Parallel Structures and Binary Oppositions in André Gide's L ...

Introduction
Moral and religious ambiguities, including the malleable quality of good and evil,
are at the core of the majority of André Gide’s narratives, the protagonists of which often endure
an irresolvable crisis of self. The gidien hero often finds him or herself trapped between the need
to be understood by society and the need to understand one’s self, between constraint and
freedom, leading to a fissure between the individual and society. The dualities which define this
internal conflict, good versus evil, familiar versus exotic, and liberation versus restraint, have
aroused a great deal of critical interest as evidenced in Hilary Hutchinson’s article “Lamiel et
l’immoralisme gidien,” Jean Hytier’s “André Gide et l’esthétique de la personnalité,” Gaetan
Picon’s “Remarks on Gide’s Ethics,” and Jean-Michel Wittman’s “L’Immoraliste ou l’écriture
diabolique du récit gidien.” This criticism reveals the importance of the connection between
Gide’s work and this struggle with morality and lays the framework for the exploration of the
moral code through the comparison of Gide’s novels. The question of morality is one that
Gide’s characters seek to resolve through self-discovery, and serves as the gateway through
which they must pass if they are to reach their goal. In her article, “Le Thème de la découverte
de soi dans la deuxième partie de Si le grain ne meurt et L’Immoraliste,” Maria Mann’s outlines
the capacity of religious confusion to lead Michel into a period of self-discovery. Gide’s works
are thus marked by this quest to define, or in some cases redefine, one’s own morality, through
the comprehension of and the subjection to society’s version of immorality, and through the
balance of good and evil.
Despite the usual separation of this religious battle from Gide’s quest to understand
morality, these two conflicts are in fact intrinsically linked for the author and for his characters.
Many of Gide’s journals serve as an intimate conversation between the author and God as he
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