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La Putain respectueuse, suivi de Morts sans sépulture

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"Qu'est-ce que tu m'as fait ? Tu colles à moi comme mes dents à mes gencives. Je te vois partout, je vois ton ventre, ton sale ventre de chienne, je sens ta chaleur dans mes mains, j'ai ton odeur dans les narines. J'ai couru jusqu'ici, je ne savais pas si c'était pour te tuer ou pour te prendre de force. Maintenant, je sais. (Il la lâche brusquement.) Je ne peux pourtant pas me damner pour une putain."

224 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1946

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About the author

Jean-Paul Sartre

1,094 books12.9k followers
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.

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5 stars
192 (17%)
4 stars
423 (39%)
3 stars
357 (32%)
2 stars
87 (8%)
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23 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews
Profile Image for Alain Dib.
37 reviews37 followers
May 26, 2019
First off, the plays of Sartre evolve around a set of characters and choice is at heart of the story. It is Sartre that want to force people to realize that although they might convince themselves that they take the only choice they can, they really aren’t. He’s all about: well look guys you though you only have the choice to breath but well what if you really just choke or stop breathing or something? Ain’t feeling smart no more people huh?
After reading the book I did a little bit of research and found out that most of the bad or let’s say average reviews of this book are aimed against the political views or propaganda that Sartre is accused of.
Putting these things aside I liked the first play(The Respectful Prostitute) from a social point of view I liked the way It depicted racial abuse and how it would feel to be in the body of the identical . Of my identical other that for some reason gets a very unfair treatment. This kind of play helps us realize that at some point we have to say it we fucked up.(it reminds you of Martin Luther King)
Recently I’ve come across a bunch of book that have helped me change my point of view concerning many issues or clarify some.
The first concerning the death sentence and the second reinforcing my disgust of human abuse or bullying in any kind of way.
Another nice thing about the play is that it tackles the issue of social stratification and inequality. The poor is condemnable for whatever reason we can always dispose of him whereas the rich always has a way out and in case he hasn’t he can always create one!
The writing is engaging and The interaction between Fred Lisie and the others interesting.( Enough let’s leave some to the ones who will eventually read the play)

In contrast the other play is less brilliant. In those 2 plays Sartre doesn’t build up a lot and just kind of throw us into action. In the first play it was easy to position oneself and go with the story but in the second it is a little trickier and there is always a sense of loss that I found to be less enjoyable.
In this case I found an idea interesting: people, soldiers( they are more than just numbers you come across when studying history) and others always die and it is the higher ups that collect the rewards without much of an effort because what effort could have the value of surrendering human lives?
Profile Image for La Sa Ra.
18 reviews
September 27, 2013
Two groups of oppressed human beings are portrayed in this drama: women ( esp. prostitutes) and black people. I very much liked the language and the style of Sartre: its authentic and with a moving, suspenceful plot although actually there is not so much action happening and the setting is always identical. Instead, the characters and the logic of their interactions and relations are portrayed.The story is based on a real incident and was published shortly after ww 2. the existentialist's belief and presumption that everyone is responsible for his/her actions and that only freedom within a democratic system with equal rights for all people is possible, is also the hidden message behind that play. For me, its a good thing that sartre therefore made a political statement with his literary effort.
Profile Image for Manny.
Author 48 books16.1k followers
February 17, 2010
Last Wednesday, we went to a production of Arthur Miller's The Crucible. I hadn't seen it for a while, and as usual I'd forgotten what a great play it is. The language, in particular, is fantastic. If Shakespeare had been writing in 1950s America, I can well imagine him doing something similar to this.

On the way out, I was struck by a sudden thought. Since the last time I'd seen it, sometime in the 90s, I'd read a fair amount of Sartre. The ending, in particular, reminded me of Morts Sans Sépulture. I turned to the rest of the party and asked if anyone else had thought the play was at all existentialist. Unfortunately, I'd forgotten that, since Clueless, no one can use this word any more. Cher and Josh are watching TV:
CHER C'mon, you need some excitement
in your life. It'll replenish you for your finals.

JOSH OK.

CHER Good.

JOSH I can't believe I'm taking advice
from someone who watches cartoons.

CHER That's Ren and Stimpy. They're
way existential.

JOSH Do you have any idea what you're
talking about?

CHER No, why? Do I sound like I do?
So I was duly jumped on, but after I'd recovered I found that the most cursory Google search immediately turns up connections. Plenty of other people have had the same thought as I did. Not only that, Sartre wrote the script for the 1957 French/German movie of The Crucible. So there.

But, it's true, Morts Sans Sépulture isn't nearly as good a play as The Crucible precisely because it's too heavy-handedly existentialist, and there's an interview with Miller where he denied being explicitly influenced by existentialist thinking. You can argue it both ways. I wish I could get Cher's opinion: after hearing her opinions on Hamlet, I'm confident she'd sum it all up in one perfect line.

Profile Image for مروة الجزائري.
Author 11 books195 followers
May 19, 2020

سبب قراءتي هذا الكتاب هي المصادفة البحتة واسم الكاتب.
لطالما اردت ان اقرأ شيئا" لجان بول سارتر.
ساعدتني ساعات الانتظار الطويلة في المستشفى على الانتهاء منه في جلستين تقريبا"

على كل حال،
الكتاب يحتوي على مسرحيتين لجان بول سارتر
الاولى : موتى بلا قبور تحكي عن معتقلين تحت التعذيب يخفون حقيقة هم يجهلونها وتجد تناقضاتهم مستمرة

الثانية البغي الفاضلة اعتقد العنوان يفي بالغرض

انصح بقراءتها لمحبي المسرحيات الكلاسيكية
Profile Image for Hamed Mazaheri.
14 reviews2 followers
February 12, 2014
سارتر در این نمایشنامه به زیبایی چهره کثیف آمریکای قدیم را به تصویر میکشد؛ فساد اخلاقی، تبعیض نژادی، سیاست‌های فریبکارانه آمریکا و...
و به خواننده/بیننده نشان میدهد که گاهی انسان‌های به ظاهر شریف جامعه از یک فاحشه هم فاسدتر هستند.
Profile Image for Cyrille Honoré.
213 reviews2 followers
January 25, 2015
Et donc notre existence n'a pas de sens prédéfini et c'est à nous de lui en donner un par nos choix, par nos actes. C'est là que tout se complique.
Profile Image for امتياز.
Author 4 books1,790 followers
March 11, 2017

استمتعت بقراءة المسرحيتين جدًا رغم ما بهما من كآبة شديدة لكنهما تمثلان واقعنا التعس
.
Profile Image for Oscar.
151 reviews1 follower
September 8, 2025
C’est toujours un plaisir de lire Sartre. La première pièce parle du racisme aux états-unis et la seconde de la résistance durant la seconde guerre mondiale ainsi que du régime de Vichy et de la torture. C’est passionnant à lire et ça donne profondément envie de détruire les supremacistes blancs ainsi que les tortionnaires présentés dans ce livre. J’aimerais beaucoup voir ces pièces jouées.
Profile Image for زهدي دهنيم.
43 reviews8 followers
April 9, 2017
الكتاب عبارة عن مسرحيتين.
الأولى طويلة امتدت ل ١٠٠ صفحة
الثانية قصيرة امتدت لـ ٥٠ صفحة
موتى بلا قيود
معتمة؛ حزينة.. كئيبة وفيها الكثير الكثير من البؤس والشقاء.

معتقلون تحت التعذيب؛ يتفقون على عدم البوح بأي شيء؛ وهم في قرارة ذواتهم لا يملكون شيئا يخبئونه!

يتحلمون العذاب والذل لا لشيء.. إنما يودون الانتصار للقضية.

تبحث عن القضية في طيات حواراتهم؛ لا تجد شيئا يوصلك لها!
أو عن جدوى هذا التحمل والاصرار والمكابرة.

العبث واللا جدوى في أقصى درجاتها.

أتساءل أي بؤس سيحل لو تم مسرحتها -عربيا-على خشبة المسرح..!



المسرحية الثانية أحلى من الأولى موضوعا ومعالجةً.

طالعنا في " موتى بلا قيود" معانٍ مثل: " إني سأتعذب من أجل لا شيء وسأموت من غير أن أعرف قيمة نفسي " إلى رؤى مغايرة في " البغي الفاضلة" ومعانٍ انسانية
واضحة وغير ملتبسة لقضية الزنوج و وهم رقي الرجل الأبيض / الصراع الأزلي بينهما؛ وكيف أن رؤية الزنجي في بداية النهار لهو دليل شؤم ومبدأ تطير.

سارتر يعالج هذه الكوميدا السوداء عن طريق المرأة/ المومس ويرسل من خلالها وهي البغي دروسا بالغة الأهمية في تهذيب النفس وهذا ما لا يحصل في أرض الواقع كما يخال إلي..

سارتر هنايعالج ثيمين مهمين من خلال المسرح؛ ثيم ويلات
الحروب وبشاعتها وثيم النظرة المقيتة للرجل الأسود؛


112 reviews
January 18, 2012
Interesting to read a play about the American South written by a French playwright. Race, sex, and privilege are prominent. The play left me feeling dirty and unhappy about human nature and our political system.
Profile Image for Sevilnick.
2 reviews1 follower
March 8, 2016
قبل از باز شدن پرده صدای نا هنجار و پیش پا افتاده ای به گوش می رسد . . . (( اگر همه ی جاکش ها زنگوله گردنشان بود )) ...
Profile Image for Elifsvie .
136 reviews
April 28, 2022
Sartre OG, Rassismus/patriarchalische/sexistische Strukturen auf den Punkt gebracht
Profile Image for Ida.
100 reviews5 followers
May 17, 2022
3.5, måske 4 ⭐
Profile Image for Leane.
47 reviews
November 11, 2025
j’ai bien aimé la morale offerte. écriture simple à lire. (j’ai plus aimé Mort sans sépulture: macabre et délicieux- lecture légère et pourtant lourde à porter- portée universelle et très humaine- un atout chez sartre)
Profile Image for Paula.
85 reviews46 followers
August 11, 2014
A fresh look at a 1940s play about sex, race and power that's as relevant today as when it was written.

Written by French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre in 1946, La Putain respectueuse (The Respectful Prostitute) examines pre-Civil-Rights-era racism in the southern United States through the story of Lizzie MacKay, a white prostitute targeted by police and politicians to collaborate in framing a black man for a crime he did not commit. In this unflinching critique of the impacts of race, sex and class prejudice on American society, Sartre interrogates the politics of self-preservation, power and the pursuit of justice.

"This is a play that fits perfectly into today's reality. It is an uncomfortable text that leaves us with many questions and at the same time offers direct answers. It's visceral, and filled with a bitter humor that provokes pain. The characters are quick-tempered and monstrous; they say everything and simultaneously hide a lot. They are filled with fear that fear that we always have of knowing ourselves as human and corrupt."

- Sándor Menéndez


I think this I found sums up my thoughts (written in a more consistent and neater way though haha!) so yup. This was rather sad... the fact that this still applies after 60 years... sad, and unfair. Why does racism still exist!? We can't be that Lizzie MacKay anymore, alright?
Profile Image for Sarah.
94 reviews9 followers
July 3, 2020
Cette examination de la liberté, du pouvoir, et des relations sociaux me laisse avec une certaine tristesse. Les choix que nous nous décidions ont des conséquences pour les autres, mais il est presque impossible d'échapper les structures de la société qui forcent des gens dans certaines positions prédéterminée, c'est-à-dire des positions sans aucun choix. Donc, il y a une tension entre le choix d'un individu et le destin d'une société et ses structures. Sartre n'est pas non plus assez sensible aux thèmes du race à mon avis, evident par son personnage sans nom qui influence le texte. Il a une perspective trop éloignée et trop étroite de ce qui ce passe aux États-Unis, même s'il traite ce thème dans ses autres oeuvres.
Profile Image for Halim.
Author 5 books14 followers
October 25, 2016
I'd give "La putain respectueuse" 3 and half stars and "Morts sans sépultures" 4 and a half stars. 6 men and women are waiting for their death in the latter. They're about to be executed by the enemy in an imaginary war-bound country. The tension between the different characters is mesmerising but the core dilemma is magical:

Sartre tackles integrity! When is it worth it to keep integrity? What is it? Is it a currency? Do we owe it to ourselves only or to others? If to others then why? If only to ourselves then why bother?

Canoris at one point says: "Nous ne sommes pas faits pour vivre toujours aux limites de nous-mêmes. Dans les vallées aussi il y a des chemins". :O
Profile Image for Myriam.
905 reviews189 followers
August 19, 2020
Juste après la seconde guerre mondiale, Sartre dénonce, avec des mots très forts, comme il sait si bien les ajuster, le racisme américain envers les noirs. Pour ce faire, il met en lumière une prostituée dont les hommes influents voudraient obtenir un témoignage bidon contre un noir. Pièce très emblématique de l'univers contrasté de Sartre qui s'érige à travers elle en défenseur des faibles, pièce violente où la haine sort par tous les pores de ces blancs américains convaincus que le monde entier leur appartient. Sartre se délecterait de mettre en scène aujourd'hui à la place du sénateur peut-être un président des Etats-Unis qui pourrait tenir le rôle sans difficulté.
Profile Image for Ai.
48 reviews3 followers
March 2, 2014
pour le premier celà m'a fait pensé, avant de juger qq'un il vaudrait mieu se contempler dans un mirroir pour savoir sinous meme sommes meilleurs.

le second, ça m'a fai réfléchir sur combien la vie humaine peut etre pathétique, non pas insignifiante, mais juste a quel point la vie humaine peut perdre de sa valeur en temps de guerre
Profile Image for Has G.
4 reviews5 followers
August 17, 2014
The Respectful Prostitute:
After reading 4 plays of this author, I think it's not what I excpected from this one. Strong racism, violence and the importance of free mind are well described, but what happens in the end? I guess i just didnt find the true secret message, or I am too young to understand it. Well, gonna read it later once again.
Profile Image for Nathalie.
163 reviews3 followers
December 14, 2017
Fantastic !!!!! The second story is a masterpiece!! I bought it because I found the title of the first story 'la putain respectueuse' very intriguing, also I did not know that Sartre wrote plays! Well the first story is vey short and pretty good, but it's the second one that got me.... you can see the kife lessons in his plays... very interesting to read!!!
Profile Image for Linda.
605 reviews
February 5, 2016
I read La Putin respectueuse in school and I did like it quite a bit but honestly, Morts sans sépulture was amazing! I think that Sartré is one of the best modern writers and if you are into french literature you should definitely check it out!
Profile Image for Delphine Chotteau.
99 reviews1 follower
December 31, 2014
A relire!! J'ai honte, je ne m'en souviens plus, pourtant Sartre me bouleversait!

Profile Image for Mahmoud Hajo.
8 reviews
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August 18, 2017
تناقضات الإنسان بين حبه للخير ونزعاته الأنانية التي تلتمس طريق الشر
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