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The Family Idiot
The Family Idiot 1: Gustave Flaubert 1821-1857
That Sartre's study of Flaubert, The Family Idiot , is a towering achievement in intellectual history has never been disputed. Yet critics have argued about the precise nature of this novel, or biography, or "criticism-fiction" which is the summation of Sartre's philosophical, social, and literary thought. Sartre writes, simply, in the preface to the " The Family Idiot is the sequel to The Question of Method . The what, at this point in time, can we know about a man? It seemed to me that this question could only be answered by studying a specific case."
"A man is never an individual," Sartre writes, "it would be more fitting to call him a universal singular. Summed up and for this reason universalized by his epoch, he in turn resumes it by reproducing himself in it as singularity. Universal by the singular universality of human history, singular by the universalizing singularity of his projects, he requires simultaneous examination from both ends." This is the method by which Sartre examines Flaubert and the society in which he existed.
Now this masterpiece is being made available in an inspired English translation that captures all the variations of Sartre's style—from the jaunty to the ponderous—and all the nuances of even the most difficult ideas. Volume 1 consists of Part One of the original French work, La Constitution, and is primarily concerned with Flaubert's childhood and adolescence.
"A man is never an individual," Sartre writes, "it would be more fitting to call him a universal singular. Summed up and for this reason universalized by his epoch, he in turn resumes it by reproducing himself in it as singularity. Universal by the singular universality of human history, singular by the universalizing singularity of his projects, he requires simultaneous examination from both ends." This is the method by which Sartre examines Flaubert and the society in which he existed.
Now this masterpiece is being made available in an inspired English translation that captures all the variations of Sartre's style—from the jaunty to the ponderous—and all the nuances of even the most difficult ideas. Volume 1 consists of Part One of the original French work, La Constitution, and is primarily concerned with Flaubert's childhood and adolescence.
638 pages, cloth
First published January 1, 1971
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424 people want to read
About the author
Jean-Paul Sartre
1,096 books13k followersJean-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.
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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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 9, 2008
Look at me! The best single study of an artist's development ever written, and I'm not even in print! Whee!
January 9, 2024
An existential psychoanalysis of Flaubert which only Sartre could have written. This is the very first volume, which is itself very lengthy and here we to get see Sartre's quite striking ability to make philosophical observations about a great writer—from his family background, early childhood to his adult life. Of course there are so many things which are repeated again and again that most of the readers would definitely get annoyed. But also here and there Sartre wrote so many beautiful lines to explore the hidden depth of Flaubert's mind. So this book(and all the upcoming volumes,which I will definetely read) is only for those who are either big fan of Sartre or Flaubert.
I am also wondering whether this is a biography or a book on existentialism or both. Or just some shiny words written by a writer who wrote it because he couldn’t sleep or he took so much of drugs. I don't know. I just had to read it because I hardly sleep and books are my only drugs. I also feel that Flaubert himself knew someone would dissect his symbolic body,his body of work,himself. He might have provoked other writers to go down and visit his hell. He might have said like one of John Donne's poem:
“Study me then, you who shall lovers be
At the next world, that is, at the next spring: For I am every dead thing, In whom love wrought new alchemy. For his art did express
A quintessence even from nothingness, From dull privations, and lean emptinessHe ruined me, and I am re-begot .
Of absence, darkness, death; things which are not. —”
I am also wondering whether this is a biography or a book on existentialism or both. Or just some shiny words written by a writer who wrote it because he couldn’t sleep or he took so much of drugs. I don't know. I just had to read it because I hardly sleep and books are my only drugs. I also feel that Flaubert himself knew someone would dissect his symbolic body,his body of work,himself. He might have provoked other writers to go down and visit his hell. He might have said like one of John Donne's poem:
“Study me then, you who shall lovers be
At the next world, that is, at the next spring: For I am every dead thing, In whom love wrought new alchemy. For his art did express
A quintessence even from nothingness, From dull privations, and lean emptinessHe ruined me, and I am re-begot .
Of absence, darkness, death; things which are not. —”
June 11, 2011
tres dificile extremement dificile mais geinal
July 21, 2022
Like the last half of Saint Genet, this is beyond tiresome. He only gets the blood moving right in the last 30 or so pages. On to the next!
December 2, 2025
Bir şey itiraf etmem gerek... Gustave bana benziyor. :)))))
Sevdiğim yazarları okurken bunu hep hissederim. O şerefsizim benim aklıma gelmişti hissi, yahu aynı ben deyip durmam. Flaubert'in kendisini okurken de bunu halihazırda hissetmiştim ama Sartre anlatırken oha ya beni anlatıyor dedim. Çok saçma, i know...
Çünkü,
"Gustave tam bir insan değildir."
Biyografi okumaktan nefret ederim neyse ki şurada doğmuş falanlar geçtikten sonra Sartre'ın amacı bugün bir insan hakkında ne bilebiliriz sorusuna yanıt aramak oluyor. Bunun en iyi yolu olarak da somut bir örnek seçiyor: Gustave Flaubert. Amacı, Flaubert hakkında sahip olduğumuz tüm bilgileri bir araya getirip bunların bir bütün oluşturup oluşturamayacağını araştırmak.
Zorlu bir görev ama birinci cildi devirdiysem iki ve üç de sırayla gelecektir bence.
ve unutmamak gerekir ki edebiyat her zaman engellenmiş/yasaklı bir meslek olacaktır.
Sevdiğim yazarları okurken bunu hep hissederim. O şerefsizim benim aklıma gelmişti hissi, yahu aynı ben deyip durmam. Flaubert'in kendisini okurken de bunu halihazırda hissetmiştim ama Sartre anlatırken oha ya beni anlatıyor dedim. Çok saçma, i know...
Çünkü,
"Gustave tam bir insan değildir."
Biyografi okumaktan nefret ederim neyse ki şurada doğmuş falanlar geçtikten sonra Sartre'ın amacı bugün bir insan hakkında ne bilebiliriz sorusuna yanıt aramak oluyor. Bunun en iyi yolu olarak da somut bir örnek seçiyor: Gustave Flaubert. Amacı, Flaubert hakkında sahip olduğumuz tüm bilgileri bir araya getirip bunların bir bütün oluşturup oluşturamayacağını araştırmak.
Zorlu bir görev ama birinci cildi devirdiysem iki ve üç de sırayla gelecektir bence.
ve unutmamak gerekir ki edebiyat her zaman engellenmiş/yasaklı bir meslek olacaktır.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews