Diaries and novels, such as The Immoralist (1902) and Lafcadio's Adventures (1914), of noted French writer André Gide examine alienation and the drive for individuality in an often disapproving society; he won the Nobel Prize of 1947 for literature.
André Paul Guillaume Gide authored books. From beginnings in the symbolist movement, career of Gide ranged to anticolonialism between the two World Wars.
Known for his fiction as well as his autobiographical works, Gide exposes the conflict and eventual reconciliation to public view between the two sides of his personality; a straight-laced education and a narrow social moralism split apart these sides. One can see work of Gide as an investigation of freedom and empowerment in the face of moralistic and puritan constraints, and it gravitates around his continuous effort to achieve intellectual honesty. His self-exploratory texts reflect his search of full self, even to the point of owning sexual nature without betraying values at the same time. After his voyage of 1936 to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the same ethos informs his political activity, as his repudiation of Communism suggests.
La Symphonie Pastorale = The Pastoral Symphony, André Gide
The Pastoral Symphony is a French novella written by André Gide published in 1919.
It is about a pastor who adopts a young blind girl whom his daughter, Charlotte, names "Gertrude". The title refers to Beethoven's Sixth Symphony (also known as the Pastoral Symphony) which the pastor takes Gertrude to hear.
It also refers to the pastor's own symphony with Gertrude. His wife, Amélie, resents Gertrude because the pastor dedicates more attention to Gertrude than to their five children.
She tries to prompt him to a recognition of the true nature of his feelings for the young woman in his care. Her ability to "see" is contrasted with the "blindness" of the pastor in this regard and the reader is invited to judge him on his intellectual dishonesty.
As a religious man, the pastor takes the Bible very seriously and tries to preserve Gertrude's innocence by protecting her from the concept of sin.
Because the pastor is really the main character in Gertrude's limited world, she feels herself to be in love with him and to some extent he has similar feelings toward her.
When his eldest son Jacques, who is about the same age as Gertrude, asks to marry her, and the pastor becomes jealous and refuses despite the fact that Jacques is obviously in love with her. ...
La Symphonie Pastorale? = The Pastoral Symphony, André Gide
La Symphonie pastorale is a French novella written by André Gide published in 1919.
It is about a pastor who adopts a young blind girl whom his daughter, Charlotte, names "Gertrude". The title refers to Beethoven's Sixth Symphony (also known as the Pastoral Symphony) which the pastor takes Gertrude to hear. It also refers to the pastor's own symphony with Gertrude. His wife, Amélie, resents Gertrude because the pastor dedicates more attention to Gertrude than to their five children.
She tries to prompt him to a recognition of the true nature of his feelings for the young woman in his care. Her ability to "see" is contrasted with the "blindness" of the pastor in this regard and the reader is invited to judge him on his intellectual dishonesty.
As a religious man, the pastor takes the Bible very seriously and tries to preserve Gertrude's innocence by protecting her from the concept of sin. Because the pastor is really the main character in Gertrude's limited world, she feels herself to be in love with him and to some extent he has similar feelings toward her. When his eldest son Jacques, who is about the same age as Gertrude, asks to marry her, and the pastor becomes jealous and refuses despite the fact that Jacques is obviously in love with her.
Gertrude eventually gets an operation to repair her eyesight and, having gained the ability to see, realizes that she loves Jacques and not the pastor. However, Jacques has renounced his love for her, converted to Catholicism and become a monk She attempts suicide by jumping into a river, but is rescued and contracts pneumonia. She realizes that the pastor is an old man, and the man she pictured when she was blind was Jacques. She tells the pastor this shortly before her death.
André Gide has always prefigured our own totally fractured, tell-all age - to the extent that his books were once blacklisted by the Church and puritanically banned in Boston.
His own sympathies are those of this postmodern era!
He draws us relentlessly into a thick gumbo of forbidden pastimes. My European friend P.E. Is so right to take up Lolita cheek-and-jowl with it. It made me cringe, so my reading of it has always been hesitant and peregrinating.
Gide is the real deal now, no doubt of it! (Take that ironically, kids.)
An elderly old stooge, I swallow my Christian pride at the very mention of his name. A name so redolent of my own socially-engineered, but badly bungled, coming-of-age…
It happened in Ward Five.
As a teenage aspie stooge, that entry into adulthood was chemically effected in my sleep. You see, totally out of it, but dosingly half-awake, I became unusually aware of a forced entry. You get my drift.
Too proud to play along with my teenaged buddies' games, I was made aware of the full extent of them after the fact.
You learn things in the hospital.
So it goes, but I've been growing up ever since. The hospital bequeathed une embarrasse des richesses from my own Ali Baba's Cave of forgotten monsters.
Carl Jung said we must thoroughly know ourselves in order to grow up...
So kids, Know Yourselves - BEFORE you attempt this book!
“Θ?λω να γρ?ψω σ’ αυτ?? τι? σελ?δε? ?λα ?σα ?χουν σχ?ση με την εκπα?δευση και την πρ?οδο μια? ψυχ?? γεμ?τη? ευσ?βεια, που φα?νεται ?τι την ?βγαλα απ? το σκοτ?δι ?στε να μ?θει τι θα πει λατρε?α και αγ?πη. Ευλογ? τον Θε?, που μου εμπιστε?τηκε αυτ? την αποστολ? ”.
Η ευσεβ?? ψυχ? που θα εμπιστευτε? τον φιλε?σπλαχνο π?στορα τη? ιστορ?α? μα? για να εγκαταλε?ψει τα σκ?τη και να οδηγηθε? στο φω? δεν ε?ναι ?λλη απ? μια πεντ?ρφανη τυφλ? κοπ?λα που θα τη? δοθε? το ?νομα Γερτρο?δη. Ο π?στορα?, ?πω? ο καλ?? ποιμ?να? τη? ευαγγελικ?? παραβολ??, θα αγκαλι?σει την τυφλ? Γερτρο?δη, που, σαν το απολωλ?? πρ?βατο, θα μονοπωλ?σει το ενδιαφ?ρον του και τι? προσπ?θει?? του. Σ’ ?να κορ?τσι που αναβλ?ζει αγν?τητα κι αγ?πη, που δεν ?χει σκοτ?δι αλλο? παρ? μ?νο στα μ?τια τη?, ο π?στορα? θ’ αναλ?βει το θε?ρεστο ?ργο τη? (θρησκευτικ??) εκπα?δευσ?? τη?, κι η Γερτρο?δη που (τυφλ? ο?σα) δεν ?χει αμαρτ?ε? θ' αγαπ?σει τον δ?σκαλ? τη?.
Εν ?τει 1919 ο Αντρ? Ζιντ ‘συν?θεσε’ τη δικ? του Ποιμενικ? Συμφων?α προσθ?τοντα? στο σπουδα?ο (και ρηξικ?λευθο) ?ργο του ?να εξαιρετικ? ψυχογρ?φημα, ?να μυθιστ?ρημα για το μεγαλε?ο τη? ανικανοπο?ητη?, ανε?πωτη? αγ?πη?.
Vous rappelez-vous cette belle histoire grecque d’un sculpteur qui tombe amoureux de sa propre ?uvre et supplie Aphrodite de lui donner vie? C’est l’histoire de Pygmalion et Galatée. C’est, en effet, l’histoire de l’artiste donnant vie à sa création. C’est aussi l’histoire du ma?tre qui modèle ses disciples. C’est en fin de compte, l’histoire d’Adam qui a créé ?ve de son propre corps.
C’est également l’histoire de ce livre, construit, comme la célèbre symphonie beethovenienne qui lui donne le titre, de cinq mouvements d’une apparence sereine comme la vie du pasteur-narrateur à la campagne : la tranquillité monotone de la vie dans une petite communauté montagnarde, la décision de prendre soin d’une ?me perdue, la satisfaction devant les progrès de sa protégée et l’amour qui s’ensuit, la tragédie, le refuge dans la religion et le pardon de sa famille.
La critique a déjà remarqué le mélodrame dont ce mini-roman faillit s’échapper. Bien-s?r, il s’agit plut?t d’un mélodrame d’intrigue, sauvé par la fa?on dont le narrateur s’y prend, ce narrateur dont la vie calme et tranquille est temporairement troublée par un violent orage (comme dans la quatrième partie de la symphonie) qui ne laisse néanmoins pas trop de marques sur son esprit monumentalement égo?ste et stupidement optimiste.
D’ailleurs, le plus intéressant aspect de cet ouvrage assez mal développé semble être en principal le déploiement graduel du caractère du pasteur, par l’entremise de ses pensées et de ses actions, en révélant la fa?on de trouver toujours des excuses pour ses actions, en ne tenant jamais compte des autres, qui sont pour lui plut?t des êtres unidimensionnels qui ne peuvent être endommagés. Sa femme est mesquine et morose (? son ?me émet des rayons noirs ?), ses enfants plus jeunes trop turbulents, l’amour de Jacques pour Gertrude est superficiel, même Gertrude, décide-t-il, est plus heureuse dans l’ignorance et cécité. Il pourrait s'avérer diabolique s’il n’était pas tout simplement pathétique.
Il aurait pu devenu, en tout cas, un personnage mémorable. Mais Gide n’a pas eu la patience de prendre soin au détail, tout comme il donne l'impression d'avoir été continuellement pressé de finir le roman, co?te que co?te, ce qui fait que la deuxième partie soit assez, pour utiliser un terme anglais, sloppy.
Albert J. Guerard voit dans ce roman une ?uvre à-thèse, ? une démonstration lucide des maux que la sensibilité romantique et le l’illusion de soi peuvent entrainer, de la confusion que Rousseau a faite entre "la conscience" et "l’instinct". ?
Et comme toutes les ?uvres de ce type, sa valeur littéraire reste, malheureusement, limitée.
Taking its name from Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6, Gide's heartfelt novella sees a Protestant pastor - somewhat of an unreliable narrator - take in and nurture a young blind girl whilst, to the wrath of his wife, he starts to become a distant figure to his own family. Gide writes with a lyrical beauty here, and tackles themes of love, religious doctrine, sin and desire, and I liked how he subtly exposes the pastor's deluded state of mind, as he turns from father figure to lover; burying the ever growing sin inside himself whilst trying to conceal the very idea of sin from the girl. I couldn't help but wonder how interesting it could have been had Gide used the girl's thoughts - obviously based only on what she hears - in-between the pastor's own first person narrative, but I guess this was a technique that hadn't really been explored at the time. Gide's L'Immoraliste (The Immoralist) really didn't do anything for me, and this was definite improvement on that. I'll want to read more of him now.
?πω? κι ?λλα βιβλ?α του Ζιντ, την ?Ποιμενικ? συμφων?α? τη δι?βασα πρ?τη φορ? στο μ?σο τη? 2η? δεκαετ?α? τη? ζω?? μου. Προφαν??, σε αυτ? την ?χαρη αναγνωστικ? ηλικ?α που ?ψαχνα να βρω το στ?γμα μου, αναζητ?ντα? βεβαι?τητε?, ανακαλ?πτοντα? με δ?ο? -πρ?το? εγ?!- κρυμμ?νου? θησαυρο?? (αυτ? ε?ναι η γοητε?α και η αφ?λεια του νεαρο? αναγν?στη), σ?γουρα δεν θα μπορο?σα να εκτιμ?σω το β?θο? τη? σκ?ψη? ο?τε ?μω? και το συγγραφικ? στ?γμα του συγγραφ?α. ?λειπε η εμπειρ?α, ?λειπε το β?θο? πεδ?ου, η προοπτικ?…
Εντο?τοι?, η επιστροφ? μου δ?ο δεκαετ?ε? μετ? δεν υπ?ρξε η αναμεν?μενη. Μην παρεξηγηθ?: ο Ζιντ ε?ναι ?να? μεγ?λο? συγγραφ?α?, με ουσ?α και ?φο?, ευρ?τητα σκ?ψη? και β?θο? πνε?ματο?. Το ?ργο του εμπερι?χει ?λα εκε?να τα στοιχε?α που μπορε? κ?ποιο? να απολα?σει στην κλασικ? γραμματολογ?α. Κι ?μω? κ?τι ?λειπε, κ?τι δεν με ικανοποιο?σε στον βαθμ? που αν?μενα.
Να το θ?σω ξεκ?θαρα: Οι σκ?ψει? του μου φ?νηκαν βαρ?γδουπε?, ο συμβολισμ?? του (λογοτεχνικ? ρε?μα στο οπο?ο, εξ?λλου, αν?κε) εξαιρετικ? προφαν??, οι ?ρω?? του συχν?τερα μιλο?σαν ω? ηθοποιο? που απ?γγειλαν εντυπωσιακο?? διαλ?γου? γραμμ?νου? απ? ταλαντο?χο γραφι?. Το αποτ?λεσμα ?ταν να αισθ?νομαι σχετικ?? αποστασιοποιημ?νο? απ? τα τεκταιν?μενα, κ?τι που ποτ? δεν υπ?ρξε πρ?θεση του Ζιντ.
Μολον?τι η ?Ποιμενικ? συμφων?α? ε?ναι ?να μικρ? σε μ?γεθο? βιβλ?ο, σε σημε?α μου φ?νηκε φλ?αρο, καθ?? οι δι?λογοι και η αν?γκη του συγγραφ?α να υπερτον?σει τι? απ?ψει? του ?κανε το κε?μενο να ασφυκτι?. Α? μην ξεχν?με η φλυαρ?α αποτελε?, εν?οτε, ?να απ? τα ?αμαρτ?ματα? τη? γαλλικ?? λογοτεχν?α? (αν και δεν θα βρο?με τ?ποτα τ?τοιο στου? Φλωμπ?ρ, Μπαλζ?κ, Στεντ?λ, ?σο ογκ?δη κι αν ε?ναι τα ?ργα του?!).
Η παρ?σταση στην οπο?α ε?χα κληθε? να παραστ?, δεν μπ?ρεσε να κρατ?σει αμε?ωτη την προσοχ? μου, με αποτ?λεσμα να κοιτ?ζω πλαγ?ω? τι? μικρ?? φωτειν?? επιγραφ?? με τη λ?ξη ??ξοδο??. Εν προκειμ?νω, να ολοκληρωθε? η αν?γνωση ?στε να προχωρ?σω παρακ?τω.
Συνεχ?ζω να θεωρ? ?τι το ηλικιακ? χ?σμα ε?ναι εν πολλο?? υπε?θυνο για την προσ?γγισ? μου. Ο νεαρ?? αναγν?στη? -θυμ?μαι καλ?- προσ?ρμοζε τον εσωτερικ? φακ? του στην καταν?ηση του κειμ?νου. Συγκεκριμ?να, ?σον αφορ? την ?Ποιμενικ? συμφων?α?, οι συμβολισμο? ε?ναι σαφε??: η μη μουσικ? συμφων?α μεταξ? του Προτεστ?ντη ιερ?α και τη? νεαρ?? κοπ?λα? την οπο?α φ?ρνει στο σπ?τι του, η εκ γενετ?? τυφλ?τητ? τη? που αντιδιαστ?λλεται προ? εκε?νη του ?ντρα απ?ναντι στα συναισθ?ματ? του, η σ?γκρουση μεταξ? καθ?κοντο? και επιθυμ?α?, ηθικ?? και συναισθ?ματο? κ.ο.κ.
Θα ?μουν λοιπ?ν εξαιρετικ? ικανοποιημ?νο? με τον εαυτ? μου ?χοντα? επιλ?σει τον γρ?φο, καθ?τι θα με κατ?τασσε -?στω προσωριν?- στη χορε?α των μορφωμ?νων, των ?ξιων. Η φεν?κη αυτ? (?Τι θ?λει να πει εδ? ο ποιητ??;?) μπορε? να κρατ?σει πολλ? χρ?νια, ?σω? και για π?ντα. Στην περ?πτωσ? μου, η ?παιδικ? ασθ?νεια? τη? αν?γνωση? ευτυχ?? παρ?λθε. Ο -πιο- ?ριμο? αναγν?στη? μ?σα μου ?χει π?ψει να αγωνι? για την καταν?ηση (ο?τω? ? ?λλω? ?ρχεται, μ?σω τη? εμπειρ?α?, εντ?? λ?γων κεφαλα?ων – κι αν ?χι, δεν πειρ?ζει) ? την τα?τιση με ?ρωε? και υποθ?σει?.
Εκε?νο για το οπο?ο διψ? ε?ναι ο τρ?πο?, η ιδια?τερη ματι? του συγγραφ?α, και η αγων?α τη? αναγν?ριση? σε κ?ποια σελ?δα σε κ?ποια παρ?γραφο, σε κ?ποια γραμμ?. Αν εκε? κ?που οι ματι?? μα? συμπ?σουν, τ?τε ο κεραυνοβ?λο? αναγνωστικ?? ?ρωτα? θα καταυγ?σει τα π?ντα. Ναι, κατ? τα λεγ?μενα του Μπ?ρχε? πρ?κειται για ?να ?σπ?νιο ε?δο? κ?κνου?. ?παξ ?μω? και τον συναπαντ?σει?, ?στω στιγμια?α, δεν μπορε?? να ξεχ?σει? ποτ? το μεγαλε?ο του.
Συγκεφαλαι?νοντα?, ?λα ?σα προαν?φερα πιθαν?τατα μπορε? να θεωρηθο?ν και, με την ?δια ?νεση, να απορριφθο?ν ω? λεκτικ?? υπερβολ?? εν?? ψυχρ?αιμου αναγν?στη που προσ?ρχεται στην αν?γνωση κραδα?νοντα? το ζ?γι και το μ?τρο, ?χοντα? αποφασ?σει ?τι η τ?χνη ε?ναι πρ?τιστα η εσωτερικ? αρμον?α των επιμ?ρου? κι δευτερευ?ντω? τα πλουμιστ? φορ?ματα, τα εντυπωσιακ? πανωφ?ρια, το απατηλ? χαμογελαστ? καλοκαιριν? τη? πρ?σωπο.
The story is simple. A pastor adopts a poor young blind girl to give her a “better life.” His wife and their five children are less than impressed with the new addition. One of the eldest daughters gives her the name Gertrude. The pastor begins to obsess over her and takes her to hear a symphony by Beethoven, his sixth, also known as “The Pastoral.” The pastor’s descriptions of colours according to the different instruments is very entertaining. As as you can imagine, his wife suspects something else.
His eldest son, Jacque also takes a shine to the girl. Their ages bind them. However when the pastor finds out his son is in love with Gertrude, he chastises him for sinning by lusting after a helpless girl. The poor pastor does not realize that he is doing the same.
A local doctor suggests that there is a corrective surgery for Gertrude’s condition (cataracts?) and they follow through. The outcome is surprising.
Of course the entire book is a metaphor for blindness. The pastor thinks his wife is blind for not seeing how he wants to help Gertrude. The wife obviously defends herself and family and feels the pastor is blind to what he is doing to the family. His son seems to have his eyes opened, but for other reasons. Gertrude, who is blind, wants to see what is truly happening, and perhaps too late. When she gets her sight back, she sees how beautiful the sky is but how ugly people can be.
One could debate this for hours. In short, a powerful book on how we see the world, what is right, what constitutes a “sin” and what “moral” choices can have different outcomes than expected.
Ne Andre Gide ne de ?ok keyifle dinledi?im Pastoral Senfoni ismi kitab? sevmeye yetmedi. Bir?ok anlam yüklenebilir bu trajik ?yküye ancak s?radan bir ?ykü benim i?in.
It won't be easy to review this book without giving away too much of the plot or avoiding some spoilers. It is a very short book but profoundly deep and thought provoking. A Protestant priest decides to take home and adopt a blind girl (who is around 14 years old) whose aunt died and she hadn't other relatives who could take care of her. Despite he already had 5 children, he wants to help this girl driven by charitable love. He stays a lot of time with her, teaches her everything he can despite her blindness, and Gertrude (this the name of the girl) is very intelligent and learns very fast. Everyone in the story (from the pastor's wife to Gertrude) and also the reader see that this charitable love was slowly turning into real "human" love; the only one that wasn't aware of this was the pastor because he thought he did everything out of charity. The pastor continued to lie to himself because he didn't want to admit that his love was deeper as he thought. There are also some thought provoking dialogs about the Gospels between the pastor and his son that was studying theology and that was in love too with Gertrude. But his son wanted to marry her because he was aware of his feelings. The pastor didn't agree with this wedding, but not because he was aware of his own love and jalousy; he thought that this blind girl should have been protected by everything that could hurt her, also a real love story and a family life with its up and downs. The pastor's son decides to listen to his father and goes away from home though he suffered a lot because he didn't receive his father's blessing to marry Gertrude. For all the time Gertrude lived with the pastor's family, he never told her about the bad things there are in the world or about sins. Also of the Gospels, he taught her only what he wanted avoiding parts about sins. To tell the truth, he himself took from the Gospels only the parts he wanted avoiding the rest. He depicted Gertrude a wonderful world made only by good things and that real love as described by Jesus would never hurt a person. The pastor was still sure to love her with that kind of love. Gertrude was happy about her life, but she was aware that something was missing. She wanted to know and understand everything by herself and not through the eyes and words of the pastor. When a doctor said that her blindness could have been operated so she could see again, she decided to do this operation, while the pastor was worried because he knew that he couldn't protect her anymore if she was free to see the world as it is. Well, after the operation there are a couple of spoilers I won't tell. There is a very interesting dialog between Gertrude and the pastor and suddenly the pastor became aware that the real blind person has always been him, and not Gertrude. But also that all his efforts to protect Gertrude brought only to hurt her even more, and that also other people of his family suffered because of his behavior. At the end the pastor doesn't lose only Gertrude, but also his son that converted to Catholicism becoming a monk, and he starts to question also his faith. Though these seem spoilers, the most important and interesting parts of this book are the dialogs between the pastor, his son, Gertrude, but also the parts where the pastor thinks about himself, his behavior and the Gospels.
It is a wonderful short book I would recommend to anyone, also those that aren't into religion. In the introduction of my edition there's written that Gide wrote this short book before he himself converted to Catholicism.
i forgot how much of a book abt an Old White Dude? this is. he's gross, the story is gross, it ends tragically..... at least it teaches us that old white dudes should never be trusted w anything ever but we always knew that so