The Complete Plays of Sartre (Volume 1 and 2)

Author: Jean-Paul Sartre
Publisher:
Publication Date: 1998-04-01
Features: Sartre left behind nine plays in his lifetime, which hold an important place in the history of French drama. Notable among them is the famous play "The Flies" (1943), adapted from Aeschylus's trilogy "Oresteia," depicting the story of Orestes avenging his father. Through the protagonist Orestes, Sartre proclaimed to the world that people must uphold dignity and maintain their right to freedom. Orestes is a character who made the heroic choice of freedom and became a hero, which at the time was nothing less than a protest from fellow Frenchmen against the German Fascist invasion. As a result, the play was banned by the German occupying authorities. The philosophical play "No Exit" (1945) also explores the theme of "free choice." It portrays the base and agonizing scenario of three men and women who, in hell, entangle, conflict with, and torment each other. In reality, it offers a moral warning: if people make base choices for themselves, they will find themselves in the state of "others are hell," suffering unbearable torment and unable to extricate themselves.