Goodkin, Richard E. “Hitchcock’s Vertigo and Proust’s Vertigo.” MLN Dec. 1987, 1171-1181. JSTOR.
        University of Pennsylvania Library, Philadelphia. 4 Apr. 2008. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/2905316>.  

      In this paper, Richard E. Goodkin investigates Proust’s In Search of Time to find the true inspiration for Vertigo. While he admits that there are striking differences, Goodkin finds elements that are so similar that they are impossible to ignore. For instance, the name Madeleine Elster is simply a combination of Proust’s memory-cake and the narrator’s favorite painter. Scottie’s attempt to remake Judy as Madeleine is similar to Proust’s Madeleine in that they both embody the attempt to relive the past. Time is central to both stories, for in Vertigo the entire second half focuses on Scottie’s desire to go back on time; nostalgia for the love he once had. In the beginning of the film, Scottie tries to slowly get used to heights by climbing up a stool. He attempts such a task through “habit,” one of the central tenements in Proust’s story. In his novel, the only way the narrator finds “lost time” is by going “against his habit.” Scotties inability to succeed through habit demonstrates the uncontrollable nature of time. Goodkin moves on to focus on the second half of Madeleine’s name: Elster, the name of Proust’s painter. The critic is quick to explain that “not only is Madeleine modeled after a painting, but Scottie attempts to recreate her as a sort of living painting.” The similarities between the works do not end there. Not only does In Search of Time have a bell-tower, but it also carries with it the association of death. The Aunt in the story is terrified of climbing it because at the top “Certain people claim to have felt the coldness of death.”
        Goodkin concludes the article by affirming the belief that through Vertigo, Proust has been translated into film. The writer believes that while many of the themes have been carried over, Hitchcock’s film focuses on the inability of return, and is thus unable to be re-watched and still retain its original value. Nevertheless, it seems apparent that inspiration for Vertigo was drawn from Proust’s story.