The physical maze and the spiritual labyrinth of Gide's Les Caves Du Vatican

Abstract

This article discusses the maze motif in Andre Gide's 1914 novel, Les Caves du Vatican. The author argues that the spiritual labyrinth of French cathedrals, particularly that of Chartres, offers both the key to the novel's composition and a better reading of the spatial and emotional journeys of the characters than the obvious physical mazes of the work.