The Immoralist

The Immoralist, novella by André Gide, published as L’Immoraliste in 1902, one of the tales Gide called récits.

Inspired by Nietszchean philosophy, Gide undertook the work as an examination of the point at which concern for the self must be superseded by moral principles based on empathy for others. The Immoralist is largely the story of Michel, who marries Marceline, a family friend, to cheer his dying father and provide for his own needs. The two travel to North Africa, where Michel contracts tuberculosis. While recovering from tuberculosis in North Africa, he finds himself drawn sexually to young Arab boys. Back in France a friend urges him to ignore convention and indulge his passions. When the pregnant Marceline develops a case of tuberculosis, they go south for her health, but he neglects her in order to gratify his own desires. Marceline, who has become an impediment to Michel, suffers a miscarriage and later dies as Michel watches.