Interrogating the nature of fiction through andre gide's poetics of fiction in the counterfeiters

Self-reflexivity is an important literary method to investigate the phenomenon of artistic creation. Among the various genres of literature, novel seems to be the most dynamic and ever changing one. This research paper interrogates the process of fiction-writing with specific reference to Andre Gide's The Counterfeiters. Gide has brilliantly exploited the technique to discuss the writing process. The novel is replete with vital discussions on theme, plot, characterization, representation of reality, depersonalization. The narration through a journal of a novelist character serves dual purpose of narration as well as recording the unrefined impressions of the artist. The picture of psychological, emotional and literary self of the artist that emerges out of this discussion serves as an authentic insight into the creative state of mind. Gide has brooded over the whole problem of the novel as a work of art. It is also an attempt to rediscover, to re-create and to justify the genre aesthetically. In his novels Gide has tried to justify his choice of novel form and to incorporate into his work a theory of novel.