Although several studies have explored the role of science in Proust’s works, few have focused on the aesthetics of biology in "À la recherche du temps perdu". This article looks at the influence of transformist theories (Darwinism or Lamarckism) in Proust’s novel. It shows that naturalists such as Cuvier or Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, who did not support the theory of the transmutation of species, are missing from the novel. Furthermore, the article analyses the themes of metamorphosis and hybridity in order to show how, in Proust, transformism - and specifically Lamarckism -, is linked with mythology and literary creation.
