El temps retrobat, 1

After a long stay in a sanatorium, where he has been admitted due to his recurring health problems, the protagonist returns to Paris in the middle of the First World War and finds a city that lives pending the events that are taking place in the different fronts. In the course of a night walk, in the middle of a completely dark cityscape due to anti-aircraft alarms, he coincides with Baron Charlus. Walking through the darkened streets, the two have a long conversation, during which they update everything that has happened to them in the years that have not been seen. After saying goodbye, the protagonist realizes that he is tired and thirsty, but finds everything closed. Coincidentally, he ends up in an establishment that looks like a hotel, but once inside, he realizes that he is a male brothel. There he will see, secretly, Mr. Charlus in a room, chained and being whipped voluntarily by another man. He will also find Jupien, the tailor who had the workshop under the Guermantes' house and whom he caught some time ago maintaining relations with Charlus. In fact, it seems that Jupien is precisely the manager of this brothel.