André Gide’s literary work is marked by a deep exploration of individual freedom, moral ambiguity, and inner conflict. He often challenged societal norms, especially around religion, sexuality, and hypocrisy. His early works, like The Immoralist (1902), deal with the tension between personal desire and social duty. In Strait Is the Gate (1909) and The Pastoral Symphony (1919), he examines repressed emotions and the consequences of rigid morality.
One of his most important works, The Counterfeiters (1925), is a modernist novel that experiments with structure and questions the nature of truth and fiction itself. Gide also wrote autobiographical and confessional works, like If It Die… (1924), revealing his struggles with identity and faith. Politically engaged, he criticized colonialism (Voyage au Congo) and later denounced Stalinism in Return from the U.S.S.R. (1936). In 1947, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for his bold, honest, and psychologically penetrating writing. His works opened new paths for 20th-century literature, paving the way for existentialist and introspective fiction.
📚 Major Works of André Gide (Chronological List)
1890s
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Les Cahiers d'André Walter (1891) – The Notebooks of André Walter
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Les Nourritures terrestres (1897) – Fruits of the Earth
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La Tentative amoureuse (1893)
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Le Voyage d’Urien (1893)
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Paludes (1895)
1900s
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L’Immoraliste (1902) – The Immoralist
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Saül (1903) – play
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Le Retour de l’enfant prodigue (1907) – The Return of the Prodigal Son
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La Porte étroite (1909) – Strait Is the Gate
1910s
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Isabelle (1911)
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Les Caves du Vatican (1914) – Lafcadio's Adventures / The Vatican Cellars
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La Symphonie pastorale (1919) – The Pastoral Symphony
1920s
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Corydon (1920, but written earlier) – a controversial dialogue on homosexuality
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Si le grain ne meurt (1924) – If It Die… (autobiography)
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Les Faux-monnayeurs (1925) – The Counterfeiters
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Journal des Faux-monnayeurs (1927) – The Counterfeiters' Journal
1930s
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Voyage au Congo (1927) – Travels in the Congo
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Retour du Tchad (1928) – Return from Chad
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Retour de l’U.R.S.S. (1936) – Return from the U.S.S.R.
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Retouches à mon retour de l’U.R.S.S. (1937) – Afterthoughts on the U.S.S.R.
1940s–1950s
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Thésée (1946)
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Journal (1939–1950; published posthumously in parts)
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Et Nunc Manet in Te (1951) – final reflection on his relationship with Madeleine (published posthumously)