The philosophical framework of Sartre's theory of the theater

James M. Edie

pp. 231-253

in: Steven Crowell (ed), The prism of the self, Berlin, Springer, 1995

Abstract

Both in his life and in his thought Jean-Paul Sartre was frequently theatrical, as exaggerated as his prose. He really believed that "the chief source of great tragedy is human freedom." In this spirit he rewrote several ancient myths and was not at all bothered by the ironic incongruity of asserting that "Oedipus is free; Antigone and Prometheus are free. The fate we think we find in ancient drama is only the other side of freedom. Passions themselves are freedom caught in their own trap."¹ Sartre's continual invocation of freedom and his own experience of being free pervade all his writings.

Cited authors

Sartre Jean-Paul