The Immoralist by Andre Gide

New York : Knopf, 1930
(later printing, 1949)

Originally published in1902 with the first English translation by Dorothy Bussy in 1930, The Immoralist is an early defense of homosexuality and a commentary on ethics and morality. Beginning with a short letter written by Michel's brother, this novella-length work is structured primarily as a monologue or confession.

Out of a sense of duty to his dying father, Michel marries Marceline and they honeymoon in Tunisia. While there, Michel becomes quite ill and during his convalescence, he meets a young boy, Bachir, whose beauty and strength captivate him. Seeming to now have a reason to survive tuberculosis and largely ignoring Marceline, Michel now begins to live his life according to his own desires, not what society dictates.

This way of being in and thinking about the world is strongly influenced by the ideas and writings of Oscar Wilde, who makes his appearance in the form of  the character Ménalque. This is not at all surprising since Gide and Wilde were literary friends of sorts who met and corresponded during the 1890s about these very issues.

While technically a novel, it reads more like a philosophical defense, something along the lines of Gide's Corydon (1924) where he offers a more specific defense of homosexuality in the form of four Socratic dialogues.

Bibliographies & Ratings: Cory (IV); Garde (Primary, **); Mattachine Review (IV); Young (1420,*)