the Prince’s family photographs convince Morel that his secret meeting has been exposed, while the Prince remains unaware of Morel’s suspicions. Morel’s flight frustrates the Prince’s plans and, without either man understanding how, shields M. de Charlus from an infidelity that had caused him despair.

Background and Participants

The Prince de Guermantes has arranged to meet Morel at a small villa he has taken for a short stay. Although the visit is temporary, the Prince has furnished the villa with family keepsakes, a habit the narration compares with one already associated with Mme de Villeparisis. The Prince does not tell Morel his identity: he has warned his valet not to use the word “Prince,” and the servant is to announce only that he will inform “Monsieur.”

The meeting follows a failed attempt to bring Morel and the Prince together under circumstances in which M. de Charlus would not see the Prince. Morel has been told that two gentlemen paid a large sum to watch him unseen, and he is already afraid of being followed. The narrator presents the disclosure as something that might have resulted from indiscretion or from the way secrets spread once shared; whatever its cause, it leaves Morel primed to interpret the next encounter as surveillance.

The Photographs and Morel’s Flight

After entering the villa, Morel is left alone in the sitting-room. He checks his appearance at a mirror, then notices photographs on the mantelpiece that he recognizes from M. de Charlus’s room: portraits of the Princesse de Guermantes, the Duchesse de Luxembourg, and Mme de Villeparisis. A photograph of M. de Charlus sits slightly behind the others. To Morel, the arrangement makes the room appear to be a trap devised by the Baron to test his fidelity.

Morel bolts from the villa before the Prince enters the sitting-room. The Prince, who has kept his identity concealed, thinks Morel is merely an acquaintance he has made wait. He wonders whether the arrangement is prudent and whether the visitor might be dangerous, but finds the room empty. He and his valet search the small house, including its basement and garden, and find no trace of Morel. The two men have therefore assigned opposite meanings to the same meeting: the Prince expects a visitor, while Morel believes he is escaping M. de Charlus’s scheme.

Aftermath and Irony

Morel and the Prince encounter each other several times during the following week, but Morel turns and flees each time, still convinced that the Prince poses a danger. His suspicion lasts even after their return to Paris: seeing the Prince is enough to make Morel run. The Prince never discovers why the meeting failed or why Morel avoids him.

The result is an accidental protection for M. de Charlus. The Baron had been distressed by the prospect of Morel’s infidelity, but Morel’s fear prevents the rendezvous from taking place. The narration emphasizes the irony that M. de Charlus is avenged without knowing that he has been betrayed in the first place, or how the thwarted meeting has worked in his favor. Morel’s escape is not a deliberate act of loyalty: it is the consequence of a mistaken reading of the photographs and of the secrecy surrounding the Prince’s identity.