Publication Details

Abstract

It is undeniable — and it is not only stated by the critics but also admitted by Sartre himself — that literature became for him a „prolonged arm“ of philosophy. Therefore, to read his novels and dramas from the philosophical point of view is quite natural. In this sense, his works are stories of thoughts as well as emotions, they are novels and dramas ä la these, in French literature not unknown, in Sartre, however, enriched by his new existentialist philosophy which is so typical of man during World War II and thereafter, in the time of precarious chaos in France; they remain typical even when we realize the prospects of this man, the danger of an atomic war which keeps menacing. Existence and freedom — these concepts are involved in stories, episodes and characters dominated by the feeling of fear and anxiety, but also by destructive animal drives. The author of the study „Les chemins de la liberté“ raised a question of how these concepts are reflected in the works of art which give to them a clear reply. This reply does not lead into emptiness as is very often claimed; on the contrary, it leads into man’s involvement in humanity and freedom. It is true that this Sartre’s work belongs, before all, to the period in which it rose. Nevertheless, it continues to be a rich scale for study which need not be only literary. It replies even more clearly to many problems of man's lot in this world than the tangle of phenomenological descriptions in his philosophical works. It also can be said that Sartre’s literary work enabled him to get fully involved in the freedom of the hungry and enslaved in colonies, in humanity and freedom of man in this atomic age which constantly makes man live in anxiety about his naked existence and menaces us with death, extermination of man on this earth.