Proust’s aesthetic is defined at the beginning of the essay on Claudel. And the affinities are evident, above and beyond all the differences. These affinities are assembled in the theme of “structural monotony”: “ ‘And thinking once more about the mon- otony of Vinteuil’s works, I explained to Albertine that great writers have created only a single work, or rather have refracted the same beauty that they bring to the world through diverse elements’” (p. 171). Claudel: “ ‘Le soulier de satin is Tête d’or in another form. It summarizes both Tête d’or and Partage de midi. It is even the conclusion of Partage de midi . . . ’ ” “ ‘A poet does hardly anything but develop a preestablished plan’” (p. 172