Gide in the U.S.S.R.: some observations on Comradeship.

Abstract

After 1914-18, Gide emphasized the value of the Comradeship of Mankind rather than the essentially individualistic ethos to which he had been previously committed. However, while believing in the social benefits of tolerating pederasty, he still saw a person's difference from the norm as the guarantee of authenticity. Political idealism and curiosity took him to the U.S.S.R. in 1936, and on his return he criticized the inertia, ignorance, and conformism which he considered were encouraged by the Soviet state's promotion of the family unit. This essay examines how his attitude towards sexuality led him to question alleged political freedoms and to see in the Soviet oppression of minorities, including homosexuals, the denial of the revolutionary spirit.