Themes and Variations in Gide's L'Immoraliste

Abstract

A number of statistical experiments analyze data on the frequency and distribution of words evoking twenty-two different themes in Gide's novel l'Immoraliste. The statistical tests are simple and standard; they can be applied using widely-available program packages. The results are evaluated in terms of traditional literary analysis of the novel. Correlations of the distributions of the themes could not be interpreted easily when presented in table form. However, multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis of the correlations not only produced results parallel to the literary analysis but suggested how it could be refined. Regression analysis did not generate conclusive results. The methods used are evaluated and suggestions for future explorations are made.

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