Literature & existentialism

by Jean-Paul Sartre

In a probing philosophical exploration of the act of literary creation, Sartre “What is writing?,” “Why write?,” and “For whom does one write?”After discussing existentialism as it pertains to art, human emotions, and psychology, French existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre turns the question of existentialism to the subject of literature by stating that he wishes to “examine the art of writing without prejudice.” Sartre eschews the idea of artists and writers comparing their works of art to one another; instead, he argues, “they exist by themselves.” Tying into his thoughts on literature, Sartre additionally delves into Marxist politics, the intellectual labor of the writer, the individual reader, and the reading public.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Literature, Literary Criticism, Essays, France, Criticism

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1949

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

[Glenn Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twentieth century French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre maintained one value supreme above all others – freedom. This being the case, is it any surprise Sartre places freedom front and center when addressing literature’s connection with existentialism? Below are quotes from the second of this three part book, a part entitled ‘Why Write?” along with my comments:

“With each of our acts the world reveals a new face.”

By this statement Sartre emphasizes a prime reason for artistic creation: the need artists and writers have to feel they are essential in relationship to the world, that is, through their writing or painting the world is revealed in unique and important ways. Literature places a distinctively human stamp on the world and with each new painting or book another valuable, vital stamp is added. I think we can all agree the world would be smaller and poorer without, to name just several, Virginia Woolf and Leo Tolstoy, R. K. Narayan and Raymond Chandler, Anne Tyler, Philip K. Dick and Shusaku Endo.

“It is the conjoint effort of author and reader which brings upon the scene that concrete and imaginary object which is the work of the mind. There is no art except for and by others. Raskolnikov’s waiting is my waiting which I lend him. Without this impatience of the reader he would remain only a collection of signs.”

I really appreciate Sartre on this point: readers awaken the words and sentences on the page, inventing and completing characters and scenes with their own feelings, emotions, ideas, intuitions and past experiences. Thusly, the work of art is rounded out, made whole and complete by a community of readers. Harry Haller receives a new, more expanded life each time I reread Hesse’s novel “Steppenwolf”.

“Thus, for the reader, all is to do and all is already done; the work exists only at the exact level of his capacities; while he reads and creates, he knows that he can always go further in his reading, can always create more profoundly, and thus the work seems to him as inexhaustible and opaque as things.”

Has anybody ever reached the bottommost level of Robert Musil’s “The Man Without Qualities”? I suspect a reader could spend an entire lifetime rereading this novel and discover new, deeper dimensions and meaning with each successive study. There are a number of novels I have reread multiple times, “The Stranger” and “Siddhartha” come immediately to mind and this has certainly been my experience – I have never reached the bottom; there is always more to learn and appreciate.

“And since this directed creation is an absolute beginning, it is therefore brought about by the freedom of the reader, and by what is purest in that freedom. Thus, the writer appeals to the reader’s freedom to collaborate in the production of his work. The book does not serve me freedom, it requires it.”

Sartre underscores how we are required to bring our freedom to our reading. On important aspect of freedom is openness of mind. If we find ourselves disinclined to read a novel by an author with a different sexual orientation or cultural background then ourselves, for example a novel like “Season of Migration to the North” by the Sudanese author Tayeb Salih where he explores cultural confrontation and racism, we might want to reflect on exactly how open-minded and free we really are.

“The characteristic of aesthetic consciousness is to be a belief by means of an engagement, by oath, a belief sustained by fidelity in one’s self and to the author, a perpetually renewed choice to believe. I can awaken at every moment, as I know it: but I do not want to: reading is a free dream.”

Reading is a generosity, a giving oneself completely to a character and story, a gift to the writer. We can have mixed feeling reading an unsettling work, say a story of a child experiencing the horrors of war in a novel like Jerzy Kosinski’s “The Painted Bird” or a Thomas Ligotti tale of terror, but we keep turning the pages, keeping our free dream alive since we value our readerly commitment and engagement.

“The work can be defined as an imaginary presentation of the world insofar as it demands human freedom. The result of which is that there is no “gloomy literature”, since, however dark may be the colors in which one paints the world, he paints it only so that free men may feel their freedom as they face it. Above all, the unique point of view from which the author can present the world to those freedoms whose concurrence he wishes to bring about is that of a world to be impregnated always with more freedom."

Is there ever enough freedom in the world? Sartre thinks there is always room for more freedom – thus, more literature, more books.

Final note: I have cited works of fiction since, for the most part, Sartre uses fiction as examples throughout his book (Sartre famously disliked poetry). However, when he speaks of literature, not only is Sartre referring to novels and stories but other types of creative writing such as poetry, plays, essays and, yes, reviews.

[Jacki · Rating 1 out of 5]

well, I tried. I read part of the first chapter and then skipped around a bit to parts that looked interesting. What I learned is that Jean-Paul Sartre is pretentious and annoying. Apparently he thinks that painting, music, and poetry are not art. Only prose is art (probably because that's the form of expression that he chose to write in and he's obviously better than anyone else).

[Matthew! Lawrence! Rohrer! · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bus Stop Existentialism:

Attempting to escape loneliness, I have taken to riding random buses in any direction with a copy of “Literature and Existentialism” in my hand. I do not enjoy the book, but I persist in hopes that its cover will impress intellectual females, or pseudo-intellectuals like myself, who are actually better than real intellectuals because they know how to let their hair down every once in a while.

[Luís Branco · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is an interesting book to read and learn from someone who deeply understood about Existentialism, nevertheless, regard arts and literature I am not sure if I agree with Sartre.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this little curiosity at a bookstore featured in Texas Monthly magazine. You know how people say you eat with your eyes first? The meal starts before you eat? I wonder if you sometimes start engaging with a book in a bookstore before opening the cover. In this case, I felt a little more adventurous while roaming the stacks. My TBR list was nowhere in sight. I was having fun making small talk, eavesdropping on the locals' coffee circle, and just existing in the little bookstore. Hence, this little manifesto, which I'll always associate with that experience.

Sartre's Literature & Existentialism is broken into three sections: (1) "What is writing?", (2) "Why write?", and (3) For Whom Does One Write?". I was very engaged with parts one and two, which explored prose vs poetry, what is unique about writing as a medium, and the co-creation that happens between an engaged writer and reader. Here are some of my favorite quotes:

"Language...is our shell and our antennae; it protects us against others and informs us about them; it is a prolongation of our senses, a third eye which is going to look into our neighbor's heart."

"Reading is a pact of generosity between author and reader. Each one trusts the other; each one counts on the other, demands of the other as much as he demands of himself."

"However you might have come to it, whatever the opinions you might have professed, literature throws you into battle. Writing is a certain way of wanting freedom; once you have begun, you are engaged, willy-nilly."

Part three takes up half the space in the book, and is a centuries-long overview existential lit-crit of French writers. That was not as gripping for me, personally. However, I did take away the idea that writers and readers exist in a context, and that to deny either one's readership or the context can result in inauthentic work. Sartre illustrates a rather funny and I guess timeless caricature of a freeloading artist who enjoys the trapping of class and wealth but has to pretend to disdain such things.

Overall, I'm glad I picked up this book and gained some new insights into what is required from a writer and a reader. This book concludes an informal trilogy of books about reading that I have stumbled upon, along with Larry McMurtry's Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen and Ezra Pound's ABC of Reading.

[Arif Abdurahman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yang saya pelajari, Sartre itu orang yg sok dan menjengkelkan. Tentu, yg pengen paham eksistensialisme, Sartre orangnya. Buku ini mengaitkannya dengan sastra. Ada tiga bab, yang membahas topik penting dan mendasar: Apa itu menulis? Kenapa menulis? Untuk siapa seseorang menulis? Sartre memperdebatkan segalanya, secara filosofis dan historis. Sayang, mungkin karena penguasaan bahasa Inggris saya yg payah, saya enggak terlalu paham, dan enggak terlalu berusaha juga buat memahaminya. Hehe.

[John Hanson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Parts one and two were barely readable. Part three was a collection of long paragraphs each covering about a dozen different topics which changed after each period. I am not sure what kind of person enjoys reading such rambling. I am not one of them.

[Jerry Muzsik · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good quick read. An interesting meditation on what writing is through Sartre's perspective, which i suppose you would call an existential perspective. Considered it of interest if you're a writer or considering seriously writing as it brings about a variety of questions to consider. Some interesting bits i found were a deep meditation on one's socioeconomic status related to writing, idiosyncratic (you could say all of Sartre's writings are, umm existentialism in action?) historical perspectives of writing, considerations as to why one would decide to write in the first place. Overall, i found it a book you could skim with a wealth of insights because, well, how many books ask such fundamental questions as: "What is writing?," "Why write?," and "For whom does one write?"

[Anders · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recommend this book to anyone who gives a damn. The book is divided into 3 chapters, the first two addressing the hard to voice subjective dynamics of writing- the hows, whats, ifs and whys, very illuminating to anyone who has creative endeavors, hence my opening statement. Whatever field you find yourself in, the tracking of the spirit he undergoes makes sense, at least to me, a musician. He then goes into a lengthier chapter asking who you are writing for, a good question at any stage. His rendition of the history of western literature I am not equipped to corroborate or critique, but I do feel empathy for the naïve, honest, hopeful, utopian vision it triumphs into at the very end. Do read!

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book bogs down in places when Sartre gets into Marxist/political explanations, but when he talks about the intellectual labor of the writer, the individual reader, the reading public, Sartre is, I think, at his most interesting and most profound. The book also offers an excellent history of Western European writing with a focus on readership and the way writing has been consumed over the last 4 or 5 centuries. I realized about midway through this history, however, that Sartre would have had to write another entire book if he had chosen to consider folk art, folk tales and oral traditions as another form of literature.

[Jules · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sartre philosophizes about writing in three parts, asking important questions: What is writing? Why write? For whom does one write? He takes a teleological approach at times, exploring writing as an end, but more often counters this, with reference to Kant: "art does not have an end", a work can always be continually edited, revised, altered. He sees writing as communication, as action, but his main thesis is that writing is about freedom. This is highly recommended reading for writers and readers and for students of existentialism

[Phillip · Rating 4 out of 5]

I stopped having heroes a long time ago, but damn...I wish I could sit down with a bottle of sake with Sartre!

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

To understand existentialism, Sartre is your writer. This book makes one understand how existentialism and art can be connected.

[Inkpenshmee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book. Great for writers.