by Andre Gide
Having faced his mortality during a bout of tuberculosis, scholar Michel resolves to live a more "authentic" life, obeying the dictates of his heart rather than the repressive strictures of society.
For me, the fascinating tension in this novel concerns the balance between selfish egotism and one's responsibility to others.
Andre Gide's presentation of illness is compelling and horrifying, offering a plausible catalyst for Michel's decision to change his life in fundamental ways.
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| Andre Gide |
It is easy to sympathize with him as he struggles to rearrange his priorities, particularly considering that he is clearly a repressed homosexual living during oppressive times who feels compelled to marry a woman he doesn't love.
However, he loses sympathy when he repays her attentive nursing during his own illness by dragging her about on a debilitating journey when she becomes sick.
In my view, Michel emerges as a cautionary figure.
Everyone would like to live a life unencumbered by expectations from others, but the ultimate test of character lies in recognizing the line between legitimate personal freedom and reckless disregard for other people.
I fear that Michel failed his test.
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| "Immoralist" (Ukrainian) |
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| "Conscience Reversed" (Thai) |
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| "Anti-Moralist" (Korean) |
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| "Irregulars" (Chinese) |
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| "An Immoral Person" (Japanese) |
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| "Immoral Person" (Vietnamese) |
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| "Scoundrel" (Persian) |
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| "Immoral" (Arabic) |
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| "Immoralists" (Lithuanian) |
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| "Separate Road" (Turkish) |
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| "The Immoralist" (Italian) |
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| "The Immoralist" (German) |
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| "Lacks Morals" (Hebrew) |
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| "The Immoralist" (Greek) |
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| "The Immoral" (Danish) |
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| "The Immoralist" (Dutch) |
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| "The Immoralist" (Spanish) |
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| "Immoralist" (Serbian) |
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| "The Immoral" (Swedish) |
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| "The Immoralist" (French) |
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