Abstract
In the light of Goethe’s strong influence on André Gide and the latter’s interest in apprenticeship and psychoanalysis, this essay examines La Symphonie pastorale as a Bildungsroman. Noting that the Bildungsroman is a predominantly male genre, the study discusses the implications of the apprentice Gertrude’s gender from a psychoanalytic perspective. Using Freud’s theory, the effects of the pre-Oedipal phase and the Oedipus complex on her, as well as the dialectic of inward-outward development are analyzed. The developments of the Pastor’s wife, Amélie, and their son, Jacques, are also examined. Amélie’s limited development foreshadows Gertrude’s, whereas Jacques’s Bildung shows the disparity between male and female developments. While Gertrude becomes the victim of the Pastor’s failure, Jacques learns from it and becomes independent.
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Rangarajan, S. Gide’s La Symphonie pastorale as a Bildungsroman . Neophilologus 97, 641–652 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11061-013-9350-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11061-013-9350-8