Considered by Gide to be the most important of his books, this slim, exquisitely crafted volume consists of four dialogues on the subject of homosexuality and its place in society. Published anonymously in bits and pieces between 1911 and 1920, "Corydon" first appeared in a signed, commercial edition in France in 1924 and in the United States in 1950, the year before Gide's death. This present edition features the impeccable translation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Richard Howard. In spirited dialogue with his bigoted, boorish interviewer, "Corydon" marshals evidence from naturalists, historians, poets, and philosophers to support his contention that homosexuality pervaded the most culturally and artistically advanced civilizations, from Greece in the age of Pericles to Renaissance Italy and England in the age of Shakespeare. Although obscured by later critics, literature and art from Homer to Titian proclaim the true nature of relationships between such lovers as Achilles and Patrocles - not to mention Virgil's mythical 'Corydon' and his shepherd, Alexis. The evidence, "Corydon" suggests, points to heterosexuality as a socially constructed union, while the more fundamental, natural relation is the homosexual one. 'My friends insist that this little book is of the kind which will do me the greatest harm', Gide wrote of his "Corydon". In these pages, contemporary readers will find a prescient and courageous treatment of a topic that has scarcely become less controversial.
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"Nobel prize winner Gide considered this work his crowning achievement. Published in French in 1925, the book is divided into four 'dialogs' on homosexuality and its place in the world." -- "Classic Returns," Library Journal
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In the year 190_, a scandalous trial raised once again the irritating question of uranism. Read the first page
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In the year 190_, a scandalous trial raised once again the irritating question of uranism. Read the first page
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4.7 out of 5 stars
3 reviews
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
A quick amusing read
23 Aug 2000
By A Customer
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
A quick, amusing read, but not Gide's best work. The work doesn't have the same subjective character studies I've grown to love, but rather reads like a scientific paper written by a skeptical college student. Nonetheless, it is a landmark work in gay literature and so I gave it 4 stars instead of the 3 it actually earned.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thesis
21 Mar 2012
By G. Charles Steiner
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
Two main points in Gide's defense of homosexuality:
(1) the sexual instinct is imprecise, so pleasure in coitus is the underlying motiviation;
(2) homosexuality is or can be uplifting, capable of virtue, capable of self- denial, courage, chasteness, skill in art.
The moral integrity of Greek art cannot be separated from the Greeks' love for the masculine beauty of man.
220 pages
(1) the sexual instinct is imprecise, so pleasure in coitus is the underlying motiviation;
(2) homosexuality is or can be uplifting, capable of virtue, capable of self- denial, courage, chasteness, skill in art.
The moral integrity of Greek art cannot be separated from the Greeks' love for the masculine beauty of man.
220 pages
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thesis
21 Mar 2012
By G. C. Steiner
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
Two main points in Gide's defense of homosexuality: (1) the sexual instinct is imprecise so the pleasure in coitus is the underlying motivation; (2) homosexuality can be uplifting, capable of virtue, capable of self-denial, courage, chasteness, skill in art.
The moral integrity in Greek art cannot be separate from the Greeks' love for the masculine beauty of man.
220 pages
The moral integrity in Greek art cannot be separate from the Greeks' love for the masculine beauty of man.
220 pages
›
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4.7 out of 5 stars
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