The Words (book)
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
| Revision as of 11:44, 15 January 2023 Jahsonic (Talk | contribs) ← Previous diff |
Revision as of 11:49, 15 January 2023 Jahsonic (Talk | contribs) Next diff → |
||
| Line 6: | Line 6: | ||
| '''''Les Mots''''' (1964, English: ''The Words'') is an [[autobiography]] by [[Jean-Paul Sartre]]. The story covers Sartre's youth from 4 to 12 years and is divided in two parts: « Reading » and « Writing». | '''''Les Mots''''' (1964, English: ''The Words'') is an [[autobiography]] by [[Jean-Paul Sartre]]. The story covers Sartre's youth from 4 to 12 years and is divided in two parts: « Reading » and « Writing». | ||
| - | == Title == | + | ==Structure and presentation== |
| - | + | The text is divided into two near-equal parts entitled 'Reading' (''Lire'') and 'Writing' (''Écrire''). However, according to [[Philippe Lejeune]], these two parts are only a façade and are not relevant to the chronological progression of the work. He considers the text to instead be divided into five parts which he calls 'acts': | |
| - | Le titre originellement prévu était '''''Jean sans terre''''' pour le jeu de mots, mais aussi en référence à [[Jean d'Angleterre]], sans héritage. | + | *'''The first act''' presents in chronological order the 'prehistory' of the child by giving his family origin. |
| - | + | *'''The second act''' evokes the different roles Sartre acted out in his seclusion to an imaginary world, enabled by his family. | |
| - | ==Présentation et Structure de l'œuvre== | + | *'''The third act''' tells of his conscious realization of his imposture, his [[Contingency (psychology)|contingency]], his [[death anxiety|fear of death]] and his [[ugliness]]. |
| - | Le texte est divisé en deux parties à peu près équivalentes intitulées « Lire » et « Écrire ». Cependant, selon [[Philippe Lejeune]], ces deux parties ne sont qu'une façade et ne révèlent pas la progression chronologique de l'œuvre. Il considère que le texte devrait plutôt être divisé en cinq parties qu'il appelle « actes ». | + | *'''The fourth act''' presents the development of a new imposture, in which Sartre took up multiple different postures of writing. |
| - | *'''Le premier acte''' présente dans un ordre chronologique ''la préhistoire'' de l'enfant en donnant ses origines familiales. | + | *'''The fifth act''' relates Sartre's delusion, which he considers the source of his dynamism, and contains the announcement of a second book which he did not complete before his death. |
| - | *'''Le deuxième acte''' évoque les différentes comédies qu'a joué Sartre sous l'influence de ses parents en s'enfermant dans un monde imaginaire. | + | |
| - | *'''Le troisième acte''' est la prise de conscience de son imposture, sa [[contingence]], sa peur de la mort et sa laideur. | + | |
| - | *'''Le quatrième acte''' présente le développement d'une nouvelle imposture, dans laquelle Sartre prend diverses postures d'écrivain. | + | |
| - | *'''Le cinquième acte''' évoque la folie de Sartre, qu'il considère comme la source de son dynamisme ainsi que l'annonce d'un second livre qu'il n'écrivit finalement pas . | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | ==Analyse et commentaires== | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | * Le premier titre auquel pensait Jean-Paul Sartre était ''Jean sans terre'', qu'il fallait comprendre selon [[Jean-Bertrand Pontalis]] comme ''Jean sans père'', et son projet était de revenir sur son enfance petite-bourgeoise qui l'avait ''programmé'' pour être un homme des mots alors qu'aucun livre ne fait le poids face aux malheurs des hommes réels. C'est pour démythifier l'écriture, considérée maintenant comme une composante de l'idéologie [[bourgeoisie|bourgeoise]], qu'il entreprend de régler ses comptes avec l'enfant roi et bouffon que sa famille - et en particulier sa mère et son grand-père Charles Schweitzer - avait fabriqué. Né «fils d'un mort», d'une mère privée de ses droits et d'un grand-père autoritaire, il décrit comment il a joué une « comédie des adultes » durant ses jeunes années : « J'étais un polichinelle, un pasquin, un grimacier. » | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | *Comme tout autobiographe, l'auteur joue du ''dévoilement orienté'' en cherchant à illustrer sa thèse en maniant avec aisance l'auto-ironie. Mais il s'agit bien d'une mise en scène de l'enfant qu'il dit avoir été; cette recréation de son enfance comporte en effet des erreurs chronologiques et des choix révélateurs comme le démontre la biographie détaillée établie par [[Annie Cohen-Solal]]. Sartre tout en racontant sa propre histoire a entremêlé celle de son époque. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | ==Prolongement== | + | |
| - | Paradoxe : | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | Cette œuvre de prise de distance avec l'écriture a été, un peu paradoxalement, très travaillée par l'auteur et a été saluée presque unanimement comme une '''réussite littéraire'''. Notons enfin que cette [[autobiographie]] constitue en fait les adieux brillants de [[Jean-Paul Sartre]] à la [[littérature]]. En novembre de la même année [[1964]], il refusera le [[Prix Nobel de Littérature]] ''attribué à l'écrivain français Jean-Paul Sartre pour son œuvre qui, par l'esprit de liberté et la recherche de vérité dont elle témoigne, a exercé une vaste influence sur notre époque.'' Car, selon lui, personne ne mérite la gloire de son vivant ; et surtout, tenant à sa liberté, il ne voulait pas dépendre d'une quelconque institution, tenant à rester indépendant. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| + | The first title which Sartre thought of was ''[[Jean sans terre]]''. | ||
| + | ==Reception== | ||
| + | The book, consisting of Sartre distancing himself from writing and making his farewells to [[literature]] was very successful for the author and was hailed nearly unanimously as a "literary success"{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}}. In November of the same year, 1964, he refused the [[Nobel Prize for Literature]] awarded for his work, described as "rich in ideas and filled with the spirit of freedom and the quest for truth, [it] has exerted a far-reaching influence on our age." | ||
| {{GFDL}} | {{GFDL}} | ||
Revision as of 11:49, 15 January 2023
|
"I had two reasons for respecting my teacher: he had my welfare at heart, and he had a strong breath. Grown-ups should be ugly, wrinkled and unpleasant. When they took me in their arms, I didn't mind having to overcome a slight disgust. This was proof that, virtue was not easy. There were simple, petty joys: running, jumping, eat- ing cakes, kissing my mother's soft, sweet-smell- ing skin. But I attached a higher value to the mixed, bookish pleasure that I took in the com- pany of middle-aged men. The repulsion which they made me feel was part of their prestige; I confused disgust with seriousness. I was pre- tentious. When M. Barrault bent over me, his breath made me exquisitely uncomfortable. I zealously inhaled the repellent odor of his virtues."--The Words (1964) by Jean-Paul Sartre |
|
Related e |
|
Featured: |
Les Mots (1964, English: The Words) is an autobiography by Jean-Paul Sartre. The story covers Sartre's youth from 4 to 12 years and is divided in two parts: « Reading » and « Writing».
Structure and presentation
The text is divided into two near-equal parts entitled 'Reading' (Lire) and 'Writing' (Écrire). However, according to Philippe Lejeune, these two parts are only a façade and are not relevant to the chronological progression of the work. He considers the text to instead be divided into five parts which he calls 'acts':
- The first act presents in chronological order the 'prehistory' of the child by giving his family origin.
- The second act evokes the different roles Sartre acted out in his seclusion to an imaginary world, enabled by his family.
- The third act tells of his conscious realization of his imposture, his contingency, his fear of death and his ugliness.
- The fourth act presents the development of a new imposture, in which Sartre took up multiple different postures of writing.
- The fifth act relates Sartre's delusion, which he considers the source of his dynamism, and contains the announcement of a second book which he did not complete before his death.
The first title which Sartre thought of was Jean sans terre.
Reception
The book, consisting of Sartre distancing himself from writing and making his farewells to literature was very successful for the author and was hailed nearly unanimously as a "literary success"Template:Citation needed. In November of the same year, 1964, he refused the Nobel Prize for Literature awarded for his work, described as "rich in ideas and filled with the spirit of freedom and the quest for truth, [it] has exerted a far-reaching influence on our age."
