Talk:The Immoralist

Plagiarized plot summary
The plot summary here is taken from the Amazon.com review by Joannie Kervran Stangeland: http://www.amazon.com/The-Immoralist-Dover-Thrift-Editions/dp/0486292371 — Preceding unsigned comment added by Sheepdontswim (talk • contribs) 13:15, 15 May 2013 (UTC)

edit please
Although by no means a critic myself, the page is in desperate longing for a drastic reformulation. The discussion focuses entirely on homosexuality as if it was the central and all encompassing theme of the novel. This was not the impression I received from the novel. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Azymuthca (talk • contribs) 05:37, 20 March 2007 (UTC).


 * I think the sexual aspects are what has made the novel so well known, but why not edit it and add balance? It's too short anyway! I just wrote up the aspects that I found most relevant. Tony 12:36, 20 March 2007 (UTC)Tony


 * Although homosexuality is an important factor, I don't think it was directly and blatantly referenced throughout the novel (except perhaps in the character Menalque). I don't really have the time to develop the page today, but I would think it would be wise to develop the page in such a way:
 * Introduction;
 * Synopsis (a more coherent version of what exists);
 * A description of the various subplots: the farm; the illness; the Nietzschean philosophy and it development;
 * A brief outline of significant characters (as such an outline contained within the synopsis would leave it a jumbled mess): Menalque (and his relation to Wilde), Charles, Marceline, Michel, the youths, etc.User:Procrustean

This synopsis is inaccurate to the point of seeming to be a joke. Pederasty/homosexuality is nothing but the briefest undercurrent in what is really quite a textured novel. Its significance may be debated, but to suggest that it is the focus of the book is absurd. I am not about to attempt a synopsis that will do the work justice, but I strongly recommend removing the current "synopsis;" no article would be preferable to this. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 63.249.97.98 (talk) 07:03, 17 June 2008 (UTC)

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WikiProject class rating
This article was automatically assessed because at least one article was rated and this bot brought all the other ratings up to at least that level. BetacommandBot 08:12, 27 August 2007 (UTC)

hey, can we translate from the french wiki page?
Thanks for trying English Language dude, it was a brave effort, I see why you gave up, - you have a theory which I piece together as

Michel is torn between society and its conventions on one hand and on the other his desire to experience the present and the physical pleasures of living, and this brings him into crisis.

but nothing to wrap it around, no structure, sorry but headings and layout don't make a structure for you, they express one, there is no structure here.

Your theory can be the start of a profitable discussion, but the textual understanding behind that theory is a little basic, doesn't do justice to Gide. Talk about the character of Marceline not 'society and its conventions.'

My verdict on current English page = has spirit (c'mon, let's be generous)but I don't think any of it is worth keeping, nothing is developed. What needs to be done is to start from analysis of the text. And we're in luck.

The french/spanish entry gets top marks. They are lacking discussion, but in all the essentials they are right on track, to the point. The German is less perceptive, somewhat cluttered, but contains some good ideas and is competently laid out. Yeah the Portuguese is not bad, on its own too lightweight, but could incorporate some of it too.

So here is a 'google robot' translation from the Spanish, cleaned up enough to be decipherable.



A narrator recounts the confession given by Michel, the "immoralist," in front of his close friends friends. Erudite and little given to carnal pleasures, he recently married without being really in love with Marceline, a woman who loves him and who he feels towards him the largest of the devotions.

In the course of their honeymoon in North Africa, falls seriously ill and has to struggle against death in Biskra (Algeria). Contemplation of young people full of health returns his love of life and he does everything he can to overcome his disease. Pronto el convaleciente se recupera por completo y dedica atenciones a su cuerpo y al mundo presente y sensual que lo rodea. Soon the convalescent recovers completely and devote attention to his body and the present, sensual world around him.

In a first time, partly in recognition of the care that she provided, Michel surrounds Marceline with all his affection and the couple moved to Italy with a perfect love. Then, on his return to France they alternate between Normandy and Paris, where Michel won a professorship at the Collège de France. There he meets Menalque, whose philosophy, close to that which Michel has developed, exalts him as much as it irritates him.

Marceline, pregnant, suffers an abortion and remains ill. Instead of letting time for recovery in Switzerland, where they reside for some time, Michel drags them in a flight forward which takes them back to Biskra, before one last trip to Touggourt. There Marceline dies exhausted, abandoned and bitter. Michel there develops a life without a foundation before he asks his friends to draw him from there.



It is indeed brief but each person adds a bit here, adds a bit there, I fear that it would be very easy to make it as bad as the current English. Stick near to this then add brief discussion and the entry Andre Gide 'The Immoralist  can be nursed back to life fitter and stronger than anyone could imagine. And society better watch out'''.

my name I'll call myself duke22 86.166.251.10 (talk) 04:10, 23 March 2009 (UTC)

More work needed on synopsis?
Not only does the present synopsis veer towards the bland, where the novel is passionate, but surely it omits some significant themes? What about Michel's overriding selfishness, his rampant bisexuality and his often appalling treatment of his long-suffering wife? --Clifford Mill (talk) 18:29, 29 August 2014 (UTC)