Corydon
by André Gide
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Description
First published nearly one hundred years ago, André Gide's masterpiece, translated from the original French by Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Howard, draws from the disciplines of biology, philosophy, and history to support the author's assertion that homosexuality is a natural human trait At the time of his death in 1951, having won the Nobel Prize in Literature only four years prior, André Gide was considered one of the most important literary minds of the twentieth century. In Corydon, show more initially released anonymously in installments between 1911 and 1920, Gide speaks his most subversive and provocative truth. Citing myriad examples that span thousands of years, Gide's Socratic dialogues argue that homosexuality is natural--in fact, far more so than the social construct of exclusive heterosexuality, the act of systematically banning or ostracizing same-sex relationships. Corydon, named for the pederast character in Virgil's Eclogues, caused its author "all kinds of trouble," according to his friends, but he regarded it as his most important work. The courage, intelligence, and prescience of Gide's argument make it all the more impressive today. show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
Despite his eloquence, I just can't bring myself to read beautiful sentences if they're in defense of pederasty.
It's remarkable how beautifully crafted his journal is, even when writing about sex with underage boys. He doesn't even apologize!
What a waste. Wonder if I should just toss the rest of his books as well... There's so many other books I could read.
It's remarkable how beautifully crafted his journal is, even when writing about sex with underage boys. He doesn't even apologize!
What a waste. Wonder if I should just toss the rest of his books as well... There's so many other books I could read.
This translation is excellent overall and is well worth reading for LGBT or Gide enthusiasts. During the course of several years, Gide made numerous adjustments and additions to Corydon. The ultimate product is four dialogues that not only support gay guys but also criticize them for keeping their sexuality a secret and refusing to come out. As a long time admirer of Gide's work I found this to be enlightening and inspiring,
It is surprising that this short work, Corydon, by André Gide is so little known. A bit like an essay, and a bit like a pamphlet, is does what many gay and queer magazines of the post 1980s do, namely to offer an apology for homisexuality by deacribing the history of homosexuality and listing all great writers and personalities their achievements in four dialogues.
As such it is still very readable today, and should be much wider known as a gay classic. What is even more remarkable is that this book was first published in 1920.
As such it is still very readable today, and should be much wider known as a gay classic. What is even more remarkable is that this book was first published in 1920.
The first dialogue was interesting because the arguments were so like modern arguments about homosexuality. The second dialogue, consisting mostly of descriptions of animal mating habits, I found rather unfortunate and far too long. The third and fourth I felt included some of that depressing brand of gay male misogyny, which again one sometimes hears today. This was a formative text for early 20th century discussions of homosexuality, but it definitely doesn't last because Gide doesn't really transcend his own time. Gide also doesn't do much for me in general, which is why having to read so much of him for my thesis is a drag.
Unsure how to rate this; in terms of literary intrigue, there isn't much-- but then again, that's not what the book was designed for. What I find fascinating is that this piece, written ca. 100 years ago, could probably still be brought into the contemporary debate on gender preferences.
Groundbreaking for its time, Gide's argument (written as a conversation between two people) is flawed in that it completely ignores the fact that lesbians exist.
An overly academic exercise; a piece whose place in history is slowly diminishing.
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Author Information
Gide, the reflective rebel against bourgeois morality and one of the most important and controversial figures in modern European literature, published his first book anonymously at the age of 18. Gide was born in Paris, the only child of a law professor and a strict Calvinist mother. As a young man, he was an ardent member of the symbolist group, show more but the style of his later work is more in the tradition of classicism. Much of his work is autobiographical, and the story of his youth and early adult years and the discovery of his own sexual tendencies is related in Si le grain ne meurt (If it die . . .) (1926). Corydon (1923) deals with the question of homosexuality openly. Gide's reflections on life and literature are contained in his Journals (1954), which span the years 1889--1949. He was a founder of the influential Nouvelle Revue Francaise, in which the works of many prominent modern European authors appeared, and he remained a director until 1941. He resigned when the journal passed into the hands of the collaborationists. Gide's sympathies with communism prompted him to travel to Russia, where he found the realities of Soviet life less attractive than he had imagined. His accounts of his disillusionment were published as Return from the U.S.S.R. (1937) and Afterthoughts from the U.S.S.R. (1938). Always preoccupied with freedom, a champion of the oppressed and a skeptic, he remained an incredibly youthful spirit. Gide himself classified his fiction into three categories: satirical tales with elements of farce like Les Caves du Vatican (Lafcadio's Adventures) (1914), which he termed soties; ironic stories narrated in the first person like The Immoralist (1902) and Strait Is the Gate (1909), which he called recits; and a more complex narrative related from a multifaceted point of view, which he called a roman (novel). The only example of the last category that he published was The Counterfeiters (1926). Throughout his career, Gide maintained an extensive correspondence with such noted figures as Valery, Claudel, Rilke, and others. In 1947, he received the Nobel Prize for Literature. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title*
- Corydon
- Original title
- Corydon
- Original publication date
- 1920
- Epigraph*
- /
- Dedication*
- /
- First words*
- PREFACE (A l'édition de 1924, Blanche, Gallimard)
Mes amis me répètent que ce petit livre est de nature à me faire le plus grand tort. Je ne pense pas qu'il puisse me ravir aucune chose à quoi je tienne ou mieux j... (show all)e ne crois pas tenir beaucoup à rien de ce qu'il m'enlèvera applaudissements, décorations, honneurs, entrées dans les salons à la mode, je ne les ai jamais recherchés. [...]
PRÉFACE DE LA SECONDE ÉDITION (1920)
Je me décide après huit ans d'attente à réimprimer ce petit livre. Il parut en 1911, tiré à douze exemplaires, lesquels furent remisés dans un tiroir d'où ils ne sont pas ... (show all)encore sortis. [...]
PREMIER DIALOGUE
L'an 190. un scandaleux procès remit sur le tapis une fois encore l'irritante question de l'uranisme. Dans les salons et les cafés, huit jours durant, on ne parla plus de rien d'autre. Las d'entendre... (show all) à ce sujet s'exclamer ou théoriser au hasard les ignorants, les butés et les sots, je souhaitai d'éclairer mon jugement et, ne reconnaissant qu'à la raison, non point au seul tempérament, le droit' de condamner ou d'absoudre, je résolus d'aller interviewer Corydon. [...] - Original language*
- Français
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
Classifications
- Genre
- LGBTQ+
- DDC/MDS
- 306.766 — Society, government, & culture Social sciences, sociology & anthropology Social Behavior - Dating, Marriage, Divorce Sexual relations Sexual orientation, transgender identity, intersexuality Homosexuality
- LCC
- HQ76.25 .G5213 — Social sciences The family. Marriage, Women and Sexuality The Family. Marriage. Women Sexual life
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 386
- Popularity
- 80,780
- Reviews
- 8
- Rating
- (3.06)
- Languages
- 7 — English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 22
- ASINs
- 20
