Witness to My Life: The Letters of Jean-Paul Sartre to Simone de Beauvoir 1926-39

by Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir (Editor), Lee Fahnestock (Translator)

A collection of letters written by Jean-Paul Sartre to Simone de Beauvoir offers a candid, provocative study of Sartre's literary, philosophical, and political evolution and of the social and cultural institutions of prewar Europe.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Biography, History, Essays, Unfinished, Memoir

432 pages, cloth

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th-century French philosophy and Marxism. Sartre was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology). His work has influenced sociology, critical theory, post-colonial theory, and literary studies. He was awarded the 1964 Nobel Prize in Literature despite attempting to refuse it, saying that he always declined official honors and that "a writer should not allow himself to be turned into an institution."
Sartre held an open relationship with prominent feminist and fellow existentialist philosopher Simone de Beauvoir. Together, Sartre and de Beauvoir challenged the cultural and social assumptions and expectations of their upbringings, which they considered bourgeois, in both lifestyles and thought. The conflict between oppressive, spiritually destructive conformity (mauvaise foi, literally, 'bad faith') and an "authentic" way of "being" became the dominant theme of Sartre's early work, a theme embodied in his principal philosophical work Being and Nothingness (L'Être et le Néant, 1943). Sartre's introduction to his philosophy is his work Existentialism Is a Humanism (L'existentialisme est un humanisme, 1946), originally presented as a lecture.

Reviews

[Ehsan'Shokraie' · Rating 1 out of 5]

سوال:چرا نیازی به شاهدی بر زندگی من نداریم؟

پاسخ:چون یک کابوسه.

نامه ها پر از شرح وقایع کسل کننده روزانه و پر از افرادی که همه شبیه هم اند,بنظرم کمتر خواننده ای از صفحه 100فراتر میره و از بین اونا کمتر کسی از تصور 450صفحه باقی مانده افسرده نمیشه,و از بین اونا شاید فقط یک نفر با قرص ضد افسردگی فلوکستین (در جوانان)یا سرترالین ادامه داده باشه,
جمله ای هست:هر زمان که امدم معنی زندگی را بفهمم عوضش کردند,دقیقا راجب این کتابه با این تفاوت که معنی وجود نداره,سیاهه ی بی انتهای درک ناپذیری از روابط نسبتا تهوع اور و افراد با اسم های مخفف رو اعصاب,مسائل سطحی پیش پا افتادس که بدون حداقل یه کورس پروفیلاکتیک ضد تهوع غیر قابل تحمله.

همچنین روابط عجیب و بیش از حد نزدیک! سارتر با افراد متعدد،که در نامه هاش به سیمون دوبووار به عنوان اتفاقات روزمره با ذکر جزییات! ازشون یاد میکنه هم کتاب رو تبدیل به کابوسی کرده که بیداری ازش نا ممکنه..کابوسی که مثل عفونت مولتی دراگ رزیستنتی به روحت میچسبه,و زخم هایی ایجاد میکنه که شستنش زمان میبره...

پ.ن:سریال های جم تی وی در برابر زندگی شخصی سارتر,قوی و ارزشی به نظر میان..(حالا یکی بیاد بگه:نه این نوابغ با معیار های اخلاقی معمول قابل بررسی نیستن..کام ان..)

پ.ن:از معدود کتاب هایی که وقتی چشمم بش میفتاد ترجیح میدادم نبینمش..اونم ترجیح میداد نبینه منو..رابطه مون خوب نبود کلا..بعدیا ایشالله..

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I long to have a romance of the mind, through letters, like Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre. I often think I would be better suited to this kind of romance than I ever could be to the actual kind, where you see people face to face and have to interact with them emotionally, rather than diffuse emotions cerebrally. I read this book over and over whenever I feel lonely and it always inspires me to write something to someone I love, somewhere.

[Ivva Tadiashvili · Rating 4 out of 5]

სარტრი რენტგენია. ყველა ნაწარმოები და ავტორი რენტგენში გაატარა. განსაკუთრებით უცხოს განხილვა მომეწონა.

[Hala · Rating 5 out of 5]

All I can say... is wow.. reading how to great minds love each other is just brilliant..

[Simona Calò · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un libro epistolare è meglio di una biografia per conoscere un personaggio fondamentale della cultura del novecento: ne restituisce un'immagine ricca di sfumature e, molto spesso, capace di leggerezza e autoironia. Con un tomo di quasi ottocento pagine, del resto, non si flirta fiaccamente: o lo si abbandona oppressi dalla pesantezza oppure riempie la vita come un vero amore. E così è stato. Bramavo di leggerlo da molto tempo e non mi ha delusa. Come successe per Virginia Woolf, mi permette di accedere con più coraggio alla produzione di un autore a cui non oso avvicinarmi. Intuisco che quello che scrive difficilmente sarà all'altezza della simpatia e del coinvolgimento che la sua prosa epistolare è in grado di generare: Sartre è caustico, pungente, provocatore e divertentissimo. Ho ammirato enormemente il suo incrollabile ottimismo, con cui forse tentava anche di consolare una Simone lontana, nei momenti più precari della sua esistenza, dagli anni del fronte alla prigonia. Gli interessi, la letteratura, lo studio filosofico dell'animo umano, la passione per la vita stessa, è stato tutto questo a dare vigore alla sua scrittura anche in giorni profondamente bui. Non potevo non lasciarmi tentare dalla curiosità di indagare l'approccio alla parità del compagno di una delle femministe più importanti di sempre, forte di cocenti delusioni date da granitici intellettuali di sinistra che guardavano a fidanzate, mogli, madri e sorelle come a un branco di fiorellini indifesi. Qualche commento giudicante sulla morale femminile se lo fa scappare anche Sartre, confermandosi però un grande tifoso della libertà di costumi di certi ambienti letterari e intellettuali di cui fruiva con esuberante e allegro appetito. Al contempo, era anche un appassionato amante su carta da lettere e in quarant'anni di corrispondenza ha speso le parole più toccanti e romantiche per Simone senza generarmi i soliti conati da allergia alle melensaggini: sono sbalordita. Non è una lettura da ombrellone e un minimo interesse per la coppia aiuta a non abbandonare un'impresa che richiede un certo quantitativo di energie: all'ennesima descrizione nei minimi particolari di una giornata nella vita del filosofo francese, tra pasti nei caffè, recensioni di letture, riflessioni sul processo di scrittura, andirivieni di amanti, incontri letterari ed escamotage per arrivare alla fine del mese, potreste cedere. Ma io vi esorto a continuare: lo amerete e, prima che accada, vi farà ridere moltissimo.

[Billie Pritchett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Witness to My Life is a collection of letters written by Jean-Paul Sartre and edited, compiled, and mostly written to Simone de Beauvoir. Sartre's and Simone's romance was legendary, and in this collection, one can partake of that romance incarnate. Also, this is quite the Romantic work with a capital 'R.' Romanticism is characterized by a trust in intuition and emotion vis-a-vis rational or skeptical understandings about oneself or the world. Almost every page bespeaks this Romanticism. Another reason someone might find this book interesting is that Sartre is developing his philosophical system and sharing it with Simone as it comes to him here. If you're at all curious about existentialism, you can read passages of Sartre's letters that are basically his existentialism in his infancy. This collection is worth reading.

[Cristina Chițu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Einerseits bin ich äußerst ehrgeizig. Aber in welcher Hinsicht? Ich stelle mir den Ruhm wie einen Ballsaal voller befrackter Herren und dekolletierter Damen vor, die mir zu Ehren ihre Gläser erheben. Das ist sicherlich eine Bilderbuchvorstellung, aber ich habe dieses Bild seit meiner Kindheit in mir. (...) Aber vor allem habe ich den Ehrgeiz, schöpferisch zu sein: ich muss gestalten, egal was, nur gestalten.

ich füge hinzu, dass ich ein gewisses Charakterideal erreichen muss: moralische Gesundheit, das heißt vollkommenes Gleichgewicht. Ich bin noch sehr weit davon entfernt. Es gelingt mir allerdings, nur noch das, was ich will, nach außen durchscheinen zu lassen. Ich übertreibe. Um ehrlich zu sein: meistens.

Erinnern Sie sich, dass die Logik das Brot der ohnmächtigen Intellektuellen ist. Suchen Sie auf anderen Wegen, ohne Beweisführung, nach Ideen. (...) Um Ideen zu finden, muss man auf Logik verzichten, sie ist etwas Künstliches, vom Wahren Entferntes.

Oder ist es ehrlich? Dann ist es dumm; warum sollten Sie nicht stolz sein? Das ist die erste Bedingung für Erfolg.

Man muss natürlich mit den anderen leben, darf sich aber nie (selbst wenn sie schwächer sind als man selbst) so von ihnen beeinflussen lassen, so abhängig von ihnen werden, dass man sie nicht, wenn man will, zum Teufel schicken könnte.

[Uğur · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a beautiful work in which I breathe the existential air of French romanticism, which cares about personal rights and freedoms as well as social rights and freedoms in every letter.

French romanticism, which was in a great struggle against prejudices, fought against prejudices in love as in every field, and this struggle actually gave birth to itself in the union of Beauvoir - Sartre.

Their de facto union lasted for two years, after the second year, they decided to be each other's primary person without violating each other's freedoms, and they lived a free love, and they succeeded in applying the philosophy of positive destruction, which came to rise again with the French Revolution, in love as in every other field. It is possible to read and see the projections of this relationship in the correspondence in the book.

While reading the book, I realized that once again and very clearly; The Beauvoir - Sartre relationship was a reflection of Nietzsche's saying, "Marry the person you think you can spend long hours with and talk to every day for the rest of your life."

It's nice to be a part of this great conversation and witness it. Salute to those who liberate him like his soul in our world where relationships are held captive.

[Alexandra Pinzaru · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was so excited to finally have this book on my hands some good months ago, but I simply couldn't finish it. The long, dry descriptions, the multitude of words used to paint small, insignificant events, were just too much for me. I found myself bored and dissapointed that i couldn't find any joy in letting myself drift aimlessly on the river of his thoughts.

[Chase B · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love reading this it’s so beautiful. If I can’t find a love like this I will kill myself.

[brulureindienne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ces lettres m'ont plongé dans sa vie. Son quotidien, ses réflexions, ses amitiés, ses amours. Sa réflexion ne semble jamais cesser, et chaque menu détail de la vie peut donner prise à des questionnements philosophiques. On voit l'envers du décor de certains de ses écrits.

[Nissa Rachmidwiati]

I've always come to wonder what kind of talk did Sartre and Simone have during dinner or what kind of flirtatious words did he use. Well well, this is what you'll get when we have 2 thinkers drowned themselves in an ecstatic feeling we call 'Love' : "Tonight I love you in a way that you have not known in me: I am neither worn down by travels nor wrapped up in the desire for your presence. I am mastering my love for you and turning it inwards as a constituent element of myself." Such complexity remains. :))

[Cherie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A This is the love affair of dreams. Of what you really want at the end of the day - someone who is absolutely completely devoted to you. But bizarrely, I never can figure out the open elements of their relationship…fascinating, regarldess. Great wonderful letters, and esp his philosophy, and other theories. Brilliant.

[Tanya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly I found it well written but a bit boring. He has a pretty loose definition of the term "funny story". I also strongly suspect that if he were alive today he and I would probably not get along.

[Zohreh Jafari · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 2011, who says to his partner: "write and send to me details of your everyday life. I love to know them, even small ones?!" Well, Sartre, in 1920s and 30s, says to Simone de Beauvoire. You may think it's romantic but I particularly think it shows ability of Simone as a phenomenal writer.

[Ali · Rating 2 out of 5]

تعدادی از نامه های سارتر به سیمون دوبوار در زمانی ست که او در برلین به مطالعه ی پدیدارشناسی هوسرل و فلسفه ی هایدگر پرداخته و سپس در اداره ی هواشناسی ارتش کار می کرده است.

[Margrit Belfi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wel mooi ook het boek de teerling is geworpen

[Maureen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wish I had a higher brow to be able to dive into this.. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz