The Immoralist

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The Moral Man in Society - Rated
This short novel is narrated by Michel, a young landowner, recently married. So far in his short life, Michel has dedicated himself to study and research, sequestering himself in libraries, living for his books, and only married to satisfy his dying father. On his honeymoon, Michel falls desperately ill, coming close to death, but, when he recovers, he discovers something he had never noticed before: life. Suddenly, Michel finds himself entranced by everything around him: nature, wildlife, and people. Specifically, Michel has been awakened to the beauty of the young native boys around him, entranced by their vitality and naturalness, unsullied by quotidian working life. Michel embraces his newfound freedom with the entirety of his being, discovering aspects of himself he never suspected could exist.

Gide raises interesting questions in this novel about duty and morals. To what extent are our morals derived from the world around us, and to what extent are they a genuine response to our personality interacting with the world. Gide is never heavy-handed or prone to preach in his raising of these important questions, and he guides his readers into thinking through the implications for themselves.

The Self and Self Discovery - Rated
The theme in the novel is one of ‘the self’, ‘self discovery’, ‘existentialism’ and meaning of life. Man has always searched for answers to questions like, “Why am I here?“, and “What is my purpose in life?“ The Immoralist is deeply moving and makes you question yourself. Sad and distressing at times - the end is not predictable - well worth reading.

The Immoralist is perhaps Andre Gide's best novel. - Rated
This is a book on many levels. On the one hand, important questions are raised, such as, do we have a debt to society? or are morals dependent on society? On the other hand, it is a beauifully written book, depicting either tenderness between lovers or idyllic landscapes, with poetic ease.
I would advise, if you intend to read this novel, or have already done so, that you read another of Andre Gide's books with it, called Straight is The Gate. Its themes are quite different, for instance, fidelity and religion, yet when read together with The Immoralist, the two books contrast each other in a very pleasing way. They balance each other, if you like.
Though, whatever the case, if you like Andre Gide, or are interested in French literature, you will definitely like this book.

Self-truth at any Cost - Rated
The Immoralist is straightforward in language and easy to read, but more complicated, more complex are its themes: Man's sense of morality towards society, family, himself. What happens when man's values conflict with those of society's? Whose interests should be served? Gide explores these themes through one man's odyssey of self-discovery. The protagonist is the learned and conflicted Michel who yearns for something more than the stable, predictable, familiar life he has always known, but no longer finds tolerable. It is after a life-threatening bout of tuberculosis that these feelings rise to the surface, intensify, and are more keenly felt.

This hunger, still unidentified, takes him on a journey, both literal and figurative, where his search for self-awareness, or self-truth, carries him to distant and exotic locales. New experiences and mysterious encounters give way to a new aestheticism in which weakness, constraint, and life's banalities play no role. Heightened senses, unsuppressed impulses erode age-old human values that were once accepted blindly.

A life less checked, though, can have consequences, as is the case for Michel, and for so many others like him. As Michel becomes stronger, his wife becomes weaker. Indeed, society becomes weaker. How can the newly strong fail to quash the weak in their path? The question one must ask, then, and Gide does, is whether a life without restraint has value. Is there something admirable in the old adage, "To thine own self be true"?

One of the novel's most inspired moments is found in its ending. Without giving anything away, it is the last passage, after the reader has come full-circle, where Michel's journey seemingly ends. Will Michel embrace his new truth? The reader is left to wonder. The Immoralist is told in narrative, in Michel's own voice. It is self-confessional literature at its highest, and should be read by anyone who reads to think and be moved.