‘Age of Reason’ is all about existentialism. Fiction and philosophy inextricably and ‘entertainingly’ combined almost rendering it a page-turner. I had never previously come across the guile and craft of Sartre, the artist and only knew Sartre, the philosopher whose authoritative philosophical monologues were curt and declarative, sans the resplendence of an artistic canvas. The vivacity and vividness with which Sartre paints each one of his characters amidst their existential exigencies leaves behind their ever-lasting impressions on the fertile mental space. Each name springs up in mind in a color and the association with that color is complete, character and the color inextricable from each other. To me, the biggest achievement of this quite a long tale has to be the control that Sartre exercises over his writing. His characters are a god-forsaken lot, condemned, abandoned and carrying on their shoulders the ‘burden’ of their freedoms. This abandonment is of their own choosing or unavoidable because they are conscious, disgruntled and bored individuals, committed to denouncement of bourgeois and the lives they lead. The pain and reclusiveness (both self-inflicted and forced) are only but a small price to pay for the freedom they cherish. Or is it? The very disgust and offence they inspire endears them all the same. This book asks more questions than it answers, creates more doubts than it clarifies, precisely, leaves one in the lurch. Those uninitiated with Sartre might just get too engrossed with the plot, when the very essence of this work lies beneath all the love affairs, affairs without love, suicides or attempts, abortions and pregnancies, communism and Zionism, politics and philosophy and the like. ‘Existentialism everywhere’ and no where without ‘existentialism’ where only the seeker is invited. This can very well serve as a rider attached to my recommendation :).Reluctantly I call Mathieu the chief protagonist, not that he is not a chief protagonist, which he is but the attention that is given to each one of the six, seven or eight characters keeps them all at a vantage point of significance. The story is about Mathieu and his mistress Marcelle whom he had been seeing for seven years with a mutual agreement against marriage and child. Marcelle’s pregnancy causes the turmoil, the havoc, the storm in the life of ‘free’ Mathieu. His desire to get rid of this child, a veritable blot on his freedom and ‘principles’, brings him face to face with his own self, his beliefs and his life. Sartre’s philosophy is contained in the phrase; ‘existence precedes essence’ meaning that man is not born with an intrinsic value but creates a value with his own will and actions. He is forlorn because he is devoid of God and thus only himself responsible for his actions (as well as inactions, inaction also being an action). He is free to choose and this freedom is his condemnation. The story revolves around Mathieu in this philosophical background and brings to fore his existential struggles along with those of the characters linked directly or remotely to his life. There are far too many memorable moments that leave an indelible mark along with the questions and reflections to ponder a long time after the last page is turned over.To put it succinctly, ‘Age of Reason’ moves from,"Yes - you want to be free. Absolutely free. It's your vice"......"Yes, yes - it's your vice.""it's not a vice. It's how I'm made.""Why aren't other people made like that, if it isn't a vice?""They are, only they don't know it."Through….," 'I have led a toothless life,' he thought. 'A toothless life. I have never bitten into anything. I was waiting. I was reserving myself for later on - and I have just noticed that my teeth have gone. What's to be done? Break the shell? That's easily said. Besides - what would remain? A little viscous gum, oozing through the dust and leaving a glistening trail behind it.' " To,"He yawned: he had finished the day, and he had also finished with his youth. Various well-bred moralities had already discreetly offered him their services: disillusioned epicureanism, smiling tolerance, resignation, common sense, stoicism - all the aids whereby a man may savor, minute by minute, like a connoisseur, the failure of a life. "It's true, absolutely true: I have attained the age of reason." This was my very first foray into Sartre’s fiction which I found thoroughly engrossing and thought provoking and replete with existential essence of human life. I may not agree with all that Sartre says but I still find synchronization with his efforts at deciphering the question of ‘being human’. Surely have to explore more of him.
Jean-Paul Sartre’s three volume work, “Les Chemins de la liberté” (The Roads to Freedom), may be one of the earliest literary endeavours featuring an existentialist hero, through whom Sartre explores the problems that modern man encounters as individuals came to terms with the onus implicit in freedom and decision. The first book, “L'âge de raison” (The Age of Reason), introduces Mathieu Delarue, based on Sartre himself. He is a recluse with few friends and little money, confronted with the choice to abandon or support and a mistress who is unexpectedly pregnant. Delarue's conscience compels him to attempt to find the money for an abortion, but not enter into a more conventional bond of marriage that would deprive him of his liberty. Other characters mimic him in their struggle against bourgeois morality, including Boris, Mathieu's student, who exploits his girlfriend, Lola, Boris' sister, Ivich, finds an eccentrically ironic way of avoiding adult decisions, failing her exams to delay the prospect of a career. Mathieu's friend Daniel denies his homosexuality. All these characters are existentialist in their celebration of the moment they are in, and their efforts to avoid a predetermined course. The second novel, “Le sursis” (The Reprieve) begins as the French and British leaders prepare to concede the Sudetenland to Hitler at the Munich Pact, illustrating the theme of a lack of commitment that extends from individuals to nations and governments, and the collective fear of decision. But on the contrary, Mathieu himself is driven to make a commitment in his Communist friend, Brunet. This novel is much more convoluted that the first in the trilogy. Sartre thus is able to demonstrate the interdependence of personal life and the political situation which is the consequence of individuals who refuse to connect with the circumstances that dominate their lives. When Daniel, the homosexual marries Mathieu's pregnant girlfriend, and Boris abandons Lola by joining the army, they gain a slight reprieve but immerse themselves in the consequences of a decision that was intended to be a release from commitment.The third volume, “La mort dans l'âme” (Troubled Sleep or Iron in the Soul) reintroduces some of the early minor characters, caught up in France's retreat from the Germans in June 1940, in the decision to abandon the battle and to surrender national freedom. Unlike the French nation, Mathieu is morally valiant, inconsequentially defending a village, shooting at the Germans from the church bell-tower, that symbolically tlls for the denigration of French pride. The other characters likewise undergo abject humility for their fear and evasion of commitment. Only Brunet, the Communist, in prisoner of war camp, who has made an ideological commitment, is mentally equipped for the rigours of camp life. Sartre is at pains to urge his reader towards a toughness of spirit, towards having iron in the soul, because without a willing determination, freedom will not endure.
What do You think about The Age Of Reason (1992)?
This is French writing heavily-influenced by authors who came before him--I see so much Flaubert and (even more so) Balzac in the description, scene construction, and characters (mostly youngish men in Paris, on the edge of "the age of reason"). The character of Mathieu is developed to be such a dud, intentionally, that when the climactic decision-making rests on him, and his decision is ultimately the most cowardly of the possibilities and deemed to be "for nothing," I was disappointed. However, Daniel, who seems secondary to Mathieu, becomes the most complex and interesting character I've ever seen developed. The downside of this is that I had a really hard time tracing his motivations, so, at the end, I was less like "oh, hmmm," and more like "whaaaa?" This definitely read as an updated version of "Sentimental Education," where we revisit the characters 10 years down the road. With that said, there are stronger female characters (still, not really there, yet) and women's issues that not only shape the plot but are central to it. Gender studies must have a blast with this one.
—Sonja
Satre's ability to invoke such probing life questions through such elegant and intellectual means almost discourages my own pursuit of true intellectualism, fortunately it's an 'almost'. The characters, the alluring Persian atmosphere and the lack of humility throughout combined to create a novel I could easily find refuge in, even whilst waiting several hours for my third consecutive motorcycle breakdown in rural vietnam, a testament to Satre's literary talent. Unfortunately my next to read is the less riveting 'a short history of nearly everything', however his other revered works will be soon devoured in a more comforting place than a grimy mechanics. ...apprehensive to choose your next turn in life? Then read this novel and the burden of choice will soon be lifted.
—Jake Ross
The BBC’s famous production of ‘Roads to Freedom’ , broadcast in 1970 was a seminal experience for a whole generation of Brits who were marked by the events of May 1968 and the prospect of a late 20th century dominated by the intellectual insights of the Mediterranean and Latin world, and the displacement of hegemony of the Anglo-Saxon.I was one of them. In those days it felt like the world was in revolt and the only decent thing to do was join the revolution. The French had thrown their bourgeois republic into turmoil with mass actions that had brought the working class into alliance with youthful intellectuals and the urgent need seemed to be how to understand the thoughts and outlooks of the people who were populating this new world.Something of this was set out in Sartre’s tale of Mathieu Delarue, the Parisian philosophy professor who lived through the dilemmas of his personal life. An eight year long relationship with the reclusive Marcelle has been going nowhere for a long time. An infatuation with Ivich, the damaged and emotionally constrained sister of Boris, his student, offers no prospect of satisfaction. The two other significant figures in his life, long-time friends Brunet and Daniel, and the mirror opposites of the way to live life -one a committed communist, the other an introvert and self-reproachful homosexual – throw out other challenges as to the proper way to lead life, but not ones available to Mathieu.Matters come to a head in the opening pages when Marcelle tells Mathieu that she is pregnant. It appears they are agreed that an abortion is needed and Mathieu sets off to procure the money which is needed. He first of all contemplates his own wretched financial position, causing despondency about the rut he is caught in, and the fact that he will be required to approach others, his brother, Daniel, for a loan. This is refused, but with the opportunity being given for lectures condemning him as someone who has failed to accept responsibility for the state of his life.The action develops by way journeys through the streets of Paris, by foot and by taxi, the contemplation of acts of cruelty (the drowning of cats), petty law breaking (the theft of a book), and the misery of an older woman, Lola, entangled in an affair with the feckless Boris. The memorable nightclub scene, in which most of the main characters are brought together to mud wrestle in their mutual misery, produces the electrifying moment of acts of self-mutilation as the only way in which people can act as free beings in this life.Mathieu comes to the realisation that Marcelle might wish to keep the child and that his fate is therefore marriage, but this engages none of his emotions except despair. His belief that he should aspire to freedom, even if that state held out no hope of happiness, drives him towards what proves to be an act which is destructive of what remains of his relationship with Marcelle. He is left alone, without the consolation of any philosophy that would explain his actions and provide solace.There is a bigger backdrop to what might seem the mundane, banal events of an incompetently led life. Across the borders the Nazi regime threatens war. In another direction the Spanish republic fights for its life. Mathieu wonders whether an engagement with these bigger themes might offer him a way forward, but diffidence holds him back from taking the decisions which might make him an effective actor in the face of these developments. The struggle for freedom is disconnected from politics and looks more like a personal attitude to life, as the individual moves listlessly and hopelessly to recreate the infantile perception of a world which is ordered to provide for his emotional and material needs.We made a mistake thinking that the pragmatic verities of the Anglo-Saxon world had been eclipsed by the modernism of the Latins. Sartre, the Mathieu of his own life, finally committed himself to revolutionary socialism, but more by reason of his desire for freedom in the sense of scope for personal action rather than any convictions about Marxism. But at least we got a truly great series of novels from the ride.
—Don
