APPROPRIATION AND COUNTER-APPROPRIATION

APPROPRIATION AND C O U N T E R - A P P R O P R I A T I O N :
TEE C A S E OF ROQUENTIN
A Thesis
Presented
to the Faculty of the Graduate
of Cornell
in Partial
Fulfillment
School
University
of the Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of
Philosophy
by
J a m e s Dennis
August
LeBlanc
1984
of
*/^~-L-K^
APPROPRIATION
AND
COUNTER-APPROPRIATION:
T H E C A S E OF
POQUENTIN
J a m e s D e n n i s L e B l a n c , Ph*D«
C o r n e l l U n i v e r s i t y 1984
As the
title
suggests, there
aspects
of t h i s d i s s e r t a t i o n *
ticular
n o t i o n of a p p r o p r i a t i o n }
what
is t e r n e d
This
first
and
draws
of a k i n d
aspect
aspect
of o n t o l o g i c a i
of b o t h
—
in J e a n - P a u l
In the
moment
first
reverse,
considerations
w h i c h p e r m i t s the
The
second
of t h e s e
the
and b e h a v i o r
theoreti-
existential-
which
H^§??«
of S a r t r e 1 s c h a r -
and c o n f i r m
structure
use
that
the
various
is p r o p o s e d
is, t h e r e f o r e ,
a
in
study
literature*
section,
in La. N a u s é e :
ity to p i c k u p a piece
in front
its
a par-
Sartre's novel, LA
illustrate
a dissertation
and
as
theoretical
of R o q u e n t i n ,
psychoanalytic
theory
concerns
counter-appropriation.M
is an a p p l i c a t i o n
a c t e r a r e used to b o t h
principle
psychoanalysis*
to the c h a r a c t e r
f a c e t s of the
first
as well
on a body of i n f o r m a t i o n
protagonist
text
,f
study
On the w h o l e , t h e d i s c o u r s e
this
The
c o n s i s t s of
of this s t u d y
cal views
ly—ill
in this
are two
of his h o t e l *
the f o c u s is on a
Roquentin's
of p a p e r
narration
which
lies
His d o c u m e n t a t i o n
particular
of his
on the
of bis
inabilground
usual
fondness
for
handling,
bringing
the
trash
staring
at,
to h i s mouth
destroying,
is e x p l i c a t e d
and
even
in ^reat
de-
tail*
The
reading
own
main
of F r e u d
work
of the s e c o n d
against
of the
fashion
two
chapter
to that
t h e o r i s t s are
Lacan1 s "Signification
used
a certain
Sartre
here
L'Etre
in a
e_n. p s y c h a n a l y s e y and
comple-
et le
that
géant»
Vje e_l
of F r e u d 9 s w o r k s
several
his
the
of d e s i r e
du phallus, 1 1 L a p l a n c h e f s
a
sees
of F r e u d ,
notion
Sartre1s
in n a t u r e .
is t o w a r d s
although
opposed
to s u p p o r t
is a p p r o p r i â t i v e
mort
Sartre.
as f u n d a m e n t a l l y
positions
mentary
thrust
are
c o n s idered»
The t h i r d
importance
scraps
of p a p e r ,
concept
of
his
recent
is e x t e n d e d
idea
and J u x t a p o s e d
nausea.
to a n a l y z e
to
with
study
in h a n d l i n g
inability
to the
which
the
of t h i s
interest
in r e l a t i o n
In a d d i t i o n ,
in an effort
tin's
and
apropriation,
ceding chapter,
introduced
chapter
of R o q u e n t i n ' s
this activity,
tion#"
and f i n a l
rest
in
of the n o v e l .
in the
The
pre-
"counter-appropria-
of a " p l a y f u l " a t t i t u d e
Sartre's
and e x p l a i n
the
discarded
to e n g a g e
is i n t r o d u c e d
include
reveals
esprit
is
de
sérjLeux
the n a t u r e of
Roquen-
BIOGRAPHICAL
Jim LeBlanc
April
3, 1953»
England,
SKETCH
was born in Fitchburg,
He spent
eighteen
with his educational
ond to his interest
Massachusetts
years in central
pursuits often
in carrying a football
of large, angry bodies
on
New
running
sec-
through a mass
or trying to hit a b a s e b a l l
on to
the roof of his math t e a c h e r 1 s house beyond the Left
fence.
Not
venture,
having had much success
he decided
sell-fulfillment
to abandon
after
at either
athletic
this p a r t i c u l a r
graduating
field
path to
from Cashing Academy
in
1971.
Ris undergraduate
college days were spent
mostly
along the road marked "Sex, Drugs and Rock and R o l l , "
which was quite a p o p u l a r t h o r o u g h f a r e
was not until he had tried
out of s c h o o l , and worked
six different
Boston
academic
world might be a rewarding
one
from Miami
University
institution
immediately
in
-ii-
in-
hunting truth in an
quest.
He
in F r e n c h .
and earned
1979.
in
finally
( the one in Ohio, not
in F l o r i d a ) in 1977 with a B«A«
graduate school
same
he decided that
It
dropped
majors,
in a b r a k e shoe factory
ner-city
graduated
that
at the t i m e .
his M.A.
the
He went
from
to
the
Now that
he is "educated,"
truth to her private
secluded
within
he has decided to
bath, at least
if she is to be
the walls of the u n i v e r s i t y .
ventures»
that
never catch a glimpse
—
but he won't
He is fully
be devoured by his own hounds
-iii-
found
HLe intends
to engage in non—academic
in so doing he might
leave
aware
of
Diana
either.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I wish to thank my parents for
and also Pat Gill for preserving
the writing of this work*
Jane Gallop*
ard Klein»
without
my sense of humor
whose
during
for teaching me the
and p h i l o s o p h y .
Peggy K a m u f t
support,
John W e i g e l , Russ Reising,
Cliff Hallam all deserve credit
tance of literature
their endless
and
impor-
I also wish to
thank
Neil H e r t z and especially
Rich-
advice
sertation would never have come
-iv-
and instruction
to be»
this
dis-
TABLE OF CONTENTS
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ii
• . •
. • . . iv
Phftpt?r
a&£&
INTRODUCTION
1
I.
THE SCRAPS OF PAPER • • • • . . . . . . • . . . .
7
II.
TO HAVE AND TO BE
III.
TO PLAY OR NOT TO PLAY
• • . . . 7 6
152
CONCLUSION
246
BIBLIOGRAPHY
# #
—v-
250
INTRODUCTION
"Je l'ai»
tre's novel
nist
la N a u s é e * " 1
la saleté»
is something Roquentin
The nausea
!>as • or so the
m a i n t a i n s early on in his Journal*
text, however»
we read:
Later
la subis plusf
plus une maladie ni une
ce n'est
m o i * " 2 "La Nausée
nausea in Sartre's novel
interrelation
shifting
of having and
will concern
appropriation
is a novel
and
about
appropriation
of being (one which, u n f o r t u n a t e l y ,
ble)*
This desired
terms elsewhere
self*
predicative
ontological
is
Jean-Paul S a r t r e , La Causée
32*
2
Ibid*»
p. 161.
-1-
More-
a specific
unattainaSartre
in-itseIf-for-it-
seeks the kind of solid,
1
of the
on a desire
status is what
the e p - s o i - p o u r - s o i • the
Consciousness
Lô.
appropriation
not just any being, of course, but
notion
It is
Roquentin1s
of oneself*
is founded
the
i_s_*
objects, appropriation
over, this desire for possession
for being —
moi";
us in the following pages*
of material
world one e x p e r i e n c e s ,
quinte
Roquentin
being
et
nais je ne
• • • c'est
is s o m e t h i n g
flausee. we shall m a i n t a i n ,
—
de sitôt;
awareness of the roles of these two
modes that
protago-
"La Nausée ne m'a pas quitté
nie quittera
this
Sar-
in the
je ne crois pas qu'elle
passagère: c'est
in
inmutable
( P a r i s : Sallimard,
1938),
p.
-2-
being of the
ple —
in-itself
—
while at the same
the being of a stone, for
time wishing
tinuous creator»
the free foundation
ing-for-itself•
It is towards
engages
in appropriative
In an effort
tion
focus both on theoretical
see that
one moment»
seems to contain
this concept
Regarding
project
factors
that serve
sheet
Freudian
text
to
inform
to
pick
We shall draw from both
f o r
our
as
In conjunction
they
with
need to e s t a b l i s h a
g r o u n d w o r k on which to base our
and p o s t - F r e u d i a n
imme-
Later we shall turn
we shall
( LLEÎXÊ. ê ± 1^- P e W * »
of
followed
inability
we
point
of his pastime
of his recent
of our inquiry»
theoretical
ap-
microcosm-
to the r a m i f i c a t i o n s of our d i s c o v e r i e s
this aspect
of Sartre
shall
For this reason»
the street»
apply to other points in the text.
clusions.
we
time e x a m i n i n g this crucial
of p a p e r .
to
Roquen-
as a dense»
as a w h o l e .
diately by his recounting
certain
and on
in R o q u e n t i n ' s
and f u n c t i o n s
up scraps of paper from
attention
appropria-
the latter»
Roquentin's description
up a particular
of
the entire u n i v e r s e of the w r i t e r ' s
shall spend considerable
picking
individual
we shall need
considerations
ic kernel of p s y c h o l o g i c a l
in the text:
diary»
in particular»
propriative behavior»
his journalistic
an
be-
behavior.
to elucidate
itself.
the con-
of its e x i s t e n c e :
this end that
and its role in R o q u e n t i n ' s
tin's discourse
to remain
exam-
the t h e o r e t i c a l
"the most
psychoanalytic
conworks
p a r t ) and
theory
from
(Bache-
-3-
lard, Lapianche, L a c a n ) *
be in severe
opposition
Although
to Freud,
Sartre
often claims
«re hope to show that
systems of the two t h i n k e r s can be utilized
mentary
fashion,
in spite
points of contention»
of their
Sartre's ontological
cation and elaboration
just
as Freud's point
the p h e n o m e n o l o g i c a l
e^,«3
(1 )
as Sartre
from which
to extend and
of S a r t r e 1 s
conclusions
,,£ e
*
the mind of Sartre's
project
life.
will
its arising
des ç h o s -
psychanalyse
a n x i e t y and of the
and ultimate
read-
factors
resolution
in
protagonist.
announces
early on that
be an attempt
to organize
"feuillet
his
Journalistic
his
day-to-day
with the
first
sans d a t e " : "Le mieux serait
rire les é v é n e m e n t s au jour le jour
3
highlight
a psychoanalytic
In fact, he states his resolution
words of the
an
work.
tenter une p s y c h a n a l y s e
ing of Roquentin's existential
to
theories,
study will be t w o -
describes what he calls "la
which contribute
clarifi-
of view will be shown to provide
e x i s t e n t i e l l e , " and ( 2 ) to propose
Roquentin
considerations
tool for the
Thus, the scope of the f o l l o w i n g
dimensional:
glaring
of Freud's psychoanalytic
interesting perspective
the
in a c o m p l e -
occasionally
may be made to serve as a b e n e f i c i a l
to
. . .
surtout
d'éc-
les
Jean-Paul S a r t r e , J^jgtre e_£ le n.jaflt ( P a r i s : Gallimard,
1 9 4 3 ) , p. 6 9 0 .
Sartre attributes this notion of a p h e n o m e n o l o g i c a l p s y c h o a n a l y s i s , quite rightly, to B a c h e lard.
-4-
classer»"4
As the reader d i s c o v e r s , R o q u e n t i n ' s
is more easily resolved
than carried
has difficulty deciding
what
Among the first
out, for the
is and is not an
" i n c i d e n t s , " h o w e v e r , that appear
the sort of occurrence
fication: the episode
of paper*
of the stone
quirky interest
inclined
of the
forego
an
on the
investigation
classi-
of
piece
examinalatter,
Roquentin's
in handling d i s c a r d e d scraps of paper
his experience with
the stone can best be
It is one-thirty
a table
and that
and c o n c e n t r a t e
it is through a t h o r o u g h
in R o -
which requires
For the time being, we will
tion of the former event
for
writer
"event."
quentin's papers are two which the writer seems
to consider
enterprise
and A n t o i n e
in the Café M a b l y .
that
elucidated»
Roquentin
is sitting
"Rien de n o u v e a u , " he
at
writes
as an introduction to his diary e n t r y of the d a y . 5
He
er r e a l i z e s ! however,
that
that he was wrong in stating
n o t h i n g was new and that
l e s s , a lie: "je n'ai
toute
pas dit la vérité —
la v é r i t é . " 6 There
quentin's world,
newness m a n i f e s t s
such a statement
is indeed
w a s , more or
du moins
itself as little more
it is, for the
than a vague
perfluity.
Eyeing his gloss of beer, he senses an
new quality
in the o b j e c t :
5
Iklrf-»
P*
IS.
lbjd.,
p. 2 1 .
pas
s o m e t h i n g new in R o -
but he is not sure what
* S a r t r e , Là. Causée t P» 11»
lat-
"il y a autre c h o s e .
su-
odd,
Presque
-5-
riep»"7
Moreover, something has happened
an event.
Roquentin's justification
of the event
ing written
runs as f o l l o w s .
of the
"rien de n o u v e a u " :
"'Rien
However, Roquentin
he has tried
text
voulu et je n'ai
par terre»
ment."9
that
The event,
and its status as an event
"j'ai
nait
to deny.
is still
incident
main
day:
haunts Roquentin
impetus behind
"C'est
précèdent."11
as such, appears in the
is promptly
cannot
Ibid.«
elle [cette
We note
8
Xfeipt.
9
X k i d * t P» 2 2 .
10
ibid.
11
Xfeitf-
un papier qui
même pas un
deny the
to the point
traîévéne-
impression
that
"j'ai
This sense of the
pensé
loss of
of b e i n g
i d é e ] qui m'a dicté
the writer's
incident with
emphasis
questioned:
an impression
suggestion
the
added.
les pages
that
discourse.
the power to trigger
the
qui
the
is so strongly at work that
in fact, responsible for his very
over, any
what
the writing of his diary entry for
idea of the loss of freedom
is,
J•ad-
to admit
startling conclusion:
que je n'étais plus l i b r e . " 1 0
his freedom
hesitant
has made on him —
leads him to a somewhat
hav-
la raison de son
tout et ce n'est
N o n e t h e l e s s , Roquentin
the
de n o u v e a u . '
pas pu ramasser
C'est
of
eventfuiness
He feels qualms about
mire comme on peut mentir en mettant
coté."8
in the nature
it
More-
such an
idea
-6-
must
be classified
as an event, for
events anrf the decision
ject
("Le
mieux serait
jour
• • • et surtout
ly admitted
reluctance
to write are one and the same
d'écrire
les événements
les classer")»
the e v e n t f u l n e s s of his
the piece of paper.
the c l a s s i f i c a t i o n
au jour
Roquentin
inability
the event
in the first
prole
has f i n a l -
to pick
He can now o n l y make excuses
to recount
of
for
up
his
place:
Pourquoi n'en ai-je pas parlé?
Ça doit être par
o r g u e i l , et puis, a u s s i , un peu par m a l a d r e s s e .
Je n'ai pas l'habitude de me r a c o n t e r ce qui m'arrive, alors je ne trouve pas bien la s u c c e s sion des événements t je ne d i s t i n g u e pas ce crui
est i m p o r t a n t . 1 2
Roquentin
11
II n'y
concludes his apology w i t h abrupt
a pas grand-chose
le papier,
c'est
a d i r e : je n'ai
scrutiny»
suppress
the
manifests
Why f
for i n s t a n c e ,
journalism
("je
between
n'ai
an "event" and about this " e v e n t "
1 2.
Ifei^.
emphasis
added.
to
which
"dix
the lie ("Rien
pas dit
What does Roquentin find so sinister
Xkid.,
deserves
is he impelled
These are q u e s t i o n s we must eventually
13
ramblincçs
itself as a kind of s t a l l i n g tactic —
de n o u v e a u " ) and the confession
ing about
ramasser
"event" through the use of a d i s c o u r s e
P a g e s " of p a r e n t h e t h i c a i
ité")?
pas pu
tout."13
The unstable nature of R o q u e n t i n ' s
doser
precision:
and
in
answer.
la v é r threaten-
particular?
Chapter I
THE SCRAPS OF
PaPER
(L 1 i m a g i n a t i o n n'est rien autre que le sujet
transporte dans les choses*
Les images portent
alors la marque du sujet*
Et cette marcrue est
si claire que finalement c'est par les images
qu'on peut avoir le plus sur diagnostic des
t e m p e r a m e n t s [ Bachelard» La. Terre et les r e v e r ies çtu reoosi p. 3 ]•
Tf our strategy is to "tenter une p s y c h a n a l y s e
choses» " perhaps our first
significance»
tunately»
question
for Roquentin»
for us»
Roquentin
of
should b e : what
des
is the
the piece of p a p e r ?
answers this
question:
J 1 a i m e beaucoup ramasser les marrons» les v i eilles loques» surtout les p a p i e r s *
Il m'est
agréable de les pr&ndir&f
die fermer ma main sur
eux; pour un peu je les p o r t e r a i s a ma bouche»
comme font les e n f a n t s .
anny entrait dans des
colères blanches quand je soulevais par un coin
des papiers lourds et somptueux» mais p r o b a b l e ment salis de m e r d e .
En ete ou au début de l 1 automne» on trouve dans les jardins des bouts de
journaux que le soleil a cuits» secs et cassants
comme des feuilles mortes» si jaunes qu'on peut
les croire passés à l'acide p i c r i q a e .
D'autres
feuillets» l'hiver» sont pilonnés» broyés» m a culés» ils retournent a la t e r r e .
D ' a u t r e s tout
neufs et mêmes glacés» tout blancs» tout p a l p i tants» sont posés comme des cygnes» mais déjà la
terre les englue par en d e s s o u s .
Ils se t o r dent» ils s'arrachent a la boue» mais c'est pour
aller s'aplatir un peu plus loin» d é f i n i t i v e ment.
Tout cela est bon à p r e n d r e .
Quelquefois
je les palpe simplement en les regardant de tout
près» d'autres fois je les déchire pour entendre
leur long crépitement» ou bien» s'ils sont très
humifies» j'y mets le feu» ce qui ne va pas sans
p e i n e ; puis j'essuie mes paumes remplies de boue
-7-
For-
-8-
a un mur ou a un tronc
d'arbre»14
We note from the start
that
it is not e x c l u s i v e l y
pa-
pers which Roquentin l i k e s to handle; he also enjoys
pick-
ing up chestnuts
and old
that
it
papers which he finds appealing*
is especially
not easy to deduce
rags, although
a common
the three o b j e c t s .
categorical
to generalize
What
is puzzling
tin's text
in declaring
the objects
of R o does
of his g a t h e r i n g
anything but
which will be examined
study)*
Nonetheless»
r o n s " ) is highly
prefiguring
ronnier")»
nal*15
his mention
a connection
papiers"
earlier
section of
of its rather
of the e p i s o d e of the chestnut
w h i c h plays a crucial
Roquen-
and
this
of c h e s t n u t s ("les
suggestive b e c a u s e
Furthermore»
Sartre»
in a subsequent
role later
as
papiers*"
in
"les
mentioned
He
of his fancy
is that we find no evidence
( w i t h the exception of the stone»
15
ground
But Roquentin
leg m a r r o n s » " "les v i e i l l e s l o q u e s " and "leg
*
for
claim to enjoy picking up "things on the ground*"
is quite specific
l
denominator
the o r i e n t a t i o n
quentin' s pastime in Just such a way*
ff
It is
All three can be found on the
and it is tempting
not
he m a i n t a i n s
obvious
tree ("le
in the
mar-
mar-
jour-
can be drawn between
the
La Nausée » p . 2 2 - 2 3 .
Roquentin finds many of his papers "dans les j a r d i n s "
and it is in the "Jardin p u b l i c " that he will later
have his celebrated encounter with the "racine du m a r r o n n i e r " ( ^ Nausée» p . 161 f f * ) *
We may infer» then»
that it is "dans les j a r d i n s " (among other places» p e r h a p s ) that Roquentin finds c h e s t n u t s , as well as papers» to pick up*
Moreover, in the p a r a g r a p h d e s c r i b ing his habit, which we have cited above» it is
-9-
old rags and the pieces of paper*
quite similar
in texture and, in fact, can be
two forms of the same material
rags»
Thus?
The two o b j e c t s
the fact
—
both old rags and pieces of paper
if the chestnut
tu(r)al
episode
abandoning
rags, Roquentin
should reveal
another s e l f - a b s o r b e d
saves discarded
reminiscent
his interest
a related
similar
and neurotic
of R o q u e n t i n 1 6 —
and re-kindled
and,
tex-
manner*
and old
paper*
Mathieu
and who, in a way,
—
is
demon-
in the objects of his o b -
and does not store them away to be
re-fondled
up
loner who picks up and
Sartre's character
interest
from
practice
of f o n d l i n g
Unlike R o b b e - S r i l l e t f s
pieces of string
strates a mere passing
his
in chestnuts
elaborates on his habit
is not a collector*
session
is u n d e r s t a n d a b l e
chestnuts in a c a t e g o r i c a l l y
Quickly
made
is fond of picking
theme, we shall be able to understand
of h a n d l i n g
He
tree
considered
paper is often
that Roquentin
are
at another time*
momentary amateur of discarded scraps*
re-examined,
He is but a
He e x p e r i e n c e s
an
nuit, 1 9 5 5 ) *
See also Dennis Porter's "Sartre, R o b b e Grillet and the Psychotic H e r o , " in Moft?rp Fiction
St.ujîi££ 16 ( 1 9 7 0 ) : 13-25 for an elaboration of the similarities and d i f f e r e n c e s between the two " p s y c h o t i c "
personalities*
-10-
agreeable pleasure
closing his hand
prendref
in merely grasping
around them (Il m'est
de fermer ma main sur e u x " ) ;
ly? we might
agréable
to put
Further,
pers to his mouth and,
presumably,
Anny, R o q u e n t i n 1 s
that
one of the s o u r c e s of
diately
de
les
differentobjects
he has the urge to bring the
ex-lover,
this restraint,
There is a
is at
least
for R o q u e n t i n
the m o r s e l s , feels them ( u p ? i )
closely.
Other
Often
he simply
holds
and looks at them
very
times ( and here we note how Roquentin
most unlike an obsessive c o l l e c t o r ) , he tears them
l
if they are very w e t .
Thus, R o q u e n t i n
enjoy picking up p a p e r s for at least
i k e s to ( 1 ) grasp and caress them,
"them, ( 3 )
word t
put
is but
*ould r e a l i z e ) ,
It is clear
( 2 ) look closely
that R o q u e n t i n f s
perception
some elucidation
examination
at
he
at
his
then.
late on the origins of his behavior
careful
seems
a fantasy w h i c h "pour un peu" he
and ( 4 ) destroy
'themselves requires
with
four r e a s o n s :
them in his mouth (taking Roquentin
this act
is
in or-
** to hear their " c r é p i t e m e n t " or sets them a f i r e ,
difficulty,
"des
so much as pick up the
corner of one of his prize f i n d s .
t o
imme-
inserts the remark -that A n n y used to go into
colères b l a n c h e s " when he would
rfe
pa-
to put them jj^ "comme
les e n f a n t s , " but he r e s t r a i n s h i m s e l f .
suggestion
it
and
say that Roquentin likes to have the
"la his hand.»
font
the objects
of the
before we can
towards
of the language
these
Roquentin
papers
specu-
objects,
employs
in
-liais d e s c r i p t i o n
interesting
of the objects should provide
and helpful
data*
Let us begin with an
sis of two w o r d s , in particular*
striking
the first because
logical
significance,
nical
somewhat
" n e r d e " and
"picri-
of its colloqui al i ty and
scatotech-
nature.
finds some of the papers
tueux," he remarks that
*erde."
difficult
they are "probablement
de
Whether they are, in fact, soiled with shit
is
to d e t e r m i n e , for the papers which
We know
final clause of his description
*hich he s t a t e s :
"puis
j'essuie
Roquentin
this because
of the p a p e r s ,
Bu
"t r e g a r d l e s s of the factual condition
quentin at least
on*
t l O R
°n the part of the w r i t e r : mud
added)*
they have
T h u s , we are supplied with a métonymie
Another
association
P a p e r s
w
associa-
of R o q u e n t i n * s , a l t h o u g h
as we have already noted,
**ich are " s o m p t u e u x " that
been
> shit*
nearly as evident as that of " n e r d e " and " b o u e , "
information*
de
of the p a p e r s , R o -
thinks it probable that
shat
of
in
mes paumes rémoises
a un mur ou à un tronc d ' a r b r e " (emphasis
U r t h e r
"somp-
salis
Picks up are often quite muddy.
£°-UÊ.
some
analy-
and the second because of its
A l t h o u g h Roquentin
t h e
which seem
in their s p e c i f i c c o n t e x t s :
que" —
us with
are also
not
yields
it is the
"probablement
s al "
is de naerde."
e
n applied
a
nd
" S o m p t u e u x " is an adjective w h i c h is of-
to food —
this q u a l i f i e r
"un repas s o m p t u e u x , "
is quite appropriate
for
for
example
Roquentin1s
-12-
pieces of paper, for he has already otentioned his urges to
bring these objects to h i s mouth*
" s o m p t u e u x " denotes something
riéoepses T
In general*
however?
"qui a nécessité
ie granffeg
qui est d'une beauté coûteuse « d'un luxe b r l ^ -
JLâ&±" ( Le. Petit
Robertt
emphasis
added)*
Thus T its q u a l i -
fication of an object as "bon à m a n g e r " is s e c o n d a r y to
the principal use of the adjective
"to an object
Perhaps*
which
"somptueux,"
is both valuable
Freud p o i n t s out that
denotation of
Like
the c o n n e c t i o n
gold and feces and, more generally*
the ver*y
and s h i n y .
between
referring
gold?
between
money
(i.e.,
v a l u e ) and feces is not u n u s u a l * 1 7
The origin of this unlikely symbolic
relation
what Freud b e l i e v e s to be the infant's
is found in
attitude
towards
its own s t o o l :
They [ t h e c o n t e n t s of the b o w e l s ] are t r e a t e d as
part of the infant's own body and represent his
first 'gift': by producing them he can express
his active compliance with his environment and,
by w i t h o l d i n g them, his d i s o b e d i e n c e . 1 6
T h u s , both oral
and anal imagery
are condensed
in the n o -
tion of s u m p t u o u s n e s s .
In c o n c l u s i o n , we note further that the adjective
somptueux"
is u l t i m a t e l y rooted
in the Latin verb
sumereT
« e a n i n ^ (in F r e n c h ) " p r e n d r e " or "employer" ( Lg. Petit Rofc-
1?
e
6 e e
© s p e c i a l l y F r e u d ' s "Character and anal E r o t i s m , " in
2^12. Ê i a j x d a x l E d i t i o n o f t h e £ g m p l e t e . P s y c h o l o g i c ^ ] .
^°-£&Ê o £ S i g n i n g F r e u d * V o l . IX, t r a n s . J a m e s S t r a c h e y
(London: Hogarth, 1 9 5 9 ) .
l g m u n d
F r e u d , T h r e e E s s a y s o_a HhS. Th?PrY O i S e x u a j . } tY_T
* n I h £ S i â J i a ^ r j i E d i t i o n oj£ th& C o m p l e t e P s v c h o t 9 g } f f t l
£°-£ks_, V o l . V I I ( L o n d o n : H o g a r t h , 1 9 5 3 ) , p . 1 8 6 .
-13-
ert )•
Thus»
in a rather extensive
eating and excreting»
excreting
and eating»
of that which has been discarded»
prençtre « " as Roquentin himself
associative network
and early f a l l .
insists*
be rendered
Here he p a r t i c u l a r i z e s
our attention
note # 3 0 1 ) .
and
of j o u r n a l s " (we shall need
see below»
mention
imagery»
which began with
of the urge to put the papers
c o n t i n u e d w i t h his use of the word
also
to
turn
p . 237»
The papers have been baked by the sun
soleil [ l e s ] a c u i t s " ) and we note here another
the
of • • •
but w h i c h could
to this detail later —
of the a l i m e n t a r y
disco-
identifies
"remnants
as Alexander puts i t » 1 9
as "scraps
a certain
he picks up during the sunnier
objects as "des bouts de j o u r n a u x " —
newspapers»"
valuation
"tout cela est bon à
The writer then poes on to describe
loring of the papers that
and
of
("le
occurrence
Roquentin1s
into his mouth
"somptueux."
and
These
scraps are "secs et c a s s a n t s " ( u d r y and apt to b r e a k " ) and
"si jaunes q u ( o n peut les croire
passes à l'acide
picri-
que."
"L'acide
p i c r i q u e » " the Littre
e
**e tinctoriale
d'un jaune d'or éclatant
ploie présentement
s
es
ac
a
soieries."
id»
cid"
a "bitter
(Webster's
tells us»
d'une
is a " m a t i -
et que Lyon
manière presque exclusive
In addition
to its use as a dye»
toxic
yellow c r y s t a l l i n e
. . .
pour
picric
strong
Third flew T p t p r p a t i o n a l ) is utilized
See Lloyd A l e x a n d e r ' s translation
(New York: New Directions» 1964)»
em-
of the novel»
p. 10.
in
Nausea
-14-
the m a n u f a c t u r e
What
of high e x p l o s i v e s
is important
our present
and as an
about R o q u e n t i n ' s
context,
antiseptic.
use of the term,
has to do with: ( 1 ) its color,
( 2 ) its taste ("picrique," from the Greek p i k r o s ,
for
and
meaning
" b i t t e r " ).
The yellow tint
of the papers
a fading which comes with age and
which serves to hasten
is attributable
to the work of
this process of aging*
both
sunlight,
The
connec-
tion appears quite clear, for R o q u e n t i n ' s remark about
cooking of the papers by the sun and his notation
of
strong yellow color occur as segments of the same
sen-
tence.
These two elements
the p a p e r s 1
dryness ("sees") and their resemblance
cation r e f e r r i n g
aging e f f e c t .
to the sun's heat
and the second
But the cause and effect
nay not be so clear c u t .
Roquentin
The p o s s i b i l i t y that these
soiled with h u m a n excrement
streets and parks that
priate places to find used
salis de
a
°t
only shit
per, h o w e v e r .
that
to
its
here
haunts are hardly
"salis
come from d o g s .
that
merde."
for the
"papiers h y g i é n i q u e s . "
in question must
qualifi-
d i s c a r d e d scraps
°nly presume that, if the papers are indeed
* e r d e , " the shit
to dead
relationship
seems unlikely,
Roquentin
of
has already noted
there are papers which are "probablement
How so?
the first
are
public
approWe
also pee on selected
can
de
It
may be found on discarded pieces of
A dog will
the
their
are spanned by his mention
leaves ("comme des feuilles m o r t e s " ) —
to
is
pa-
landmarks
-15-
in the process of following
another dog's scent
Perhaps while marking out his own.
quentin finds it probable
dirty with shit, then
it
capacities
In other w o r d s , if R o -
that these pieces of paper
is also probable that
dirty w i t h u r i n e , as w e l l .
staining
t r a i l , or
Picric
they
are
acid, known for iti
:s
and bitter taste, then bears a d i s -
tinct s i m i l a r i t y
to u r i n e , and R o q u e n t i n ' s
through analogy,
of the yellow of the papers to the
of the compound
are
s u g g e s t s another
relating,
scatological
yellow
network
of
associations.
a n n y ' s " c o l è r e s , " then, are not surprising.
parent
disgust
gry reaction
at R o q u e n t i n ' s
little habit
Don't touch t h a t !
is understood that
yellow stream
t
picking
it's b e e n l "
It
it's b e e n " may be at the end of
of dog urine, if the piece of trash
not already betray some kind of excremental
even greater
an-
admonition:
You don't know where
"where
ap-
recalls the
of a m o t h e r who scolds her child for
up pieces of dirty trash with the usual
Her
does
history.
An
anger, admixed w i t h horror, will result
if
h e child makes any kind of gesture to bring the object
1S
ttou
*h*
as children
are prone to do ( "comme font
to
les
enfants").
With the advent
of winter comes a
ange in the state of R o q u e n t i n ' s
dirty s c r a p s .
crenaental imagery of the description
guage that betrays a symbolic
corresponding
The
ex-
gives way to a l a n -
undercurrent
which is quite
-16-
violent
summer
in n a t u r e .
and early autumn.
decomposing
er
?
sont
terre.»
In their place are the
leaves of winter:
pages of
quickly-
"D'autres f e u i l l e t s , l'hiv-
p i l o n n é s , b r o y é s , m a c u l é s , ils retournent
à la
This description of rot and decay, however,
immediately
a
Gone are the sun-baked yellow
superseded t>y the somewhat
unexpected
image of
^ u i v eritig, icy swan, desperately trying to escape
clutches of the muddy earth:
is
the
"D'autres tout neufs et
même
g l a c e s , tout b l a n c s , tout palpitants, sont posés comme
des
c y g n e s , mais déjà la terre les englue par en d e s s o u s .
Ils
Be tordent,
ils s'arrachent
aller s'aplatir
à la boue, mais c'est
un peu plus loin,
pour
définitivement."
The image of the dying swans is an interesting
*e see first
a s
a
result
*-y produce
one.
the figure of a poet who, either from age or
of creative
his elegant
impotence,
can no longer
graceful-
song, nor set himself aloft on the
pure white wings of his melodic t u n e . 2 0 Moreover, the
aphor is reinforced
met-
by the literality of Roquent i n 1 s d e -
scription, for some of the papers have been written
(the page torn from a student's notebook, for
on
example,
This image of the dying swan, which can no longer
"prendre
l'essor," is reminiscent of M a l l a r m é 9 s çygpg
in "Le v i e r g e , le vivace, et le bel aujourd'hui...»
—
a figure of the poet who is likewise stuck in the mud:
Tout son col secouera cette blanche agonie/
Par l'espace infligé à l'oiseau qui le nie/
Mais non l'horreur du sol ou le plumage est
pris.
See Stéphane Mallarmé, f>oés3 es (Paris:
1 9 4 F ) , p. 9 0 .
Gallimard,
-17-
*hich
is described
in Roquentin's next
are also the scraps of newspaper,
written
word.
The
BUT
signe")•
swan
smudged
disappearance
the appearance
Points to other
There
other vehicles for
the
ink of these texts, as the winter
gresses, will become
subsequent
paragraph).
in the following
the decline
of the p o e t 1 s written
and
production.
of the "cygne" in Roquentin's
associative
Bachelard,
and faded —
pro-
text
paths as well (the " c y g n e " as
for example, treats the image of the
manner:
Le c y g n e , en l i t t é r a t u r e , est un ersatz de la
femme n u e .
C f e s t la nudité permise, c'est la
blancheur immaculée et cependant o s t e n s i b l e .
au
moins, les cygnes se laissent voir!
Oui adore
^e cygne désire la b a i g n e u s e . 2 1
Thus, the swan image which Roquentin associates with
c
Vt
white p a p e r s reveals a somewhat
the object's symbolic
status.
see the relation
of
sees
and he enjoys his pas-
pleasure.
of the swan-as-poet
S-ÊUSe., for, as Bachelard
aspect
In a way, Roquentin
his papers as nude, innocent women
iae with a kind of voyeuristic
unexpected
the
Furthermore,
we
to the swan-as-fcaj^-
continues:
L'image du "cygne" . . . est toujours un dégjr.
C'est, dès lors, en tant que désir qu'il chante.
Or, il n'y a qu'un seul désir qui chante en mourant, qui meurt en chantant, c'est le désir sexuel.
Le chant du cygne, c'est donc le désir
sexuel à son point c u l m i n a n t . 2 2
Gaston Bachelard, I » Eau et les rpves ( P a r i s :
José C o r t i , 1 9 4 2 ) , p . 5 0 .
Ifelçt. , p #
53.
Librairie
-18-
The swan, then, is both the object
of sexual
desire —
the
re itself » and, t h u s , a c o n d e n s a tion of two moments into what is necessarily
drive: that
is, there can be no desire without
and the sexual drive —
its object
—
ceaselessly
the moment
a single
both its component
an
object,
of desire
is represented by the "cygne."
and
The poet,
sinking his melancholic song right up until
of his death, betrays in his swan song a double
rocus for his desire as poet/swan,
for he desires both
the
"cygne" (as female sexual object, as
ftaigneuse)
'signe,** and his wish to communicate
the world and his r e -
lationship
to it through
Proportional
and the
the use of language ( signes ) is
to his wish to
view a virgin Diana at her
bath ("U
femme n u e , " "la b a i g n e u s e , " Le. cygne ).
ed in the
image of the swan, then, is both the desire
write and the desire
who seeks these g o a l s .
some of the papers he craves is
of the fundamental
It
wishes to be that which he d e s i r e s .
As we shall see, Roquentin*s selection of the swan
phor to depict
to
of sexual possession, as well as the
figure of the subject himself
is as if the subject
Suggest-
nature of his ideosyncratic
meta-
indicative
preoccupa-
tion.
The fate of the quivering paper swans is a cruel
Unable
to free -themselves, without
the lethal
glue cf the muddy winter
turn and finally manage
great
difficulty,
earth, they twist
to tear themselves
one.
from
and
(literally)
-19-
from the c l u t c h e s of
their slimy
captor, only to be
tened out " d é f i n i t i v e m e n t " a short
they will become
"retournent
the first
distance away.
flatLater,
"pilonnés, b r o y é s , [ e t ] m a c u l e s " as
à la t e r r e . "
two participial
We note the violent
nature
a d j e c t i v e s : "pilonner —
they
of
battre
avec un pilon; fouler une é t o f f e " ( L e t t r é ) and "broyer
réduire
ine.).
par !• écrasement
en très menues p a r c e l l e s " ( LJL±-
The p a p e r s appear to have been crushed by a pestle
or pounded
like a piece of cloth which has been
They have, in fact, been
that
—
"beaten
has been "mis au pilon."
swan-as-poet
been sent
to a pulp" like a book
A continuation
imagery is evident
of
the
h e r e , for a book which
to the pulp mill has been
deemed v a l u e l e s s
has thus been taken out of circulation
Poet have fallen on deaf
fulled.
—
and
the words of the
ears and his " s i g n e s "
decompose
into v a l u e l e s s ( i . e . their exchange value h a s , for all
tents and p u r p o s e s , dwindled
signifiers.
The fact
to n o t h i n g ) ,
The s i g n i f i e r s have become
that
has
in-
inarticulate
insignificant.
the " p a p i e r s " / " c y g n e s " / "signes" are "ma-
c u l e s " r e i n f o r c e s this latter interpretation,
for the
ink
on the papers has run and now appears as blotchy s t a i n s : a
text which
ble
is, p e r h a p s , illegible and thus
incomprehensi-
a s i g n i f i e r for which there can be no
signified,
nor even the possibility of o n e .
c u l e r " r e f e r s , more precisely,
decipherable
The verb
"ma-
to the blurring of a text
which results from a bad printing ( "to m a c k l e " ).
Accord-
-20-
l n g
t o
t h e
Ljttrj:
"maculer —
et d f e s t a m p e s .
feuilles d'imprimerie
quand on le bat
trop fraîchement
t h e r e f o r e , we note
cates a textual
Pick
up.
quality of
paper b a g s , sandwich
have been w r i t t e n
just
nue."
rily frees herself
connotation.
naked w o m a n ,
in its full
from
the grasp
woof
her
momenta-
assailant,
distance away.
innocent
She then
The
"baig-
"returns
"pilon-
to the
do.
metaphor
following the
suggested by Bachelard's
is r e i n f o r c e d
in P o q u e n t i n f s
paper
by a form which is s u l l i e d :
This r e a d i n g of R o q u e n t i n ' s text,
of the extended
"un
The cold, naked
i m m a c u ^ f P " of the fresh and
n é e , " " b r o y é e " and " m a c u l é e . "
later
is also
twists and turns and
for good, a short
earth," as all c o r p s e s
which
perspective,
from the c l u t c h e s of her
n e u s e " is now replaced
to
brown
creature which p o s s e s s e s
The woman
to be crushed,
"blancheur
but papers
from this
in vain to free herself
en d e s s o u s . "
indi-
on.
Viewed
the sticky earth, a muddy
again,
crumpled
to the earth of the quivering, white
man s t r u g g l e s
only
any papers —
points out, the swan
swans takes on a tragic
ï>*r
Once
de
livre
the papers which he likes
or p r i n t e d
e r s a t z de la femme
un
choice of words
wrappers, etc. —
But, as Bachelard
en parlant
On macule
imprimé."
that R o q u e n t i n ' s
They are not
the return
barbouiller,
by a description
journal.
that
swan,
unable
as
occurs
With hi6 e x i s t e n t i a l
fury, Roquent in finds himself
path
to
crisis
write
-21-
anything more about
of the historical
to do research*
the M a r q u i s de Rollebon»
text
for which he has come to
and buys a n e w s p a p e r ("un
of the discovery
quandry
Bouvilie
in which he is
the
trapped,
j o u r n a l " ) in which he reads
of the body of a young girl
has been raped and strangled*
and examines
subject
He steps out of his room, b a t t l i n g
madness of the ontological
account
the
Roquentin
holds the
an
who
paper
it, in much the same way, p e r h a p s , as he ex-
amines the discarded papers that he likes to pick up from
the ground:
"Je roule
le journal
en boule mes
crispés sur le j o u r n a l . " 2 3 As for the victim:
doigts
"On a r e -
trouve son c o r p s , ses d o i g t s crispés dans la b o u e . " 2 4
body of L u c i e n n e (the young g i r l ) was found on the
in the mud,
her fingers clenching the earth.
The
ground,
Although
this case, it is the victim who is holding the ground,
not the other way around,
swans w h i c h "la terre
. . .
tordent, ils s 1 a r r a c h e n t
s'aplatir
Roquentin,
we are reminded of the
un peu plus loin, d é f i n i t i v e m e n t . "
in his panicked h a l l u c i n a t i o n s ,
L u c i e n n e ' s f i n g e r s to be "maculé
23
S a r t r e , Lô. Nausée « p. 130.
25
Ibid. « p. 130, e m p h a s i s
added.
Ils se
pour
aller
What's
more,
imagines one of
de b o u e , " 2 5 thus r e - u t i -
lizing one of the three adjectives he has earlier
ated with the dying paper s w a n s .
and
paper
englue par en d e s s o u s .
à la boue, mais c'est
in
Finally, we note
associthe
-22-
foilowing
passage:
Je marche entre les m a i s o n s , je suis entre les
Biaisons, tout droit sur le pavé; le pavé sous
mes pieds existe, les maisons se referment sur
moi, comme l'eau se referme sur moi sur le papier e
Jl montagne oie cygne» je s u i s . 2 6
Roquentin feels that
ln
m u c h
the houses are closing
in on him
*he same way as he closes his fingers on the n e w s -
paper ( "gur
le j o u r n a l " ) ,
and closes his hand on papers in
general ("fermer ma main s_ux eux," p . 2 2 ) —
pares this sensation
metaphorical
com-
swan, which engulfs both him and
the paper he is holding.
t n e
and he
to that produced by water, in the
shape of a mountainous
y
—
The real paper, once
swan, has been
separated
signified
from
its sig-
This signifier, which at one time served to
nifier.
pict the paper, d i s a p p e a r s , only to return
dred pages
hun-
later to haunt Roquentin, as the image of a
mountainous
and engulfing surge of water,
phor for the houses which
threaten
itself a m e t a -
to close over him.
"cygne" seems to have taken off in flight; the
component
one
OVBT
de-
The
signifying
of the " s i g n e " has broken loose from its m o o r -
ings.
and "tout cela est bon à p r e n d r e , " declares
that
is, the papers which are "lourds et
Roquentin
somptueux,"
those which "le soleil a c u i t s , secs et c a s s a n t s " and
which are "si
jaunes qu'on peut les croire passés à 1•ac-
ide p i c r i q u e , " those which are "pilonnés, b r o y é s , ma-
Xfei$l. , emphasis
added.
-23c u l é s , " and
blancs,
lastly those
tout palpitants»
"Tout
the
and
«posés comme des
cela est bon à p r e n d r e . "
amined in some detail
6eS
"tout neufs . . . glacés, t out
cygnes.»
We have thus far ex-
the nature of the "cela."
fcoquentin
P°-Pers as dirty, decomposing o b j e c t s .
They
aiud-stained, but probably stained with shit (and
urine),
e
as w e l l .
texts.
perhaps
They are discarded, discolored and macu-
They are white, pristine swans, poets and
w o r k s , nude b a i g n e u s e s on their way to an
and perhaps violent
oquentin's
are
death.
inglorious
There is an undercurrent,
in
d e s c r i p t i o n , of anal and oral imagery, as well
a sexual s t a t u s for the papers, a sexuality which m a n i s itself as a voyeurism on the part of Roquent in.
w
e
must now take a glance at the "bon à p r e n d r e . "
oquentin regards the papers
gested, why does he want
*outh
and set
in the manner we have
to handle
n
les p a p i e r s . "
first
e found o b j e c t s .
action
egative
his
them afire (if they are wet)?
oques, surtout
h
sug-
them, bring them to
** aine b e a u c o u p ramasser les marrons, les
at Roquentin
If
It is the verb
vieilles
"ramasser"
uses to describe his activities
It
is also the verb
he uses to denote
which he no longer feels free to perform,
verb which marks the
tated to m e n t i o n :
"Il
n»y
with
the
"event" which he has h e s i -
a pas grand-chose
à dire: je
-24-
n'ai
pas pu r a a a s s e r le papier, c'est
The Llttri p r o v i d e s
tout."27
the follorlng senses for the verb
ramaaji<>r:
1.
amasser en y mettant
que mette
soin et peine (seule
nuance
la particule re. entre amasser et r a m a s -
ser )
2.
p r e n d r e , relever ce qui est
3.
mettre ensemble
4«
réduire
5.
( f i g . ) réunir, rassembler
ce qui est
à la terre
epars
le volume
pour quelque effort
ou
action
6.
^ ^
^w-hiiitièie siècle
s'est dit au commencement du dix n«*
^ A «*osse une personne que
pour faire m o n t e r dans son carosse
l'on rencontre à pied
7.
. i ***» « trouve dans 1 ' em—
se c h a r g e r d'une personne qu on a
b a r r a s , dans la
8.
misère
..oi mi* tint" le
(lig. et p o p . ) "ramasser quelqu un,
de coups et de
maltraiter
paroles
« r*-f the "ramasser" of R o Obviously, the primary sense oi
^, .
i^rr listed secondly in the
L±tr
q u e n t i n ' s text is the meaning lisxeo,
^
t-^ ~r*ir\±& out that it is
tX£.
Ks Roquentin c o n t i n u e s , he points
^r^^ii r emphasis a d d e d ) and,
Pleasant for him "de les prendre.' < empn
clearly,
^
_>«
the objects are fîfiX tgxrs..
As is the case
«4«.Kt suspect
any s i g n i f i e r , however, we might S U S R
..
of signification
27
a
proliferation
^ +
w~ +^ «uffgest secondary
that tends to sugg**»
Ifeid., p . 2 2 , emphasis
added.
with
connota-
-25-
tions, as w e l l .
We recall, for example,
papers are " p i l o n n é s " and " b r o y é s . "
these
that some of
Picking up one of
s c r a p s , closing one's hand on it, would result
kind of gathering together of a fragmentary w h o l e .
Papers are d i s i n t e g r a t i n g
out
individual u n i t i e s .
this particular
t h e
Littrg:
salvaging of
in
case suggests the third meaning given
in
"mettre ensemble ce qui est é p a r s . "
What's
and unhealthy condition of many
the scraps and the quasi-tragic
a
con-
Thus, the "ramasser"
more, given the dirty
^elates
These
it may ultimately
to the p a p e r s ' decay, is a temporary
the p a p e r s 9
in a
and may already be in p i e c e s ,
Roquentin's fondling, although
tribute
the
tone with which
of
Roquentin
the fate of the paper s w a n s , the first, the sixth,
n d e s p e c i a l l y the s e v e n t h connotations
indicated
in the
k i i l n i seem to slip into the sense of R o q u e n t i n 1 s
ser" as the paragraph d e v e l o p s .
"ramas-
Indeed, Roquentin's
atti-
tude towards the flotsam and jetsam that he picks up is,
at
le
least
s s benevolent.
funded
Pei
l
for the greater part of the paragraph, more
ne"
It is apparent
nu
and that these papers, as dying swans, are c e r t a i n -
undercurrent
<te virgin,
of
ev
the object
en
the
and crushed swan-like detritus with "soin et
^ "dans l'embarras,
t h e
that he must handle
or
dans la m i s è r e . "
When we
consider
of sexual imagery and the fate of the
fallen against
which
s p e c u l a t e that
the muddy earth, the
"misère"
is "ramassé" is exacerbated.
if Roquentin
were a well-to-do
We
might
member
-26of eighteenth century society, he would want
to
the rotting pieces with a kind of metaphorical
(indicating
the sixth denotation
"ramasser"
carriage
in the Liiîxâ)»
much
to
the chagrin of the regal Anny who would display, no doubt,
des colères b l a n c h e s " at such patent
Samaritanism
towards
such foul and filthy r e j e c t s .
But
the latent benevolence
is not consistent,
destructive
entendre
of R o q u e n t i n f s
description
for it gives way rather abruptly to a
impulse: "d'autres fois je les déchire
leur long crépitement
[the crackling,
pour
melancholic
death rattle of the papers' swan s o n g ? ] , ou bien, s'ils
sont
très humides, j'y mets le feu, ce qui ne va pas sans
peine."
it is clear that Roquent in harbors an
attitude
towards these o b j e c t s .
ever, is quite consistent
ambivalent
Such ambivalence,
how-
with the semantic shadings
of
*hat we have taken as the primary verbal signifier of the
paragraph,
for " r a m a s s e r , " as the Llttré suggests, is an
antithetical w o r d .
The eighth entry in the resume of
meanings in the Littrg
of
refers to a popular, figurative
"ramasser": "'ramasser quelqu'un,' le maltraiter
coups et de p a r o l e s . "
b e a t
an
<* insult
Pleasure
de
Thus, if we consider the verb in
its most semantically pregnant form, we discover
Picking up the broken
use
that
in
and the miserable, we do so only
them later.
In other words,
in picking up papers from the ground
tive of a wish to both caress and mistreat
to
P.oquentin's
is indica-
the o b j e c t s .
-27-
The verbs " p r e n d r e " and "fermer" demand some
eration
consid-
as w e l l , although both these actions are
partial-
ly subsumed by the connotations of the initial verb,
masser*"
A.s we have already discovered»
the phrase "il m 1 e s t
"ra-
the "prendre" in
agréable de les prendre"
of the apparent
functions
primarily
as a reinforcement
masser":
"prendre, relever ce qui est à la terre" (the
second d e f i n i t i o n of the L i t t r e ) ,
But there
sense
of "ra-
is another
sense of " p r e n d r e " that resounds through Roquent in»s
whim-
sical arpe to put
the
qualifier
"somptueux,"
leil a c u i t s . "
certainly,
the papers into his mouth, through
and through the phrase "que le so-
"On prend un r e p a s , " and the papers
at least
are
in part, objects to be eaten.
as far as the v e r b "fermer" is concerned ("de
fermer
«a main sur e u x " ) , we note its apparent function of indicating a "closing o v e r , " or an "enclosing."
are thus captured —
The
papers
or protected -- by the action of the
hand which s e p a r a t e s and closes them off from the
outside
world.
some-
in other words, this maneuver of grasping
thing firmly ("fermement") with the hand and enclosing
securely is, like the action of putting something
one's mouth, a form of incorporation.
On
into
takes
("ramasse," " p r e n d " ) something from the world and
it somehow within oneself, corporeally.
it
places
Roquent in picks
uo the papers which he finds in the world in order to hold
them
in his hand —
the body.
in hL& world, as it is delimited
by
-28But R o q u e n t i n ' s pastime
is not restricted to
merely
Picking up and closing his hand around the objects*
addition, he is sometimes on the verge of putting
pers
into his mouth (or, at least*
touching them
the
les e n f a n t s . "
The somewhat
comme
disgusting aspect
of R o -
quentin's potential action reinforces the peculiarity
his o*f-beat
habit.
If we are to propose an
for R o q u e n t i n ' s oral
pa-
to his
l i p s ) : "pour un peu je les porterais à ma bouche,
font
In
of
explanation
interest in the soiled papers, it
*ill be n e c e s s a r y to begin with an examination of the act
itself, as a prototypical mode of behavior, without
to the specificity
of the objects that Roquentin
Then we shall better see what role
pla
y
in the manifestation
Oral activity,
Prototypical
er
themselves
attitude.
in general, can be traced back to the
This infantile
on which a great
be founded.
example
of Roquentin's oral
desires.
scene in which the infant sucks from
bother's breast.
framework
the papers
regard
Freud,
paradigm provides
its
the
deal of oral behavior will
for instance, describes an
lat-
early
of the wish to "put things in one's mouth" in
terms of an originary moment at the mother's
breast.28
It is precisely at this moment, moreover, that infantile sexuality (and, thus, sexuality in g e n e r a l ) first
appears.
Freud's formulation of this theory on the origin of sexuality is both crucial and controversial and
*e should not skirt a discussion of its soundness and
implications.
V>e shall postpone, however, any consideration of the pros and cons of Freud's position until
the following c h a p t e r , which will be devoted e x t e n s i v e ly to the importance of this moment in Freud's text
(and in the infant's d e v e l o p m e n t ) and its ramifications
-29-
FreucMs example
iterally,
tS
thunib
'
is within
is that of "sensual sucking" f Wonnesaug^n^
" b l i s s - s u c k i n g " ] , in which the infant
its
b
s
sucks on
i g toe, or on any other bodily part
that
reach:
Thumb-sucking [gas Ludein opter Lutgçhen 3 appears
already in early infancy and «ay continue into
maturity, or even persist all through life.
It
consists in the rhythmic repetition of a sucking
contact by the mouth (or l i p s ) .
There is no
Question of the purpose of this procedure being
the taking of n o u r i s h m e n t 2 Ç
us, the act of sucking
is a repetition
mal gesture of taking nourishment
r
*-enactment
of a moment
P easurabie and
U P e s
of
of the more p r i -
from the breast.
This
of biological satisfaction
is akin to the pleasure-producing
ail future sexual activity.
is
struc-
As Freud points out:
Sensual sucking involves a complete absorption
of the attention and leads either to sleep or
even to a motor reaction l a the nature g_£ ajj. ox~
C&fiffi • • • No one who has seen a baby sinking
back satisfied from the breast and failing
asleep with flushed cheeks and a blissful smile
can escape the reflection that this picture persists a_s_ & prototype g £ the ggpreggjop o^ gegual
gajLJSfactfpp i û later l | f e . 3 0
e
infant
normally chooses a part of its own body for
urposes of sensual
Ject #
n
Not only is it more
such a situation,
makes the baby
W l t h
sucking?
regard
and not an extraneous body
"convenient" to suck
but the choice of himself as
"independent
of the external world,
to our analysis of the text of
30
pp. 180,182 (emphasis
added).
or
oneself
object
which
Roquentin.
^reurf, Three Essavs oji £fce_ Thepr.y 2 i Se^ua^j t£,
i£i£*t
the
pp#
-30-
he is not yet
able to control • , l 3 1 as the infant
it will begin
to choose
and otherwise —
external
matures,
its sexual objects — b o t h
from among those which it finds
oral
in the
world and, if we may extrapolate from F r e u d ' s
servation,
these
later activities will manifest
ject" s ability or attempts to control
this
ob-
the s u b -
"external
world."
The fundamental
fest
oral attitude may continue to m a n i -
itself throughout
necessarily
the subject»s life, although
in the form of the auto-erotic sensual
that we have Just now discussed.
apparent
a e t i o l o g i c a l connection
sucking
There is, however, an
between
those
who are especially prone to sensual sucking and
adults who demonstrate
not
children
those
what might be called an oral «dis-
position 1 »:
It is not every
child who sucks in this way.
It
may be assumed that those children do so in whom
there is a constitutional intensification of the
erotogenic significance of the labial region.
If that significance persists, these same c h i l dren when they ^ow
up will become epicures in
kissing, will be inclined to perverse kissing,
or, if m a l e s , will have a powerful motive for
drinking and s m o k i n g .
Iff however, repression
e n s u e s , they will feel disgust at food and will
produce hysterical vomiting.
The repression extends to the nutritional instinct owing to the
dual purpose served by the labial z o n e . 3 2
31
32
lkl£., p. 182.
Ibis*.
-31It
is clear that a good deal of Roquent i n 1 s
reflects certain
behavior
oral tendencies, as Freud describes
Although he is not a particularly
eater, it must be admitted that
then*
avid drinker, smoker,
he is "inclined
or
to per-
verse kissing," as his urge to bring the papers to his
mouth indicates*
inc
This urge, however, is indeed merely an
l i n * t fl.pn« for this oral act is never really carried
a fact evidenced by R o q u e n t i n 9 s use of the
tense ("porterais" )•
behavior
conditional
Roquentin's observation
that
such
is usually ascribed to children ("comme font
e n f a n t s " ) r e i n f o r c e s rather overtly the structural
larity between
his adult
inclination
and the
out
les
simi-
infantile
practice of putting objects into the mouth, a habit
which
is an obvious correlative of sensual sucking*
Moreover,
the fact that Roquentin
mouthing
restrains himself from
the papers, coupled with his awareness that such
is infantile,
indicates that, although tempted,
does not actually take the dangerous step into
mania —
that
behavior
Roquentin
regressive
i s , a neurotic return to a time when
stinctual satisfaction was not yet governed by the
principle»
fi
reality
His resistance represents a crucial moment
conscious self-control
sertion
in-
that Roquentin,
of
that would tend to confirm any asalthough eccentric, is not
crazy»
is fear of disease or fear that his behavior would be so-
cially unacceptable
(in Anny's eyes, at l e a s t ) —
manifestations of the "reality principle" —
both
are no doubt
-32-
responsible for the lack of the "peu" that would
inspire
Roquentin to actually bring the dirty papers to his
lips
and mouth.
It is important
to examine y
as well, the reverse
of the affective coin which Freud strikes in his
of the oral d i s p o s i t i o n .
Freud says, the individual
"If . . . repression
"will
hysterical
rf
oes,
at food
Now, Roquentin
and does not relate any instances of
during the period
summary
ensues,"
feel disgust
*ill produce hysterical vomiting."
face
and
is not
vomiting
in which he is keeping his Journal.
however, feel nauseated
He
fro» time to time and, al-
though this nausea is not directly related to a disgust
at
to note that R o q u e n t i n 1 s reaction
to
~ood, it is important
an unsettling thought,
cous object
takes the form of a negative oral
The ambivalent
i n g s
c a n
a horrifying revelation, or a v i s -
tendencies of Roquent in f s oral
°e further elucidated,
tion B a c h e l a r d 1 s
For Bachelard,
compulsion
attitude.33
if we take into
examination of such images
the paradigmatic
lean-
considera-
in g e n e r a l .
representation of an oral
is to be found in the Biblical story of Jonah
in the belly of the whale; any fascination with images of
*'e should remark that at a later point in the text, towards the end of his meal with the Autodidact, Roquentin becomes nauseated while eating a piece of bread
*'ith c h e e s e .
The origin of the nausea, however, is to
he found in an amalgam of factors —
the atmosphere of
the restaurant, the words and face of the Autodidact,
the inanimate objects at the table, the food Roquentin
is chewing —
and can be construed as an affective r e sponse to the world as it appears from a certain point
of view.
O
swallowing and ingesting
through the mouth are, then,
stitutive of what Bachelard
f,
le complexe
v. •
terms the "Jonah
complex":
de Jonas est un phénomène psychologique
deglutition.»34
It is important
those images which represent
swallowed whole
ticular a r c h e t y p e :
Jonas correspond
de la
to remark that it is only
something (or s o m e o n e ) being
that Bachelard
of the Jonah complex*
con-
includes under the
Chewing plays no part
rubric
in this par-
"Sous la forme digestive, l'image
à une avidité d'avaler sans perdre
temps qu'il faut pour mâcher*
Il semble que
de
le
le glouton,
anime par des plaisirs inconscients primitifs, retourne à
*a période du s u c k i n g . " 3 5
and sucking
This distinction between
appears in Freud's text, as well, and
chewing
serves
to mark the definitive break between the nutritional
stinct
and the oral sexual drive: "The need for
the sexual satisfaction
need to take nourishment
. . •
—
in-
repeating
becomes detached from
the
a separation which becomes
evitable when the teeth appear and food is no longer
in only by sucking, but
. . .
comme un cas particulier
roughly equivalent
taken
is also chewed u p . " 3 6 Thus we see
that B a c h e l a r d 1 s Jonah complex, which "on pourrait
érer
in-
de s e v r a g e , " 3 7
to what Freud might
term an oral
considis
fix-
Gaston Bachelard, Lfi. Terre et \es
reveries du. r_ej£Q_s_
(Paris: Librairie José Corti, 1 9 4 8 ) , p. 1 4 4 .
35
I&ig.t
p . 155.
Freud,
T h r e e E s s a y s pji t h e T h e o r y fcl g e j W a l i t g f
Bachelard,
La. T e r r e e_£ l e s r é V e r i e s £tu £&&&&, p .
P* 1 8 2 .
144.
-34-
ation: & disposition which concentrates
itself on the
»outh and lips as an erotogenic zone*
Now, the wording in R o q u e n t i n f s text does not
u
s to ascertain
C h e w
u
the
*t
whether he would kiss, suck, swallow,
Papers once he has brought
once again,
permit
or
them to his mouth*
the suggestive addendum
"comme
font
les
e n f a n t s " seems to label the activity as one which is based
°n an infantile paradigm*
as
Moreovert
a whole seems to confirm
rtrive
»
achelard,
r
V
a
for its repeated
a fixation
which is unconscious*
in fact, treats La. Nausée as a kind of
to R o q u e n t i n f s
^ l i n g p a r t i c u l a r attention
in the tramway —
r & t h e r
8 e e s
Iarc
it
in-
the strength of the
case of a proliferation of Jonah-in-the-whale
ls
com-
result of a repression of the oral
says F r e u d ) serve to advertize
oral fixation, albeit
Journal
the existence of a Jonah
plex in the psyche of the writer f
s ances of nausea (the
Roquentin's
exemplaimagery*
nauseous cri-
a scene in which a car seat takes on
imposing existence
in the eyes of
Roquentin,
as the upturned belly of a dead d o n k e y 3 8 —
who
Bache-
* maintains:
Ce^livre [ L* Nausée ] porte le signe d'une fidélité remarquable aux puissances inconscientest
•erne lorsqu'il présente son héros Roquentin dans
^e décousu des impressions conscientes*
Ainsi *
même pour un nauséeux f pour un être qui ne veut
*"ien avaler, pour un être qui souffre "d'un
a n t i - J o n a s , M il y a des ventres p a r t o u t * 3 9
38
S a r t r e , La. H a j ^ e . , p. 159.
3ç
Bachelard, ta. Terre e_t ^es rêveries £u_ repps., P»
169.
-35Vith B a c h e l a r d 1 s closing words»
newspaper scene
we are reminded of
in which Roquentin
the rape of Lucienne*
the
reads the account
Houses threaten
of
to close over
both
him and the paper like a m o u n t a i n o u s , engulfing swan
(see
above, p* 2 2 ) *
now
The paper swan which he used to hold
threatens to hold him,
to "se referme sur [ l u i ] " in an
age which is decidedly
Jonah-esque: Roquentin
of finding himself
lectical
in the belly of a swanl
movement of the metaphoric
is in danger
Thus, the
dia-
swallowing / s w a l -
lowed, which is indicative of the so-called "Jonah
plex," presents
im-
com-
itself once again, this time in a latently
sexual framework, for the swan, as we have pointed
appears in R o q u e n t i n 9 s discourse
out,
in the role of a t r a g i -
cally sexual figure to be possessed ("incorporated," if
you will )•
In summary,
then, we might say that R o q u e n t i n 1 s
urge
to bring the papers to his mouth indicates an oral disposition on his part*
negative o p p o s i t e :
ually couched*
This disposition
later
its
the nausea in which his anxiety is u s -
Moreover, this disposition is, at least on
one level, sexual in nature —
inforced
is confirmed by
by the swan
a point of view that is r e -
imagery which appears a few
in Roquentin*s description of his habit*
lines
Thus, the
Papers can be seen as sexual objects in an activity
mimics the originary sexual act*
The papers are
breasts which, "pour un peu," Roquentin
aouth "comme font les e n f a n t s * "
which
sumptuous
would bring to his
-36-
Before abandoning
relationship
this discussion
of Roquentin's oral-
to the dirty scraps that he gathers, we
point out a possible connection
between the oral aspect
the w r i t e r 1 s disposition and his interest
things in the first place*
note the following
might
in "picking
of
up"
Returning to Freud's text, we
in regard to sensual
sucking:
A portion of the lip itself, the tongue, or any
other part of the skin within reach —
even the
big toe —
may be taken as the object upon which
this sucking is carried out.
In this connection
a grasping-instinct fGreiftrlefrl may appear and
may manifest itself as a simultaneous rhythmic
tugging at the lobes of the ears or a catching
hold of some part of another (as a rule the e a r )
for the sane p u r p o s e . 4 0
Thus, although most of the time we grasp things for a particular purpose —
the context
that is, in order to "use" an object
of a task to be performed,
in
or for some other
specified end —
grasping
as a kind of aimless
pastime
*ith no apparent
motive or meaning may, in general, be re-
lated to this primal Çrel-ftrieb to which Freud r e f e r s .
After mentioning A n n y 1 s angry reaction
habit, Roquentin
to his filthy
embarks on the season-by-season
descrip-
tion of the papers that we have already examined.
He
then
returns to his own behavior vis-à-vis the objects:
"Quel-
quefois Je les palpe simplement
tout
près • . ."
Although we may be tempted to regard the verb
p a l p g r as «ore or less a synonym
tant
40
to bear
en les regardant de
for toucher»
it is impor-
in mind the precise sense of the word.
Freud, Three Essays ga the Theory Q£ Seyualitvt
As
P*
180.
-37-
the Littpf
gives
it, paloer d e n o t e s : "Toucher avec la
»ain, gtang I » intention de c o n n a î t r e " (emphasis
added).
The verb, therefore,
touching
and may be rendered
indicates more than a mere
most effectively in English by s o m e -
thing like "to examine with the h a n d s . " 4 1 We see, then,
that both Roquentin's touching and his looking at the objects signal a tendency
to inquire about the nature
state of the papers that he h o l d s , for both an
*ith the hands "dans
I1intention
or
examining
de connaître" and a close
looking with the eyes suggest a sensual ( i . e . , "with
the
s e n s e s " ) investigation of the object in question.
Freud speaks very little about the
aspects of touching.
There i s , of course, his mention
the "grasping-instinct"
an earlier point
touching
plays in
psychological
of
which we have cited above and, at
in the same text, he notes the role
that
fore-pleasure:
A certain amount of touching is indispensable
(at all events among human b e i n g s ) before the
normal sexual aim can be attained.
And everyone
knows what a source of pleasure on the one hand
and what an influx of fresh excitation on the
other is afforded by tactile sensations of the
skin of the sexual object.
So that lingering
over the stage of touching can scarcely be
counted a perversion, provided that in the long
run the sexual act is carried f u r t h e r . 4 2
4 I
Alexander translates "je les p a l p e " by "I • • • feel
them," a rendition which is obviously sorely lacking
the richness of the French phrase (see Nausea, p. 1 0 ) .
Freud, Three Essays oj* the Theory o_t Sexualityt
P» 156.
-38-
The sexual stimulus
provided by the tactile sensations
no doubt, ultimately
related to the sensual arousal of the
lips, which was originally triggered by the mother's
ple and the flow of milk into the i n f a n t 1 s mouth»
does not make this connection clear»
moves on immediately
however»
but
nip-
Freud
rather
to the question of the visual:
"The
same holds true of seeing —
an activity that
ly derived from t o u c h i n g . " 4 3
Once again, Freud is not
plicit
is»
is u l t i m a t e ex-
about the mechanics of this derivation, but a close
examination of the lines which follow reveals a rather
teresting possibility.
wish to see that which
Freud maintains that
of the body which
goes
the sexual object by re-
its hidden p a r t s . " 4 4 Thus, one of the ways in
which the sexual drive manifests
sire to have the o b j e c t s
subject
dor-
keeps sexual curiosity a w a k e .
This curiosity seeks to complete
vealing
body
curiosity from becoming
mant: "The progressive concealment
along with civilization
it is the
is concealed of the o t h e r 1 s
that prevents human sexual
who looks»
is stimulated
itself is through the d e -
body revealed to the eyes of the
The eyes are an erotogenic zone
by the visual "touch" of the secret
the other's body.
that
parts of
We might say, consequently, that
sexual
curiosity which takes the form of looking is "toucher
1^£ £ £ & & , dans l f i n t e n t i o n de connaître," a visual
43
Xfeid.
4 4
1ÏLL&.
in-
avec
count-
-39erpart to the tactile
palpep.
This sense of inquiry which Freud attaches to the activity of seeing
SAXê»
is elaborated
further
in the Three £s.-
In small children, sexual curiosity appears as the
desire to see the genitals of another: a driv^
terms "scopophilia" f S c h a u l u s t 1 .
which
Now, although it is un-
derstood that some children will engage in certain
show-you-mine-if-you111-show-me-yours
for both the
the
sco-
desires which are common
young c h i l d r e n ) , the only outlet
euristic
I « 11-
games ( serving
dual function of providing satisfaction
pophilic and exhibitionistic
Freud
for many children's
urges is to be found at toilet
to
voy-
time:
Since opportunities for satisfying curiosity of
this kind usually occur only in the course of
satisfying the two kinds of needs for excretion,
children of this kind turn into voveurs» eager
spectators of the processes of micturition and
defaecation.
When repression of these inclinations sets in, the desire to see other p e o p l e d
genitals (whether of their own or the opposite
s e x ) persists as a tormenting compulsion, which
in some cases of neurosis later affords the
strongest motive force for the formation of
symptoms»45
The excremental
collects
staining of the objects
Roquentin
is assumedly not human, but the associative
larities between dog turds and human excrement
are
simi-
appar-
ent enough to provoke a kind of psychological oversight
the observer*s part.
Now, Roquentin declares that
times "je les palpe simplement
près."
The
en les regardant
Inquiring activity ot
* S Ifcié., p. 192.
touching and
some-
de tout
looking
on
-40-
closely at objects which might be soiled with
coupled with the
quently,
excrement,
image of the papers as swans and, c o n s e -
their associative status as nude women,
a metaphorical
re-enactment
of the childhood
moment as it is presented by Freud»
suggests
scopophilic
Roquentin
looks
closely at the papers, as if they were nude women
in the
process of satisfying their excremental n e e d s , in an effort to discover the nature of the female g e n i t a l s .
inquisitive touching
this contention
of the papers further
that Roquentin
sexual research.
with the childhood
substantiates
is mimicking a child
Although his pastime can hardly
termed a "tormenting compulsion,"
its possible
moment seems nonetheless
Moreover, R o q u e n t i n 1 s
papers can be regarded
inquisitive
His
doing
be
connection
evident.
activities with the
in the light of a notion that
is
even more general than that of the sensual / sexual r e searches of children.
Continuing
his discussion of
tile sexuality, Freud introduces the "instinct
infan-
for knowl-
edge or research" r W l s s - £>££X F g T % a c h e r t r i et> ^s
This instinct cannot be counted among the e l e mentary instinctual components, nor can it be
classed as exclusively belonging to sexuality.
Its activity corresponds on the one hand to a
sublimated manner of obtaining mastery, while on
the other hand it makes use of the energy of
scopophilia.46
*6
Xfeld*» P. 194.
-41-
Thus, although sexual curiosity seems to enjoy a somewhat
privileged
there
status in F r e u d 1 s thought,
is also a drive
that can manifest
it is clear
that
to know and understand the world
itself independently of a sexual
con-
text.*7
This drive (the Wisstrieb )« Freud explains as an
attempt
to obtain mastery (of the s u b j e c t ^
environment
and condition, we should
If we return for a moment
instinct
f Greiftriep ]f
own
immediate
assume)*
to the idea of a grasping-
we discover still another
between the verbs palper and regarder.
relation
This urge to grasp
things, we recall, may originate during the period of sensual sucking.
The infant, in an effort to satisfy what
has become a sexual desire for its mother's breast,
a portion of its own body
its d e s i r e .
takes
to replace the absent object
Freud suggests that "in this connection
grasping-instinct
may appear 11 and that the
a
infant's
"rhythmic tugging" of its own bodily parts is part of
same effort
to re-create, with its own body, the
which it formerly enjoyed
at the breast.
to master a situation*
isfaction of nursing, but
Thus, we see
The child wants the
there is no breast
Rather than remaining unsatisfied,
this
pleasure
that both sensual sucking and the grasping-instinct
attempts
of
are
sat-
to suck on*
the child tries to in-
This is not to say that the yj^strieb is totally independent of Schaulust ( for the former finds its "energy"
in the l a t t e r ) , but that the drive to know is indicative of other informing factors, as well, and is thus
not completely subsumed by the notion of scopophilia.
-42vent
a scheme, on his own, to obtain what his
seems to be denying
him.
Now, if the grasping-instinct
manner of obtaining mastery,
between
it and the instinct
are attempts
-rive.
can be construed
then a structural
for knowledge
Furthermore, there is a linguistic
element
the Wjggtrieb»
relation
appears: both
relation
as well.
"to s e i z e , " "to take hold of."
The
meaning "to
grasp,"
But in former times, this
sense of the verb was stretched figuratively to mean
greifep
be-
of F r e u d 1 s neologistic compound noun, ffrei£-
irieb, stems from the verb greifen»
comprehend,"
as a
to master and both are related to the sexual
tween the greiftrieb and
first
environment
"to understand."
is preserved
SJkf a non-separable
"to
This now archaic meaning of
in modern German
in the word
fregrejf-
prefix verb in which echoes of the
grasping, gripping grelfen can be h e a r d . 4 8
Moreover, we
note the slang term Greifer (detective, s l e u t h ) , which
dicates one who grasps in the sense of solving an
in-
investi-
gative puzzle through penetrating acumen and clever understanding.
T h u s , we see that a yjgstrieb is also a
t fl^)greiftrjj^H and that the notion of seizing
something
*ith the hand provides a figurative base for the more ab-
*8
A similar relation exists between the terms fftssep and
erfasgepi n fact, the verb fassen itself can still
mean both "to take hold of" and "to understand."
The
French verbs prendre and comprendre• and the double
sense of the English "to grasp" suggest that this relation between physical grasping and intellectual grasping may be a more or less universal notion.
-43-
stract
notion of seizing something with the
mind.
Roquentin seems to be running a gamut of vernal
with regard to his activities with the papers, and
modes are apparently all related
modes
these
to the more primal act of
taking the breast (if we take Freud's point of view to be
correct)•
Roquentin suppresses his urge to put the
papers
into his mouth (which would be a clear re-enactment
breast-feeding m o m e n t ) f
of
but does pick them up in the first
place (the s**asping-inst i net? )•
Sometimes he examines
them with his hands and eyes with the intention of
ering something about
be
discov-
their nature, an activity which may
considered both as an off-shoot of sensual sucking
attempt
to m a s t e r ) and as a manifestation of the
*or knowledge
the
(an
instinct
(a relative of the g r a s p i n g - i n s t i n c t ) .
Up
until this point, then, Roquentin's activity is, at least
on one level, a multi-faceted
ation
in which something
•other's
is lacking: the milk from
to these findings, we might note
other points of interest.
?
As we have already re-
this verb denotes more than a mere touching;
it conveys the sense of an inquiring tâtonnement
the h a n d s .
Its root
two
First of ail, there is the
etymology of the verb paloer.
er
his
breast.
As an addendum
marked,
endeavor to master a situ-
is in the Latin verï>
oaioare.
rathwith
meaning
to stroke or touch gently" and, in the figurative
sense,
"to coax, flatter or wheedle" f Cassell's New Latin
Djç-
-44-
tionarv*^^eredi
It
is clear that the modern French verb has
somewhat
in meaning from
its Latinate ancestor*
longer does the word carry its connotation of coaxing
flatteringt
nor has it remained immune
velopment of its own.
The inquisitive aspect
French palper was not present
familiar
from semantic
No
and
de-
of the
in the Latin verb f
and
the
uetloer de I * argent ( "to finger money" ) is c e r -
tainly a modern i n n o v a t i o n . 4 9
What
ever, is the relation
the verbs pamper and fiajjii-
l£Xf
palp
with regard
it^r?T
between
is interesting,
to their Latin o r i g i n s .
how-
The Latin
the root of the French palpiter»
was used
both
in the expected sense of "to move quickly, to tremble, to
throb," but also as a frequentative
& Ê E Latin D i c t i o n a r y ) .
of paloare (gftggell!g
Thus, at their origin, the two
French verbs can convey similar n o t i o n s .
" Q u e l q u e f o i s , " as Roquentin
maintains, "je les
palpe," and some of these papers, as we recall, are
P a l p i t a n t s " and
"posés comme des c y g n e s . "
The
Papers want to touch too, and we reminded of
palpitating
Roquentin1s
later remark that the "objets, cela ne devrait
*9
"tout
pas
This second meaning, by the way, points to another
sense of Roquentin's occasional handling of the papers
*ith his h a n d s .
The objects, which are "probablement
salis de m e r d e , " take on a certain value for him due to
his unusual interest in them, and this sense of value,
coupled with Freud's contention that excrement and money are related, suggests that Roquentin "palpe les pap i e r s " like he would "palpe de l f a r g e n t " (he fingers
the papers like he would finger m o n e y ) .
-45-
toucfrer-" 5 0
Part of Roquent in 1 s dilemma,
with regard
to his inability
it seems, both
to pick up a certain piece of
paper and with regard to his uneasy state in general,
to do with the peculiar
to touch back.
way in which objects seem to want
The p a p e r s - a s - s w a n s , "tout
palpitants,"
threaten to "palper Roquentin (simplement I ) , "
and
later,
after reading afeout the rape of Lucienne, Roquentin
comes terrifyingly aware of the metaphorical
swan, which threatens
has
be-
power of the
to engulf the "anti-Jonas," as he
earlier woald have "pour un peu" put the paper swans
into
his mouth»
Finally, there are B a c h e l a r d 1 s remarks on "la c u r i o s ité a g r e s s i v e " to c o n s i d e r .
term which Bachelard
Aggressive curiosity
is the
uses to define "la volonté de regartt-
e
** à !• intérieur des c h o s e s . " 5 1 This visual curiosity
cor-
responds, on the sexual level, to scopophilia and, on the
level, to F r e u d f s wjggtrieb.
intellectual
Bachelard,
vue
According
to
the wish to see the inside of things "rend
perçuntîT
une v i o l e n c e .
la vue pénétrante»
la
Elle fait de la vision
Elle décèle la faille, la fente, la fêlure
Par laquelle on peut violer l £ yecret des choses cac h é e s . "52
T h e
descriptive
8exua
i
language
innuendo that underscores
Bachelard1s
is unmistakable, if not downright
Sartre, l&
tfaysçe, p. 2 3 .
51
Bachelard,
Le, Terre et les rgveries Sliè repogt
52
LkJLsi»,
PP. 7-8.
P*
7.
ex-
-46-
P icit.
"La curiosité agressive" is posited as a kind of
visual rape, a looking which uncovers a fault, a slit, a
crack through which the hidden secret of things can be v i ated.
infa
°
v
°ila
And Bachelard,
«tile
like Freud, presents
a paradigmat-
scene to illustrate his proposition:
"Et
l a curiosité de l»enfant qui détruit son Jouet
a U e r
V o l r
pour
ce qu'il y a d e d a n s . " 5 3
Consequently,
we see that Roquentin's scrutiny of the
pers, at close range, may not be as innocuous as it appears at first g l a n c e .
n
s,
The violent
fate of the papers-as-
as we maintained earlier, can be regarded as a p r e -
curing of the later scene of the newspaper
description
Lucienne's rape and of Roquentin's subsequent
n a t i o n s
(see above, pp. 2 1 - 2 2 ) .
Roquentin's visual exami-
nation of the already "raped" papers —
agressive" —
halluci-
his
"curiosité
not only adds to the violent aspect of the
scription, but also places Roquentin
in the position of
nterested witness to a rape, a heartless voveur
whose
averse pleasure creates a complicity between himself
rapist.
if
we
and
return once again to the scene of the
newspaper description, we note that Poquentin seems to be
^e 11
aware of a personal complicity
ne
'
a
^ t h o u g h there
which would confirm
*-êâi c r i m e .
in the rape of L u c i e n -
is nothing in the journal as a whole
that
he had anything to do with
Roquentin's position with regard
ifeii. , p# 8.
the
to the vio-
-47-
lated Lucienne
account
is that
of an onlooker: he reads the
of the crime on a piece of paper.
the dying paper swan of the earlier
Moreover,
when
scene takes its re-
venge as the m o u n t a i n o u s , watery swan of the later scene
("l'eau se referme
sur moi . • • en montagne de c y g n e » ) ,
Roquentin finds himself identifying with the victim of the
rape, as well as with
strikingly presented
the rapist —
a dual role which is
in the lines: «Je fuis, l'ignoble
dividu a pris la fuite, son corps violé.
cette autre c h a i r qui se glissait
• • . voilà que je . . .
In-
Elle a senti
dans la sienne.
Je
Violée."54
As for Bachelard's scenario of the child who breaks
his toy in order to find out what's inside, we need only
continue
our examination
of Roquentin's various
activities
with his scavenged papers in order to discover similar b e havior on his part.
en les regardant
"Quelquefois je les palpe
simplement
de tout p r è s , " is followed immediately
by
"d'autres fois Je les déchire pour entendre leur long
crépitement,
ou bien, s'ils sont très humides, j'y mets le
*
j-.«. H
feu, ce qui ne va pas sans peine."
Sometimes
Roquentin
w » e "
_ ^
. 1
-„,* t.rtile examination
not content with a mere visual and tacxiut!
is
of
the p a p e r s .
He destroys them either by tearing them or by
setting fire
to them.
Now, it is certainly not
whether Roquentin breaks his "toys" in an effort
quire
54
clear
to in-
into their inner nature, or whether he harbors
Sartre.
hSL N a u s é e y p» 130»
other
-48-
«otives for his rather peculiar behavior.
Bachelard»s
example
However,
remarks on "la curiosité agressive»
given
and his
of the destructive child, and given the juxtaposi-
tion in Roquentin's text of the two inquiring
(the palper and the r e g a r d e r ) with the two
ones (the déchirer and the mettre Is.
activities
destructive
££U ), it is certainly
Possible
that Roquentin's destruction of the papers c o n -
stitutes
a somewhat
bizarre manifestation of an aggressive
SUL&sîxieJa.
According to Roquentin, it is in order to hear
"long crépitement»
that he tears the papers.
their
This enig-
matic wish to hear the papers crackle seems, at first
»n
,
«Tlance, a bit difficult
i-i~
to explain.
However» the
However,
auricu-
lar s a t i s f a c t i o n that Roquentin derives from tearing
the
Papers does seem to fit, in some manner, into at least
two
associative chains of signification, *hich we are able to
explicate.
First
of all, we note that the primary sense of the
verb d l c ^ e x ,
as it is used by Roquentin, corresponds to
the most common
Litlrl:
sense of the word as it is given in the
"Mettre en pièces sans se servir d'un
instrument
tranchant.»
There are two other meanings of dlcJOCfer.,
K^~,
. J + . A l i a i v contaminâting the aphowever. that may be surreptitiously cunt»
, . act.
~+
W P nox«
note that the verb
Parent sense of Roquentin»s
we
can also be used
belles d e n t s , - —
in the sense of «déchirer quelqu'un à
that
is, "en médire
outrageusement"
-4bwttrg.)»
r a t i v e
U C e s
e
°Ut
et
<*e parolep" (emphasis
subsequent
added).
that
As we
treatment
nature of
fig-
intro-
le maltraiter
(see above, p . 2 6 ) , the antithetical
CfrMftgPfit announces the ambivalent
semantic
ramasser
Paragraph: " « ramasser quelqu'uûf 1
e a r l i e r
appears
tearing recalls the
splinter meaning of the verb
t h e
C o u p s
This verbally abrasive
pointed
sense of
Roquentin's
of the papers, and the déchirer
in the latter part of the paragraph echoes
which
this
prefiguring rather closely, at least on the
level
^he secondary figurative meanings of the two verbs
c
w
h slip into the paragraph's apparent
context»
And,
at»© more, this figurative echoing is precisely one of a
leaning which functions on an audible level, for to m i s reat
someone with words and to slander < ^ d i r e ) someone
are both attacks which can only work if they are tiejtCit
°r*
at least, understood
Us
we note a possible
tQ
w
,
Jentendre
—
both rendered by
source for Roquentin's
Secondly,
ique" ( Littr£ *-
as
M
Now, although such a meaning
Ç a me déchire
grande" —
a n
consideration
"Causer une vive douleur
itself on the figurative
sage "déchirer
déchirement").
it is important to take into
ttother sense of déchirer :
SUch
desire
leur long crépitement," a "crépitement"
h i c h results from his tearing them ("son
manifests
entendu >-
level (in an
phy-
generally
expression
le c o e u r " ) , the jittré lists the
une blessure, la rouvrir, la rendre plus
apparent conflation
of the primary and fig-
-50-
urative
meanings of the word*
marks concerning
Recalling Bachelard's
re-
the violence of vision, an aggressive
riosity which "décèle
la faille, la fente, la fêlure
cu-
par
laquelle on peut violer le secret des choses c a c h é e s , "
and, furthermore, recalling the entire allegorical
frame-
work which seems to underlie the paragraph —
is, the
that
Papers as sexual objects which are violently assaulted
we discover
that Roquentin's tearing of the papers
tions as another mode of symbolic
that
rape.
The
func-
tfeçhjreaeot
Roquentin performs can be construed as a tearing of
the hymen of a virginal victim, the rape of a swan
nude,
—
(as
innocent w o m a n ) , an act which, of course, causes a
"vive douleur p h y s i q u e . "
chi r g m Q p-f
iSf
i n
a
senS€f
the already present
Furthermore, this sexual &£.the re-opening of a wound,
for
slit of the vagina is pulled open
and
blood from the ruptured hymen flows from the " w o u n d . " 5 5
this case, the rupture
instrument
In
is performed "sans se servir d•un
tranchant," for the real rape with a "trench-
ant" penis has been replaced by a symbolic rape in which
Roquentin merely tears the papers with his hands.
5
This notion of the vagina as wound is suggested by
Freud when he speaks of an attitude resulting from the
castration complex —
a theory according to which the
female genitals are regarded as a "mutilated organ."
See Sigmund Freud, "On the Sexual Theories of C h i l dren," in liu» Standard Edition, V o l . IX (London: Hogarth, 1 9 5 9 ) , p. 2 1 7 .
-51-
Às far as the "long crépitement" is concerned,
again, we can only understand
of the sound
once
it in the very general
sense
that is emitted by the object being torn.
we refer, however, to the later scene of Roquentin's
tion
to the newspaper description
If
reac-
of the rape of Lucienne,
we discover that such a general consideration of the
"crépitement, " as something audible, contains so tue exegetical validity.
Roquentin
leur long crépitement."
cation with the rapist
tears the papers "pour
Later, when Roquentin»s
gives way to a dual
identifi-
identification
with both the rapist and his victiai, we find the
ing: "Un doux désir sanglant
ère, tout doux, derrière
de viol me prend
les oreilles»
entendre
follow-
par d e r r i -
les oreilles
filent
derrière m o i . " 5 6 It is as if Roquentin tlfefiXS. the desire to
rape somewhere behind him, like an echo of the "crépitement" which sounded
pers.
But
the moment of his "rape" of the pa-
it is also as if Roquentin is fteing naj^eji, from
behind, & £ the ears that race behind him.
For
Roquentin,
the paper-tearer, the ears become an erotogenic
Later, it is the ears which punish him in his
ry reversal of the rape
crépitement.
hallucinato-
situation.
But we have been overlooking
the term
zone.
the specific sense of
and a glance at the Li*tre
something that is a bit peculiar.
reveals
The entry for crépite-
BlÊUi reads: "Action de crépiter, de produire une crépita-
Sartre, La. Nausée»
p. 130.
-52-
tion."
Cross-referencing,
we see that crépitpr
denotes:
"Faire un bruit comme de pétillement," the verb having
origin
in the Latin crepi t a r e .
meaning "to creaky
k&tJLû Dictionary ).
ered
a frequentative
of creparg
rattle, rustle, crack" ( C a s s e l U a
So far not so good —
we have
little more than a general crackling.
its
But
New
discov-
creoite-
DHÊal is actually a bit more specific, for a crepitation
* "bruit réitéré d'une
flamme qui pétille, ou de certains
sels projetés sur le feu" ( ^ i t t r é ) •
the paradigmatic
is
Thus, it seems that
sense of the noun çrfPfttement refers
the sound produced by a crackling
flame»
The
to
crépitement
of the papers being torn, therefore, resembles that of the
papers being burned
and, in fact, seems to announce
forthcoming activity.
papers "pour entendre
What's more, if Roquentin
tears
of the two means of destruction —
results
the tearing and the
Perhaps the tearing is a mere kindling of the
more explosive situation which results when he lights
P a p e r s : a sort
of fiery
Isn f t
the only papers he sets on fire are precisely
*hich are water-soaked
surprising
discarded
("très humides")?
it odd
those
It is hardly
that such an endeavor "ne va pas sans peine."
*hy does he engage
consists
the
foreplay.
and what about R o q u e n t i n 1 s use of fire?
that
the
leur long crépitement," perhaps it
is because of the auditory similarity between the
burning.
this
in such a difficult
enterprise
which
in both drying up and then destroying a damp,
object?
-53-
The idea of fighting water with fire rings false*
is a reversal
of the commonly
accepted (and
It
scientifically
l o g i c a l ) practice of fighting fire with water, a technique
whose
inversion
sition.
leaves us with an apparently absurd
But we must not hasten to write off
eccentric habit
as patently absurd*
propo-
Roqruentin's
Its absurdity
only be manifest, for, as Freud points out, such
may
reversals
and shifting of terms are hardly foreign to dreams and to
those psychological
activities which akin to the dream
mode (i.e., fantasies, obsessions, and the l i k e ) . 5 7
are
"they foreign
to myths, and here it may be good to cite
* mythic precedent
for Roquentin's
case.
The myth is that of Heracles and the Lernaean
The latter was a monstrous creature —
dragon —
Nor
hydra.
a kind of w a t e r -
with several heads, one of which was said to be
immortal.
Heracles fought the hydra with his sword,
cut-
ting off its heads one by one, but was unable to overcome
the creature, since the hydra simply regenerated each of
its severed
heads.
It was only by getting iixfc to the
head that was believed
to be immortal
that Heracles
ceeded in vanquishing his threatening adversary.
the creature of water is subdued by fire.
this myth
Freud
in conjunction with another Greek tale:
suc-
Thus,
cites
the
legend of Prometheus, who stole fire from the gods in or-
57
0
See, for example, the section devoted to absurd dreams
in Freud's Interpretation of preams (New York: Avon,
196S), p p # 461-481.
-54-
àer
to brins it down
to earth for the benefit of man»
There is more than a thematic
myths, for f
as Freud notes f
relation between the two
it was Heracles who
Prometheus from his punishment
rescued
of being chained to a
boulder while a vulture constantly pecked away at his
liv-
er*
The Prometheus legend and the myth of the Lernaean
hydra are discussed
and Control of Fire. 1 '
acquisition
M
in one of F r e u d 1 s later essays, "The
Freud maintains
i n order to gain control over fire»
the homosexually-tinged
of urine."58
Is subject
men had to renounce
desire to put it out with a stream
Whether this presupposition
to debate.
that
is valid or not
Nonetheless, the ensuing
analysis
of the Prometheus myth provides some interesting and,
haos, important
considerations with regard to the
tion of fire and water and their symbolic relation
aspects of human sexuality.
a
lengthy digression,
"the fundamental
per-
interacto
At the risk of entering
into
it may be worth our while to examine
elements of Freud 1 s analysis of the two
myths, for the bizarre nature of £oquentin f s
interest
in water-soaked
extended
and carefully
pyromaniacal
papers will require a somewhat
considered
exegesis»
Sigmund Freud, "The Acquisition and Control of F i r e , "
in The Standard Edition» V o l . XXIII (London: Hogarth,
1 9 6 4 ) , p. 187.
-55-
Freud's h y p o t h e s i s concerning man's overcoming
desire to urinate on flames can be confirmed,
through
an interpretation
the myth,
of the Prometheus
there are three elements
draw Freud's
transported
the fire,
says
in which
Prometheus
the character of his act (an
of his p u n i s h m e n t . " 5 9
It seems unusual, first
Prometheus
the pilfered
transports
The " f e n n e l - s t a l k "
r e s e n t a t i o n of
expect
to find urine —
of all, that
flames in a hollow
is an obvious paradigmatic
a means of quenching f i r e .
if "we remember
is so common
rep-
would
But
the procedure of r e -
v e r s a l , of t u r n i n g into the o p p o s i t e , of inverting
t i o n s h i p s , which
out-
meaning
the h e r o ' s own p e n i s , in which one
Freud points out that
In
which
rage, a theft, a d e f r a u d i n g of the g o d s ) and the
stick.
Freud,
legend*
in particular
attention: "the manner
the
rela-
in dreams and which so
often
c o n c e a l s their meaning from u s , " then such a contradiction
is quite u n d e r s t a n d a b l e . 6 0
note
that
Secondly,
t h r o u g h this theft, Prometheus steals
from the gods and this defrauding,
can be seen
•
f
as a crime against
is r e n o u n c e d . " 6 1
ture of P r o m e t h e u s 1
5ç
Xfcip:* f P . 1 8 8 .
61
lh±d.,
p. 189.
punishment
terms,
"the id
when the quenching
T h i r d l y , Freud remarks
to
something
in analytical
the instincts:
• • is the god who is defrauded
ire
it is important
that
betrays another
of
the na-
inversion,
-56-
or r e v e r s a l .
The liver w a s , in ancient
the corporeal
source of passion
punishment,
than
times, regarded
and d e s i r e .
then, for a perpetrator
of a crime of
to have his Liver consumed relentlessly
pecker?i
consists
Of c o u r s e , according
in precisely
renunciation
better
passion
by a hungry
to Freud, Prometheus 1
the opposite —
of an i n s t i n c t .
What
crime
his is a crime
Why, then, the
as
of
reversal?
W e l l , if, through all its distortions, it [the
Prometheus l e g e n d ] barely allows us to get a
glimpse of the fact that the acquisition of control over fire p r e s u p p o s e s an instinctual renunciation, at least it makes no secret of the r e sentment which the culture-hero could not fail
to arouse in men driven by their instincts.
And
this is in accordance with what we know and expect.
We know that a demand for a renunciation
of instinct, and the enforcement of that demand,
call out h o s t i l i t y and a g g r e s s i v e n e s s , which is
only t r a n s f o r m e d into a sense of guilt in a later phase of psychical d e v e l o p m e n t . 6 2
Freud
goes on to observe that the heat generated by a
fire recalls the s e n s a t i o n one feels when in a state of
sexual e x c i t a t i o n ; m o r e o v e r , the shape and movement
flames s u g g e s t s
"a p h a l l u s in activity."
of
the
Freud c o n c l u d e s :
One of the p r e s u p p o s i t i o n s on which we based our
account of the myth of the acquisition of fire
w a s , indeed, that to primal man the attempt to
q u e n c h fire with his own water had the meaning
of a p l e a s u r a b l e struggle with another p h a l lus.63
T h u s , the instinct
w h i c h is renounced
and control of fire is a homosexual
62
UkLé*f
63
UllsL*
PP*
t P-
189-190.
190.
in man's
one*
acquisition
-57-
It is important
Freud's
sult
argument*
of what
pothesis
myth.
for»
in fact, his conclusion
inconceivable
our
Prometheus
Freud m a i n t a i n s that the "god who is defrauded
forking»
of i n t e r p r e t a t i o n ,
help but notice the
of a quite common analogy —
Freud's own t e r m i n o l o g y ,
we miçht
agree that
if primitive
fire, then to him
with another p h a l l u s . "
way not n e c e s s a r i l y have been
This
Couldn't
appropriation
we also theorize
struggle
motivat-
that for Prometheus,
of those
of his fellow men, and the
flames in his own phallus,
represent
s
"wa-
rights?
*ith the i n t r o d u c t i o n of the tale of the hydra
hi
the
subsequent
a power s t r u g g l e b e t w e e n father and son for certain
tering"
as
of the flames of the gods for his own use
and for the benefit
concealment
"the
meaning
"pleasurable," however,
Freud m a i n t a i n s , even though it was instinctually
ed.
Using
an instinctual urge to ur-
in o r d e r to control
struggle
realm
omission
to q u e n c h fire with h i s own water had the
of a . . .
when
life
that of god as father.
indeed have to overcome
inate on flames
is instinctual
however, in this symbolic
we cannot
re-
and may indeed be valid*
is drawn to the second element of the
itself: the id.
attempt
is the
hy-
the q u e n c h i n g of fire is renounced"
man did
of
although F r e u d 1 s
may be s l e i g h t - o f - h a n d .
is not
attention
to note the slippery nature
text, and with a c o n c l u d i n g comment
tionship b e t w e e n
the urinary
about the
into
rela-
and sexual functions of the
-58-
F r e u d 1 s analysis points the way to an
penis»
elaboration
of this alternative
reading: of the Prometheus myth
we are s u g g e s t i n g .
This reading runs roughly as f o l l o w s .
What
Prometheus
stole from the gods was fire —
typal r e p r e s e n t a t i o n
of the phallus*
in a hollow stick —
h i s own penis*
ished for his t r a n s g r e s s i o n
Zeus»
in p a r t i c u l a r —
bjr h a v i n g his liver»
bird of prey*
for subsequent
pun-
the gods (and
the
against
Father)
eaten away by a
and it could then be utilized
in spite of the gods*
of stolen property,
man must be on the
t h r e a t s to his phallic fire»
a kind of symbolic
pilfered
Prometheus was
Prometheus had managed to
m o r t a l s for their own benefit»
in possession
stored
the Seat of Passions»
to e a r t h
an arche-
This fire he
the giver of the law»
Nonetheless»
bring fire down
against
which
castration
in the form of
the
that the myth of the Lernaean
hy-
a myth that»
"seems to correspond
to a reaction
according to Freud»
of a later epoch of
c i v i l i z a t i o n [ i . e . , p o s t - P r o m e t h e a n ] to the events of
a c q u i s i t i o n of power over f i r e . " 6 4 The hydra»
"countless
whelming»
f l i c k e r i n g s e r p e n t 1 s heads» ff displays an overphallic status*
the water»
Xfeié.t
the
having
At the same time»
the monster
being a crea-
is a castrating figure»
it has the p o w e r to e x t i n g u i s h fire (the p h a l l u s ) *
64
alert
by the original owner of
dra c o m e s into play»
of
Now
flames*
It is at this point
ture
by
p. 1 9 2 .
for
In a
-59way T
then?
we may regard
the presence of the hydra as the
revenge of the gods, who threaten
to douse the very
which has been stolen from
The threat
h o w e v e r , and the monster
them*
is overcome,
is subdued through an
of the normal e x t i n g u i s h i n g
fire
inversion
capacity of water over
fire:
Heracles wields his phallic fire, more powerful than
sword, and e l i m i n a t e s his watery threat.
Bachelard,
we shall term
c o m i n g of water by fire
Finally,
we note
er of Prometheus
In the style of
such manifestations of the overthe hvdra
complex»
that "Heracles was also the
and slew the bird which devoured
[Prometheus1] liver."65
the
T h u s , Prometheus
deliverhis
is freed from
the
duty of e x p i a t i n g his crime through the strength of Heracles and of those others who now have the power of fire
under c o n t r o l .
It is evidently this pardoning of Prome-
theus which c o n s t i t u t e s the fundamental "reaction of a
later epoch of c i v i l i z a t i o n
tion
to the events of the
of power over f i r e , " the result of a growing
of guilt"
for his earlier punishment
of Prometheus.
Now, a l t h o u g h Freud posits a homosexual
other
is renounced
instinctual
the theft
Ibiot.
instinct
in man's acquisition of fire,
renunciation
seems more likely.
of fire by P r o m e t h e u s can be connected
o v e r c o m i n g of the desire
65
"sense
(as Freud puts i t ) on the part of man, the
myth-maker,
that which
acquisi-
as
an-
For if
with
the
to put out the fire with a stream
-60-
of urine»
regarded
and if this mortal crime against Zeus
as a crime of p a s s i o n , then mustn't
in q u e s t i o n u l t i m a t e l y be sexual
u l t i m a t e l y be one that
is
the
instinct
and the crime in
is forbidden by the
father?
\s F r e u d p o i n t s out in Totem aji<i faboo • the
which d e p i c t s b o t h a c r i m e against
nunciation
of an instinct
question
scenario
the father and the r e -
is that of the primal horde*
a certain m y t h i c a l point in the history of man»
b r o t h e r s r i s e s up and m u r d e r s the father who»
at
a group of
until then,
had e x e r c i s e d
e x c l u s i v e property rights over all the
women
in the c l a n .
But the crime having been perpetrated,
the
b r o t h e r s must renounce
the satisfaction of their
u r g e s , w h i c h they are now free to pursue.
tion of their i n s t i n c t u a l freedom
sexual
This r e s t r i c -
is a result of a certain
i d e n t i f i c a t i o n w h i c h they have come to have with the m u r dered f a t h e r .
Because of this identification, the b r o t h -
e r s : ( 1 ) feel guilty a b o u t their crime and have
qualms
about p o s s e s s i n g their b o o t y , and ( 2 ) realize that
cannot aJJ, take the place of the father and must
they
therefore
devise and o b s e r v e a system of restrictions for their
sex-
ual u r g e s . 6 6
How is it , t h e n , that m a n ' s acquisition and
of fire r e c a l l s the b e h a v i o r of the primal horde?
control
Return-
ing to F r e u d ' s essay on P r o m e t h e u s , u r i n e , and fire, we
note the f o l l o w i n g observation
66
in the article's
concluding
Sigmund F r e u d , Totem Qjxd JafrPP* in IHS. Stftftctarrf B g l liûût V o l . XIII ( L o n d o n : H o g a r t h , 1 9 5 8 ) , PP- 141 f f .
-61-
paragraph:
The sexual organ of the male has two f u n c t i o n s
• • • It serves for the evacuation of the bladder , and it carries out the act of love which
sets the c r a v i n g s of the genital libido at rest*
The child still believes that he can unite the
two functions*
According to a theory of his»
babies are made t>y the man urinating into the
woman's b o d y * 6 7
The structural
tion?
similarity
between
urination
reinforced by the unconscious
childhood
intuition?
renounced
in the acquisition
and
ejacula-
impetus provided by a
i n d i c a t e s that the instinct
l y - t i n g e d desire
to put
but the symbolic
equivalent
which
of fire is not a " h o m o s e x u a l -
it out with a stream of u r i n e , "
of the desire to urinate:
desire to ejaculate*
Man steals the phallus from the
—
and must subsequently
from
the Father —
renounce
s p o i l s of his crime by allowing his own fire to burn
out b e i n g quenched*
Man
fill his desire to murder
is
acquires control of fire
the Father
the
gods
the
with-
because
and the resulting feel-
ings of guilt which are bound up with this w i s h .
Before r e t u r n i n g to Roquentin's text, it may be prop i t i o u s to turn our attention
for a moment to
Bachelard1s
remarks on the P r o m e t h e u s myth, a point of view which
reinforces
and e x t e n d s our own reading of the tale*
Bachelard
"discovered"
finds it difficult
to believe that
fire through a proto-scientific
which the primitive
inventor reasoned
man
process by
that, if two
sticks
or flints were rubbed together for an adequate period
67
Freud,
both
"The A c q u i s i t i o n
and Control
of
of F i r e , " p . 1 8 2 .
-62-
time, a spark would be produced*
it likely that man would have
olent
Nor does Bachelard
attempted
to harness the v i -
b l a z e s of " n a t u r a l " fire (e.g., the fire produced
a tree which has been struck by lightning, or the
ular
flames of an e r u p t i n g v o l c a n o ) in an effort
serve
this p h e n o m e n o n
for his own use»
more likely that p r i m i t i v e man
cording
to Bachelard,
to p r e of
of fire, it is
fled in terror.
No, ac-
the "two stick theory" of m a n 1 s
q u i s i t i o n of fire is the more promising, but not,
for the s c i e n t i f i c r e a s o n s which have often been
est une e x p é r i e n c e
T h u s , the scenario of
postulat-
sitting
stick against
que
sexualisee."68
the primitive man / genius, in the
throes of a u t i l i t a r i a n
mankind,
fortement
ac-
however,
In the w o r d s of B a c h e l a r d : "il faut reconnaître
le frottement
by
spectac-
In the face
these n a t u r a l m a n i f e s t a t i o n s of the element
ed.
think
compulsion
to improve the lot
of
in a field and patiently rubbing one
the other
mi<çht be able to light
in the far-fetched hope that
a spark and consequently
he
acquire
the m e a n s to p r o d u c e , by and for himself, a fire in front
of which to warm himself
cook food and dry
vhat
and his family»
over which to
h i s c l o t h e s , and to put to who
other m a r v e l o u s uses . . •
knows
this scenario of a poor,
but i n d u s t r i o u s n e a n d e r t h a l who was no doubt ridiculed
his fellow
clansmen
*or the one patient
68
and scorned by the clanswomen
and compassionate
G a s t o n Bachelard, La. p - r r h f » ™ l v s e
mard, 1 9 3 8 ) , p . 5 3 .
cavelady who
by
(except
stood
gUi £ Ê U ( P a r i s : G a l l i -
-63-
by him and
must
loved him in spite of his apparent
insanity)
give way to the less ennobling scene of a primitive
man s l i d i n g one stick up and down
other»
lost
in the groove of a n -
in the bliss of a sexual reverie, and
out the m e c h a n i c s of his fantasy
by reproducing the frofr-
£agg
ot
heat
through a friction reminiscent
one body against
ing intercourse
playing
the other»
generating an
of that produced
and, finally, creating a
spark at the c l i m a c t i c conclusion
arousing
dur-
fire-producing
of the frictional
fore-
play.
Man's a c q u i s i t i o n of f i r e , then, is the result
simple
toy and the childish game of reproducing
cally that w h i c h
tice
is lacking
is e s s e n t i a l l y
tension of p r e v i o u s
Bachelard
metaphori-
to him at the time.
The prac-
o n a n i s t i c , although evidently an exsexual experiences with o t h e r s .
c o n c l u d e s : "Prométhée
plutôt q u f u n
of a
philosophe
est un amant
intelligent
dieux est une v e n g e a n c e de
vigoureux
d&s
et la vengeance
jaloux."69
On closer e x a m i n a t i o n of his text, however, we d i s cover that
Bachelard
has altered somewhat
the s t a t u s of Prometheus*
chapter
that
Bachelard
cte P r o m ê t h é e . "
It is, in fact, in his
posits the notion of
It is not uncommon
ter a rather strong prohibition
matches and with
ialement
69
lfobjet
I k U . , p. 54.
fire
d'une
his position on
f,
le complexe
for a child to
against playing
générale
encoun-
with
in general: "Le feu est donc
jnt?rtf* Ç t i o n
initial
d'où
initcette
-64-
conclusion:
l'interdiction
connaissance
générale
sur le feu.
première
Ce qu'on connait
cl • a-
qu'on ne doit pas le t o u c h e r . " 7 0 The
bord du feu c'est
rental
sociale est notre
admonition,
"Don't
touch that firel" then
provides
"Don't
a kind of archetypal s t r u c t u r e for the more general
touch
that!"
gression
threat
In fact,
of any social
as the child gets older, a t r a n s taboo is likely to meet with the
of a s h o r t - or long-range
brimstone):
"Don't
pa-
punishment
t o u c h ( d o ) that4
by fire
(and
You'll be burned
(in
hell)!"
Bachelard
continues:
Dès lors, puisque les inhibitions sont de prime
abord des i n t e r d i c t i o n s sociales, le problème de
la c o n n a i s s a n c e personnelle du feu est le problème de la d é s o b é i s s a n c e aptrojte. L'enfant veut
faire comme son p è r e , loin de son père, et
e
même qu'un petit Proroéthée, il dérobe des allumettes.
Il court alors dans les champs et, au
eux
d'un
ravin, aidé de ses compagnons, il
cr
nde
le
foyer
fonde le foyer de l'école buissonniereThis strategy
of a " c l e v e r d i s o b e d i e n c e " of the
law in an effort
father's
to achieve a personal knowledge of that
which the father f o r b i d s , this desire to "faire comme
p é r e , " is what B a c h e l a r d
Umost
immediately,
not to jump
io:
complexe
h o w e v e r , Bachelard warns his
reader
70
Ifrjd., p . 2 8 .
71
l&ld.»
29.
scenar
d'ailleurs pas se hater de confondre
de Prométhée
P-
terms the Erfrtnethettg ç^aelÊ*.
too q u i c k l y to a sexual reading of his
"Il ne faut
son
ce
et le complexe d'Oedipe de la psy-
-65-
chanalyse c l a s s i q u e . " 7 2
he will
undertake
Bachelard
an examination
assures the reader
of the sexuality
in a later c h a p t e r (the o n e , apparently»
cusses nan's acquisition
that
of fire
in which he
of f i r e ) , but he is* at
dis-
this
point, careful to maintain that the Prometheus legend
fundamentally
a myth of man's "volonté
is
d'intellectualité":
Nous p r o p o s o n s donc de ranger sous le nom de
complexe de Prométhée toutes les tendances qui
nous poussent à savoir autant que nos^peres,
plus que nos pères, autant que nos maitres, plus
que nos m a î t r e s • . . Si l•intellectualité pure
est e x c e p t i o n n e l l e , elle n'en est pas moins très
caractéristique d'une évolution spécifiquement
humaine*
Le complexe de Prométhée est le complexe d'Oedipe de la vie i n t e l l e c t u a l e . 7 3
Thus, B a c h e l a r d
his scenario
leaves unexposed
of the "little
the sexual undertones of
P r o m e t h e u s , " in which the
child s t e a l s what his father has forbidden him to touch,
takes it to the hollow
of a valley and, presumably,
w i t h it ("aidé de ses c o m p a g n o n s " ) , while he plays
from his formal education
school
in order
plays
hooky
to establish a private
"in the b u s h e s " where he pursues another kind
knowledge —
that of fire
Bachelard's
. . •
conflation
«^d of
of
sexuality
of the sexual drive and the
"volonté d ' i n t e l l e c t u a l i t é " (the g j s p t r j e b ) under the rubric
of the "complexe
we d i s c o v e r e d
ship between
earlier,
sexual
72
Ifrid., pp. 29-30,
73
Xki^t
PP. 30-31.
de P r o m é t h é e " is not surprising.
there seems to be a clear
curiosity
on the part of the
As
relationchild,
-66-
the g r a s p i n g - i n s t i n c t ,
common
denominator
and intellectual curiosity.
The
of these three modes of inquiry ( e x a m i -
nation through the e y e s , examination with the hands,
examination
attempts
that
by the m i n d ) is their shared context
at mastery of a situation.
Bachelard1s
picting
second Promethean
primitive man playing
scenario —
experience
The
are lacking to him at the
w h i c h he can pacify h i m s e l f : an adult
is an analagon
desire.
très h u m i d e s , J'y
va pas sans peine.»
text
The
It is a phallus.
«ets le feu, ce qui ne
with a re-stocked arsenal
we
of
Those papers that will not emit a
"long c r é p i t e m e n t " when torn —
"très h u m i d e s " —
The fire he
Ending our circuitous digression,
return to R o q u e n t i n ' s
analytic m a t e r i a l .
toy.
item with
of the fire in his loins.
flame, for him, s i g n i f i e s sexual
"S'ils sont
caveman
repeating
T h u s , he invents a kind of sexual novelty
produces
—
g|ftftpnoric&Hy»
b e c a u s e (we might p r e s u m e ) the conditions of
time.
the one de-
with a pair of sticks
a sexual experience
l i t e r a l l y the sexual
of being
Furthermore, we note
also suggests a desire to master a situation.
wishes to reproduce
and
that is, those which
are set afire by Roquentin, "ce qui
va pas sans p e i n e . "
Roquentin
gy s c r a p s that do not
struggles to light
tear properly (in
an
the
are
ne
sog-
auditory
sense).
We are reminded
of H e r a c l e s ' struggle with the
Lernaean
h y d r a , in which
the cutting power of the sword
had to be replaced
with the burning power of a flame be-
-67-
fore
the watery creature
"hydra c o m p l e x "
his Promethean
indicates an aggressive emancipation
urges from
dousing (we recall
the threat of a fizzling*
that it was Heracles who freed
theus from his punishment )•
p a p e r s pose for Rogaentin,
But what threat
the
ends.
as q u i v e r i n g ,
is re-enacting a
medium of the
metaphorical
As we have discovered,
icy swans are
rape.
the objects of
s a n c t i t y of the wet
the
Now Roquentin
papers.
font
dirty,
discarded
"Don't
traces
pyromania.
up
encourage-
This behavior, as we
(see a b o v e , p . 1 5 ) , is in violation
warning:
flame
structural
likes to pick
o b j e c t s which, with a little
ment, he would bring to his mouth.
the parental
subsequent
Furthermore, we detect
les e n f a n t s , " Roquentin
remarked earlier
papers
is sparking a hot
"petit P r o m é t h é e " in Roquentin's
"Comme
that
Roquentinfs
to heat and eventually violate the
of B a c h e l a r d ' s
is
of R o q u e n t i n 1 s description of his a c t i v i -
d e s i r e s , p a l p i n g , s c o p o p h i l i c scrutiny and
with which
primi-
Such an interpretation, moreover,
ties with the p a p e r s .
oral
with
with our reading of the sexual undertones
pervade the rest
wet
is play with fire.
through the metaphorical
flaming m a t c h e s .
consistent
do these
Like B a c h e l a r d 1 s
tive man with the two s t i c k s , Roquentin
sexual s i t u a t i o n
watery
Prome-
towards the papers and his activities
them serve no u t i l i t a r i a n
of
Promethean?
What Roquentin d o e s , essentially»
His attitude
Roquentin1s
could be subdued»
touch / play with thatl
of
You
-6 8-
don't know where
it's b e e n i "
child's c u r i o s i t y
Bachelard suggests that
about fire provides the basis for future
curiosity which will also meet with a threatening
ition: "Don't
the
touch / play with thatl
T h u s , Roquent in is re-enacting
prohib-
You'll be b u r n e d l "
the childhood scenario of
the little P r o m e t h e u s who steals fire from the father
order
to examine
and question
its nature, and
play w i t h it, "aidé de ses c o m p a g n o n s . "
parental
matches
p r o h i b i t i o n s concerning
subsequently
In spite of the
dirty scraps of paper
(and o n e 1 s own sexual o r g a n ) , Roquentin will
dle these o b j e c t s n o n e t h e l e s s , for his paper-picking
is a m a n i f e s t a t i o n
ual c u r i o s i t y ,
complexe
and
hanhabit
of both a general curiosity and a sex-
as w e l l .
d'Oedipe
in
"Le complexe
de Prométhee est
le
de la vie intellectuale," as Bachelard
maintains.
But R o q u e n t i n ' s
cerning
of the prohibition
the t o u c h i n g of dirty things and his playing
matches —
incidents.
R o q u e n t i n sets fire
with
They are interrelated,
are
because
to the thing which is forbidden (if it
They are, in fact,
interrelated
in a s t r u c t u r a l -
iy s i m i l a r m a n n e r to the way in which the Prometheus
and the story of the h y d r a are related.
We recall
the myth of the Lernaean hydra is a tale in which
emancipating
ture
con-
the v i o l a t i o n of another childhood taboo
not isolated
is w e t ) .
transgression
that
the
hero, H e r a c l e s , combats and subdues the
which embodies
the gods' retaliation
myth
crea-
for the crime of
-69-
Prometheus.
And what might this retaliation be, in g e n e r -
al, for the subject
who t o u c h e s
who manifests
a Prometheus
complex,
that thing which is forbidden him, who steals
the phallus from the father?
Castration,
children
ment
of course*
As Freud points out, male
are often threatened with this horrifying
i-f they do not renounce the urge to
punish-
touch and play
with their p e n i s e s , their "fire," as it were —
their
phallus:
The effect of this "threat of castration 1 is
p r o p o r t i o n a t e to the value set upon that organ
and is quite e x t r a o r d i n a r i l y d^ep and p e r s i s tent.
Legends and myths testify to the upheaval
in the c h i l d 1 s emotional life and to the horror
which is linked to the castration complex
a
complex w h i c h is subsequently remembered by cons c i o u s n e s s with c o r r e s p o n d i n g reluctance.
For this reason,
the male child will often refuse to admit
the total absence of a penis in the female
maintaining
that
genitalia,
that the little girl does have a penis, but
it is "still quite s m a l l . " 7 5 But regardless of this
comforting theory,
their c o n s p i c u o u s l y
the sight of the female genitals and
absent penis still constitutes a ter-
r i f y i n g r e m i n d e r that what the little boy has to play
with
can be taken away if he is not g o o d . 7 6
7
*
Freud,
"On the Sexual Theories of Children," p . 2 1 7 .
75
LhisL* f P* 2 1 6 .
76
F r e u d d e a l s e x t e n s i v e l y w i t h c a s t r a t i o n i n two c a s e
h i s t o r i e s , in p a r t i c u l a r .
S e e t h e " A n a l y s i s o f a Phob i a i n a F i v e - y e a r - O l d B o y , " i n Ifcfc g t a n ç t a r g EtfitiSLEt
V o l . X ( L o n d o n : H o g a r t h , 1 9 5 3 ) , PP* 3 - 1 4 9 , a s w e l l a s
"From t h e H i s t o r y o f an I n f a n t i l e N e u r o s i s , " i n Xfce.
-70-
But what
is there
specifically
hydra which suggests that
of c a s t r a t i o n ?
the threat
On a simple
of fire with
in question
level, we might
the hydra, being a creature of
wielder
in the image of the
is that
propose
the water, menaces
its extinguishing power.
water onto a f l a m e , the flame disappears;
that
the
If we
throw
metaphorically
speaking, if we throw water onto the flame as phallus, the
phallus d i s a p p e a r s .
Such an analysis, however,
although
it explains the nature of the threat, does not explain
it is that a watery threat can be overcome by fire.
is it that w a t e r
is "doused" by H e r a c l e s 1
in an effort
apparent
that
to n e u t r a l i z e
separated
an o b v i o u s structural
the paralyzing effects of the
from its t>ody
In this short
and that there
similarity between decapitation
T h u s , the sight
the female genitals
of the Medusa's head
B e r e
appearance
of c a s t r a t i o n .
its
reminds the onlooker of the
The meaning of the Medusa's head is
Stantfartf E d i t i o n . V o l . XVII (London: Hogarth,
PV>* 3 - 1 2 4 .
77
and
and their apparently missing penis;
the M e d u s a ' s head is horrifying because
threat
is
recalls
consequently,
Physical
—
r e m a r k s , first of all, that the head of the
M e d u s a has been
castration.77
another
concerning the Medusa's head
absurdity of the hydra complex.
essay, Freud
How
fire?
At this point, it will be helpful to recall
study of Freud's —
how
1955),
Sigmund Freud, "Medusa's Head," in Xh£- StftntfftTrf £ £ 1 "
Ï-Umf
V o l . XVIII ( L o n d o n : Hogarth, 1 9 5 5 ) , PV
273-274,
-71-
complicated,
represented
however, by the hair»
which is usually
in the form of snakes*
If we take the head
be a figuration of the female genitals, then the
hair will be regarded
Freud to an i n t e r p r e t a t i o n
absence
Medusa's
as pubic and surrounding the
which is marked by the absent p e n i s .
in the vaginal
to
area
But the snakes
lead
that denotes both presence
and
symbol:
It is a remarkable fact that, however frightening they [the s n a k e s ] may be in themselves, they
n e v e r t h e l e s s serve actually as a mitigation of
the horror, for they replace the penis, the absence of which is the cause of the horror.
This
is a c o n f i r m a t i o n of the technical rule according to w h i c h a multiplication of penis symbols
signifies c a s t r a t i o n . 7 8
F u r t h e r m o r e , what
is to be feared,
the M e d u s a ' s head is its capacity
upon
it to s t o n e .
Phallic
to turn whoever
a^ain, Freud notes the
The myth,
is threatened
genitalia.
looks
reassuring
then, is a tale in which a subject
with castration
The
threat
at the sight of the
"stands u p " to the threat
There
is a strong
resemblance
M e d u s a and the L e r n a e a n h y d r a .
through a proliferation
The Medusa's
the h y d r a ' s watery environment
ikii-t
79
XtLU-
P*
273.
stiffening.
between the head of the
state and its hairy appearance suggest
78
female
is countered, however, when the
of p h a l l u s e s , as well a s through his own
tals;
to
imagery of the myth, for "becoming stiff means an
erection.»79
subject
Once
literally, in regard
decapitated
the female
geni-
and consequent
threat
-72-
to the p h a l l u s as fire make this monster a creature of
vasçina.
The Medusa's
hair»
as snakes, mitigates the
ror of the observer by displaying
es at what
the
ter-
itself as so many p e n i s -
is precisely the locus of the phallic
absence;
the hydra's " c o u n t l e s s , flickering serpent's h e a d s " serve
the same function*
In turning to stone, the
stands up to the Medusa;
lic
image —
in wielding fire —
Heracles overcomes the threat
R o q u e n t i n ' s hydra complex
surance
against
the threat
little resemblance
like
observer
another
of the
phal-
hydra.
is, thus, a means of r e a s -
of castration.
The papers
bear
to a h y d r a , nor do they appear at all
a Medusa, but they are wet, they probably emit a
musty odor b e c a u s e of their indefinite period of soggy d e cay against
the earth and, what's more, they represent
wo-
men w h o s e g e n i t a l i a are exposed (i#e., the papers as
swans / as b a i g n e W f f h
constitute a v a g i n a l
In other words, the wet
image, rather than a phallic
scraps
one.
Unlike the hydra and the Medusa, however, there seems to
be no d e t e c t a b l e
multiplication
of phallic images a s s o c i -
ated w i t h the p a p e r s , which would serve to create an affective
ambivalence
with regard to the object and, thus,
neutralize its threat.
Roquentin's only defense seems to
be the flame w i t h which he lights the objects of his scavenging urges.
We might
add one last observation
m e n a c e of c a s t r a t i o n ,
concerning
this
which the papers seem to pose.
Ear-
-73-
that R o q u e n t i n 1 s
lier we concluded
close visual
tion of the scraps r e c a l l s the prototypical
pophilic
examina-
childhood
moment: the youngister sneaking a peak at a member
of the opposite sex who i s urinating or defecating
aboveY
sco-
pp. 3 9 — 4 0 ) .
/ nude women,
The p a p e r s 1
(see
occasional status as
swans
in addition to the probability that some of
the papers are soiled with piss or shit f
suggested such a
hypothesis.
interested
Now, if in fact Foquentin's
scru-
tiny of these objects recreates this instance of s c o p o p h i lia, then it
is likely that a fear of castration
arise as w e l l , for if Roquentin
childhood
sexual
and foremost
a penis.
inquiry,
about
is mimicking this form of
then what he must discover
first
the nude woman • s body is the absence
of
He s t r i k e s the match in self-defense.
••Puis j'essuie
mes paumes remplies de boue a un mur
où à un tronc d ' a r b r e . "
Roqueotin's
that
will
There is nothing unusual
final act.
After handling the dirty
are the o b j e c t s of his eccentric pastime,
about
scraps
Roquentin
wipes off his hands before turning his attention back to
more mundane a c t i v i t i e s .
a b o v e , footnote
chooses
15, pp.
As we remarked earlier
8 - 9 ) , the fact that he
"un tronc d ' a r b r e " against
that
Roquentin
these o b j e c t s almost
marrons")
his description, only to
immediately
in his text.
palms
structure,
is with chestnuts ("les
commences
sometimes
which to wipe his
provides the p a r a g r a p h with a certain spiral
b e c a u s e , we r e c a l l , it
(see
The
abandon
tree
-74that appears at the end of the paragraph, then, could very
well be a chestnut tree, if we assume that Poquentin
stalks chestnuts in the same area where he picks up papers* 8 0
The meaning of the wiping, itself, seems rather
straight-forward, although there is at least one flickering connotation which shadows the verb's primary sense,
given the specific context of "j'essuie mes paumes."
The
Littré furnishes us with the following entries for e_s_aiiy.ex:
1.
oter l'eau, l'humidité, etc. en frottant
2.
sécher, en parlant de l'action du soleil, du vent
3.
oter une tache, un enduit
4.
subir, supporter, souffrir
Roquentin's palms are "remplies de boue" and it is ostensibly for this reason that he is wiping them: a conflation
of the first and third meanings in the LittC&«
But
act of cleaning one's hands is reminiscent of Pilate's
washing of the hands —
a scene so mythically important
that its sense survives even today in both the French and
English expressions:
80
"se laver les mains de quelque
The "mur," as well, seems to have some s i « ° ^ c " ^ ;
but its interest lies outside the frame of • » ' £ • • • » *
considerations. We might remark in passing, however,
that a wall — like the chestnut tree in Là tL&ttS&e.
is destined to play a primary role in the ^ * e r a r ^
world of the novelist, Sartre, as both the title of a
short story and the name of the collection of tales in
Y+ A «= against these objects
which the story appears. It is aïttiI
...... rfi^tv
that Sartre's heroes will attempt to clean "their dirty
hands" ("leurs mains sales") of existential guilt.
-75-
c h o s e , " "to wash one's hands of something»"
Roquentin
re-
moves his spots of mud, the marks of sin on his h a n d s ,
for,
if our u n d e r s t a n d i n g
rect, he cannot
with regard
help but
of his pastime
experience some feeling of guilt
to his handling of the papers.
seen, R o q u e n t i n 1 s description
metaphoric
is at all cor-
prefiguring
journalistic
account
of his habit
As we have
functions as a
of the scene in which he reads
the
of the rape of little Lucienne, a m o -
ment
at w h i c h he is seemingly punished by the same swan he
used
to covet
as a d i s c a r d e d scrap.
tin is r e - e n a c t i n g
prohibition,
a childhood
a breaking
Furthermore,
transgression of a parental
of the Father's law, and a c o r r e -
s p o n d i n g sense of guilt must manifest
fourth d e f i n i t i o n
frir" —
ended form.
being
of essuyer —
echoes through
Roquentin
itself.
Thus, the
"subir, supporter,
Roquentin1s
souf-
text, but in an u p -
suffers a guilt which sullies his
in much the same way that the mud dirties his h a n d s .
In c l e a n i n g his hands ("en
tempts to unburden
("la
Roquen-
culpabilité
meanings
s'essuyant
himself of the guilt which he suffers
qu'il essuie")t
but, as the series of
of the verb s u g g e s t s , the cleaning and the suf-
fering may not be completely
whether
les m a i n s " ) , he at-
separable and we
wonder
R o q u e n t i n ' s c o n t r i t i o n may not resurface
in his j o u r n a l .
As we shall see, it d o e s .
elsewhere
-76-
We have now completed
tion
the first stage of our
examina-
of R o q u e n t i n « s eccentric behavior with dirty
of paper*
This seemingly marginal
moment
in
scraps
Roquentin's
two hundred pages of journal writing is quite rich in analytical material
puzzle
and provides a productive clue to the
which is the writer's psycho-ontological
dilemma.
We have u n d e r t a k e n a kind of "psychanalyse des c h o s e s , "
drawing more or less on Freudian theory to expose what
b e the p s y c h o l o g i c a l
u n d e r c u r r e n t s of Roquent i n 1 s
may
actions.
The papers are marked with mud, shit, and perhaps urine.
They suggest both poetry and rape, and they are, for Roquentin,
toys to be played with.
fants," Roquentin
"Comme
font les en-
is trying to master a world of situ-
ations which are somehow
his u n d e r s t a n d i n g .
just out of reach of his grasp,
Picking up the papers, he can hold the
world in his h a n d s , feel it out, gaze at it, and even deBut the dirty
s t r o y it.
papers are, of course, nothing
more than a c h i l d i s h substitute for that which is only
real
and which is l a c k i n g .
to-have-not
that R o q u e n t i n
In order to classify
Plays
in R o q u e n t i n ' s
struggle
It is * game of to-have
too
and
is playing»
the role which the paper
personality
with a real, contingent
game
as a whole and in his
world over which he is
losing c o n t r o l , we shall need to take a glance at the phenomenological
its relation
facet
of
"existential
to the Freudian
psychoanalysis" and
point of view which has, so
-77-
far, been so enlightening*
theoretical
stances —
An intermingling
Freud's and Sartre's —
vide us with a kind of psychoanalytic
to re-examine
Roquentin's
unusual
of the two
will p r o -
ontology with
practice of
which
handling
discarded p a p e r s , as well as the second moment of his des c r i p t i o n : his inability to pick up a particular scrap of
paper —
pa?e
a fragment
of a written
which r e - a n n o u n c e s
the fate of the w r i t e r .
ing and
desire*
text, a weather-beaten
the theme of the swan / poet
We turn now to
and
the problem of b e -
Chapter
II
TO KAVE AND TO BE
Although
the actual
Roquentin1s
collection
g l e a n s from 3 o u v i i l e * s
scavenging does not result
and storage of the detritus he
streets and parks, the
diarist's
for dirty paper can be regarded
peculiar penchant
in
nonethe-
less as a kind of a p p r o p r i a t i o n , or at least an attempt
one.
The scraps
are t h u s , in a sense, the objects of Ro-
q u e n t i n ' s d e s i r e , objects to be possessed.
t i o n s , as well
The
ramifica-
as the very validity of this hypothesis,
are not readily apparent.
It is clear that, in closing
his hand over the object, Roquentin
real
appropriation
is mimicking a corpo-
of the thing he is holding —
that is,
although he is not actually incorporating the object,
is at least m a k i n g a gesture along those lines hy
the object i n £ £ the hollow of his hand.
object,
the
encourage-
be a more effective and true means for Roquen-
tin to a p p r o p r i a t e
however,
he
taking
Swallowing
an act he might perform with a little
ment, would
at
the p a p e r s .
It is not at all clear,
how R o q u e n t i n 1 s mere handling of the objects, his
gazing at them,
and, finally, his destroying them can be
c o n s t r u e d as acts of attempted
cifically,
appropriation, or more spe-
as gestures that mimic corporeal
-78-
appropriation.
-79-
Moreover,
the general
sense of the notion of
the taking or using
not seem
to apply
nal w a y .
except
does
in a rather margi-
it is true that Roquentin
o b j e c t s , his attitude
propriétaire
of an object as one's own —
in this case f
Although
appropriation
••uses" the
towards them is hardly one that a
takes t o w a r d s his property»
ready pointed out, Roquentin
As we have al-
is not a collector.
then, is this idea of appropriation
What,
to which we are refer-
ring?
Sartre himself
furnishes us with a wealth of
with regard to the notion of appropriation.
His
is f u n d a m e n t a l l y phenornenologi cal and ontological
thought
position
and not
at all p s y c h o a n a l y t i c a l , although, as we hope to demons t r a t e , the
latter point
of view tends to substantiate
extend Sartre's ontological c o n c l u s i o n s .
shall try to show
we
that Sartre's speculations tend to pro-
vide a further groundwork
siderations
Conversely,
and
of data for the theoretical
of Freudian and post-Freudian
We shall not attempt
con-
psychoanalysis.
any kind of long and careful
ex-
e g e s i s of S a r t r e ' s presentation and discussion of the notion of Being and
its relation to Nothingness, which pre-
c e d e s his e x a m i n a t i o n
ontologically-^rounded
ready been u n d e r t a k e n
tre's p r i n c i p a l
of appropriation
desire.
and its role in
Such endeavors have a l -
in works devoted exclusively to Sar-
philosophical
text
itself, and these
sec-
-80-
ondary works should be consulted for further
of the rather
lengthy
and complex considerations
in L 1 Etre £t le. n é a n t . 8 1
propaedeutic
elucidation
put forth
Our own resume of the lengthy
that c o m p r i s e s the greater part of LlEiELÊ. e_i
L e néant, and which c u l m i n a t e s in a discussion of the oncological gesture of appropriation,
s k e t c h y and i n s u f f i c i e n t .
to the key c o n c l u s i v e
most
We shall thus limit our scope
moments in S a r t r e 1 s work which are
useful for the present
As we m a i n t a i n e d
would necessarily be
study.
in the preceding pages,
relation to his papers can be understood
four modes of activity: touchingt
stroying.
sumed under
strate
Furthermore,
Roquentinfs
in the sense of
seeing! eating and d e -
these four categories can be sub-
the rubric of playing and, as we shall demon-
in the following
rubric of a p p r o p r i a t i o n .
p a g e s , under the more
general
Let us begin with a considera-
tion of the act of t o u c h i n g .
"Les c a r e s s e s , " Sartre maintains, "sont
appropriation
<*u c o r p s d« A u t r u i . " 8 2 The caress, a sensual touch,
priates the body of the O t h e r .
appro-
Although the objects
Roquent in f o n d l e s are not "Others" efeT ft&t given that
that
they
***e inanimate and have no consciousness, they do seem at
81
S e e , f o r e x a m p l e : J o s e p h C a t a l a n © , L ggWBWlTftTy fii
4^ûr£&uJL S a r t r e ' s " g e j L M fi^£ Eftthl nffness" ( New York.
H a r p e r and Row, 1 9 7 4 ) and W i l f r i d D e s a n , I i l £ T r a g i c LL'
GJLU ( C a m b r i d g e : H a r v a r d U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1 9 5 4 ) , b o t h
o f w h i c h p r o v i d e s t r a i g h t - f o r w a r d and i n t e l l i g e n t r e a d i n g s o f S a r t r e ' s main a r g u m e n t s .
8 ?
Sartre, LfEtre
et le néantt
P* 4 5 9 .
-81-
least
to perform a symbolic
nude woien.
the concept
role for him as swans, poets?
We shall thus begin with an examination
of the c a r e s s , and then demonstrate
ble extension
from
the flesh of p-jrhers
non-conscious
things:
to
t n e
of
its p o s s i -
surface
of
a connection which Sartre does not
make directly, but one
that is certainly
implied and ren-
dered p o s s i b l e when we take into consideration some of
general
observations
regarding appropriât!ve
How and in what sense
of the O t h e r ' s b o d y ?
mind
that
is the caress an
First, it is important
with a c e r t a i n end in mind:
pas simple
sant
strategies*
appropriation
to keep in
"les c a r e s s e s " do not constitute a "simple
tact" with the Other's body.
effleurement:
They are purposeful
"C'est que la caresse
elle est f f l g p n n ? m e n t <
En
La caresse est l'ensemble
incarnant A u t r u i . » 8 3
n'est
cares
response
The finished
("in
is not exactly
ifeie*
product
that the Other's body is already
the f l e s h " ) , without
the intercession
the lover's c a r e s s , Sartre points out that this
3
and
is the flesh aii£ flesh of the Other, for in
to the objection
incarnated
sous
T h u s , the caress as fftÇpnneBeQ* is a
to the m a k i n g of a work of art.
in this case
~
des cérémonies qui
kind of c r a f t i n g , a shaping, an act which is creative
akin
con-
acts
a u t r u i , Je fais naître sa chair par ma caresse,
mes d o i g t s .
his
true:
of
assertion
-82-
La chair d'autrui n'existait pas explicitement
pour moi, puisque je saisissais le corps et» A u trui en situation; elle n'existait pas non plus
pour lui puisqu'il la transcendait vers ses poss i b i l i t é s et vers l'objet.
La caresse fait naître Autrui comme chair pour moi et pour luimême* 8 *
w
That
is, for myself
ap^Wneaafifit
revealed
as well as for the Other, as c_o_u-
the flesh as in-itself of the Other
as such except
is not
through the caress, because
prior
to the caress the O t h e r , as he/she appears in situation
that
that
is, as an object
that is relevant
plays an active role
scious l i f e ) ,
to my projects,
in the drama which is my con-
is revealed as being-for-itself, the being
of c o n s c i o u s n e s s e s
Sartre
continues:
• • •
la c a i s s e révèle la chair en déshabillant le corps de son action, en le scindant des
p o s s i b i l i t é s qui l'entourent:
elle est faite
pour découvrir sous l'acte la trame d'inertie
—
c'est-à-dire le pur "étre-là" —
qui le soutient. 86
Thus, the c a r e s s
is an attempt
pure, u n t r a n s c e n d e d
*s b e i n g - i n - i t s e l f
incarnent
r o l e
of
erf
w n o
84
laie.
Autrui."
to realize the Other
b e i n g : an attempt
to grasp the
as
Other
through an "ensemble des ceremonies qui
The subject-who-caresses
plays the
an
Anti-Pygmal ion who shapes and fashions an Oth-
is
already c o n s c i o u s , in an effort to create a
To be p r e c i s e , it is not only by means of a caress that
the body, as flesh (as the facticity of c o n s c i o u s n e s s ) ,
is revealed to the for-itself.
Pain, for instance, results in a s i m i l a r revelation.
S a r t r e , k'Etçe. ej£ le
néant, p. 459.
-83s t a t u e s q u e being that
will be no more than a mere
fleshy
But for what reason does this anti-Pygmalion
desire
object»
to strip the Other of his freedom
incarnating
gesture
of the caress?
through the creative t
We should note that
the tactile c a r e s s is a "façonnement" that is undertaken
through the contact
of
the subject's flesh with that
of
the O t h e r :
Ainsi la revelation de la chair d'autrui se fait
par ma propre chair; dans le désir et dans^la
caresse qui l'exprimet je m 1 i n c a r n e pour réaliser l'incarnation ct'autrui; et la caresse en £e_a.U s a n t l f incarnation de l'Autre me découvre ma
propre i n c a r n a t i o n ; c'est-à-dire que je me fais
chair pour entraîner l'Autre à réaliser BOUX Êtti
et^oour moi sa propre chair et mes caresses font
naître pour moi ma chair en tant qu'elle est,
pour autrui» chair le tP-lsant afrîtrt- £ 1 ^
szhSLlr..87
In other w o r d s , the desire to caress the Other
sire
for the Other as it expressed
is a wish for the incarnation
the subject
realize
the d e -
through the caress
of the Other iû flrrf?r t u ô ^
his own incarnation.
Possession,
then, in the sexual s e n s e , must be seen as a "double
carnation
Self
r é c i p r o q u e , " and this double reduction of both
and Other to mere
a desire which would
dans le d é s i r ,
s c i e n c e . "86
87
86
T h e
corporeal materiality
reify consciousness
anti-Pygmalion
is the aim of
itself:
il y a tentative d'incarnation
Ibid. , p. 4 6 0 .
l&±â.
in-
"Ainsi,
de la c o n -
wants to sculpt a woman
-84-
into an inert, fleshy statue
in an effort
his own b e i n g to an effigy stripped,
of
to freely
reduce
freedom»
D e s i r e , then, at least as it is manifested
through
the c a r e s s , is a wish to appropriate the Other's body in
order that
this appropriation
own body as flesh*
reveal to the subject
Furthermore,
this revelation
of one's
own body as flesh, says S a r t r e , reflects an attempt
c a r n a t e , to reify consciousness
and that
of the
Touching,
itself —
his
to in-
both one's own
Other.
of course, is not the only means by which
one can c a r e s s the O t h e r .
ess with the e y e s and,
Sartre also speaks about a c a r -
in fact, seems to posit both
touch-
ing and sight as privileged modes with regard to the v a r i ous empirical
t e n d e n c i e s which manifest desire.
the f o l l o w i n g c o m p a r i s o n
We note
between grasping with the hand
and c a r e s s i n g with the e y e s :
• • • en prenant et en c_axÊ£S£Oi ** a a i n d e ] \ ~
Autre, Je d é c o u v r e , sous la o r g h ? n g i o & ^ u e
ceXX*
f
main est d'abord, une étendue de chair et d o s
qui peut être prise; et, pareillement mon regard
caresse lorsqu'il découvre, sous ce bondissement
que sont d'abord
les Jambes de la danseuse, l
étendue lunaire d e s c u i s s e s .
Ainsi la caresse
n'est a u c u n e m e n t distincte du désir:
caresser
a
des yeux ou d é s i r e r
When
the subject
8 9
ne loot qu un.
p e r c e i v e s the flesh of the
dancer's
t h i g h , the O t h e r , who until this point has appeared as b e ing-in-situation
body through
89
XbJjî-»
( v i z . , as beine a d a n c e r ) , now appears
a visual revelation of her flesh ailfc flesh.
P. 4 5 9 .
as
-85-
She is at this moment, for the perceiving subject,
longer a person
subject
troubled
dancing}
b e c o m e s aware
but flesh to be caressed.
in fact, i £ this a w a r e n e s s —
de
sciousness
which,
is described by Sartre as an
la c o n s c i e n c e , ,,9 ° a kind of pasty con-
which is indicative of the fluid freedom of
for-itself,
now oozing through
body, which
c o n s c i o u s n e s s has to e x i s t . 9 1
invades
The
of his own body as flesh, and the
state which accompanies this awareness —
"empâtement
no
the for-itself*
the
the thick facticity of the
The
in-itself
How such an ontological
condition
is to be c o n s t r u e d as desire is a question we shall deal
with later in this
section»
Of c o u r s e , Roquentin
disçaro;e,d paper and not
is in fact fondling and ogling
the flesh of an other.
ing by our earlier a n a l y s i s of his interest
we can submit
o t h e r , but
that
the papers r T P r g P c n t
this assertion
we try to relate
t h e
in the scraps,
*lesh
fests
itself
90
91
an
when
the handling of paper to the caressing of
There is s o m e t h i n g
to t o u c h
of
is admittedly a bit shaky
a human body (the game of pretend to the real
urge
In stand-
in common, however, between
activity).
Roquentin's
inanimate objects and the desire which m a n i in the caress of the Other.
Both acts can be
Ib|tf., p . 4 6 0 .
Sartre uses the verb exister transitively to indicate
the m a n n e r in which consciousness encounters its xacticity —
that is, the body.
Consciousness, as g t r e r
pour-soi» finds its free and limitless capacity to
t r a n s c e n d phenomena hampered by the solid, patpabte
en-soi to w h i c h it finds itself «attached.
-86-
u n d e r s t o o d as attempts
the Other
are then seen
as objects-to-be—possessed.
c o n n e c t i o n between the two
structural
cidated,
to possess, and both the papers
her p o s s i b i l i t i e s
of the O t h e r s
situationt
by neutralizing
the transcendant
force
in
and thereby causing the Other to appear as mere
Furthermore, this act is carried
to realize one's own Self as en-goj
through the c u t a n e o u s mediation of the Other.
mate object, on the other handy
any t r a n s c e n d a n c e
object
i s , without
sciousnesses
conflict
for
the
can be possessed
as
between two con-
invariably grounds the aim of the car-
Thus y we can conclude that
wards the same goal —
—
and
undermine
as being-in-itself beneath
the o n t o l o g i c a l
being-in-itself
to try to
The inanimate object
that
inani-
on the part of the object in order
to be r e v e a l e d
touch.
The
is already in-itself
it is not n e c e s s a r y for the subject
ess.
subject
c o n s c i o u s n e s s y by reducing its freedom
out in an effort
subject's
elu-
the Other, to strip the Other of his/
flesh, b e i n g - i n - i t s e l f .
that
This
acts is further
if we recall that through the caress the
tries to incarnate
and
the subject
an appropriation
strives to-
of the object
as
w h e t h e r he chooses to caress the body
of the Other or to handle an inanimate object l a tXxs. BAB.O^r ojf a. c a r e s s (that
sole purpose
is f
in handling the object
for the
of handling it, and not in an effort
scend the mere b e i n g - t h e r e
some u t i l i t a r i a n
[gtre-lÀI of the object
possibility:
to trantowards
the grasping of a hammer
in
-87-
order to pound a nail into a w a l l , for instance, can
ly be construed
as a " c a r e s s " of the h a m m e r ) . 9 2
hard-
Roquen-
tin's t o u c h i n g of the papers, as well as his looking at
them, can thus be understood
Before
setting aside our discussion
should note that
desire
as variants of the c a r e s s .
of the c a r e s s , we
Sartre himself makes the leap between
for the Other t h r o u g h possession
p o s s e s s an inanimate
object.
and the desire
the
to
This equating of the two
d r i v e s , although not carried out in terms of the caress,
is at least
maintained
in terms of appropriation
in gener-
al:
Il se fait à p r o p o s de tgtfte, possession la
synthèse c r i s t a l l i s a t r i c e que Stendhal a < * e c ~ t e
pour le seul c a s de l'amour.
Chaque objet p o s sédé, qui s'enlève sur fond de monde, n a n x f e * * e _
le monde tout entier, comme la femme aimee m
feste le c i e l , la plage, la «er qui l e n t o u ^
aient l o r s q u ' e l l e est a p p a r u e .
S'appropr
objet, c'est donc s'approprier le monde symboli
quement•93
Stendhal's
beloved
92
93
-, , ,1 atioa
+ i **>( r
confers on the
w tf
n ihich
c n
ftl **
the p o w e r to transform
perception
comes
notion of frîF +
of the world
1
+^* lover
s pre-amorouB
the t o y e i
* .> which the beloved b e into one in whicn
w
^r+pnded to all objects
its informing c e n t e r ) can be exxen
* +*<> object's utility.
T h i s d i s t i n c t i o n on the basis of the
J
e c h o e d
in
in so far as our p r o j e c t s " • J " ™ ™ ^
ready-to-hand
the H e i d e g g e r i a n d i s t i n c t i ° n / ^ ( v o x b ^ n ^ Ê a ) :
the
(£Eh,anden) and the present-at-band < ï a i ^ ^
&g
former is applied to an object that
^ object that
equipment ( Z&MS. > » the latter ^ f e r S
^ i n . i t s e l f ).
is perceived as merely being " t h * r e
Heidgee Martin
For more on the example of the hamm
,
r r i e and
Edesger, B e i n g &£& XÀJBS.» t r a n s . John
)
,
p.
98.
l 9 6 2
ward R o b i n s o n (New York: Harper and Kow,
S a r t r e , L'Etre
ej. iê. olilLtt
P«
686#
-88possessed, announces Sartre.
In appropriating an object,
the subject appropriates the world as it is signified
(symbolized) by the subject's relation to that object.
Thus, it remains for us to determine how it is that
the subject's attempt to realize himself as flesh by means
of the visual and tactile caress is related to this attempt to "s'approprier le monde symboliquement" of which
Sartre speaks.
It is towards an understanding of this
latter endeavor that our examination of Roquentin»s behavior now proceeds.
We have already observed how the predicates "regarder" and "palper" are both informed by a certain "drive to
know."
This Wiss- oder Frrgchfrtrieb. according to Freud,
is powered by "the energy of scopophilia" and is, at the
same time, a "sublimated manner of obtaining mastery" (see
above, Ch. I, p. 4 0 ) .
The interest in acquiring sexual
knowledge, an urge which can be understood as the paradigmatic case of the more general HgPtrJefrt
fested in the form sax rTT--"-""»•
0±
is mainly mani-
satisfying sexual cu-
riosity: scopophilia f s ^ n l u s t ) , the wish to &&S. the body
of an other "in the flesh."
Thus, the drive to know is
intimately related to sight, and sight, in turn, is "an
activity that is ultimately derived from touching" (see
above, Ch. I, pp. 40-41).
grasp" (Greiftrieb) —
Furthermore, the "drive to
denoting, in the Freudian corpus,
the infantile urge to grab things (especially parts of the
-89-
infant*s own b o d y ) —
reveals both another "manner of ob-
taining mastery, " as well as the semantic shading of the
drive to grasp / understand
the Grelftr|efr
(see above, Ch.
/ comprehend.
is structurally
I, pp. 4 2 - 4 3 ) .
that both " r e g a r d e r " and
parallel
Consequently,
to the
We concluded,
yjggtrjeb
therefore,
"palper" are subsumed by the
general
verbal category of "connaître," and that
knowing
itself
is an empirical
primary
desire
to obtain mastery over a situation:
situation
which
manifestation
more
this
of the more
a
is always characterized t>y the absence
the m o t h e r ' s breast
(see above, C h . If P* 4 3 ) .
sion, then, we can add that
of
In conclu-
the desire to know indicates a
certain hunger on the part of the subject, and that
eat-
ing, like seeing and touching, not only plays a functional
role
in the overall strategy that expresses an attempt
mastery, but
it is the need
plan, for
infant
that
ventures
also occupies a privileged position
to take nourishment
is at the origin
to m a s t e r a g i v e n
For S a r t r e , knowing
as a newborn
subsequent
is a form of appropriation.
such an assertion,
to observe
that
it is first of all
To
necessary
the r a t h e r general predicative mode of
l&ine (both "to d o " and
"to m a k e " ) is always reducible to
"catégorie cardinale
fljroJx.94 As an example
94
in this
situation»
understand
another
of the s u b j e c t s
at
de la réalité
humaine":
of this relation, Sartre
remarks
It should be pointed out that Sartre sees three p r i n c i pal
verbal ""catego
c a t e g o r i e s " as constitutive of human realxpal verbal
-90-
that one might
make a cane by cutting a branch from a tree
and then fashioning
But clearly t
to have
duit
it into the proper shape and size*
I make a cane ("je
fais une c a n n e " ) in order
it ("pour avoir cette c a n n e " ) :
à un moyen d ' a v o i r . " 9 5
"Le «faire 1
Such an example
se r é -
illustrates
how the making or altering of a concrete object can be r e garded as appropriation»
ine;" the cane consists
ate"
in rendering the object
for a certain usage
reduction
for the creative gesture of "mak-
on my p a r t . 9 6
However,
"approprithe
of faire to avoir m*y not always appear
in other cases in which a utilitarian
presupposed.
we consider
possible
intention is not
This o b j e c t i o n can be overruled, though,
the
if
following:
Elle [mon a c t i v i t é ] peut sembler gratuite comme
dans le cas de la recherche scientifique, du
sport, de la création esthétique.
Pourtant,
dans ces d i f f é r e n t s cas, le £&±IL& n'est pas non
plus i r r é d u c t i b l e .
Si je crée un tableau, un
drame, une m é l o d i e , c'est pour être à l'origine
d'une existence c o n c r è t e .
Et cette existence ne
m ' i n t é r e s s e que dans la mesure ou le lien de
ty:
" a v o i r , " " f a i r e , " and "être" ( LlEJXÊ fit 1s. Ofeajxt,
p. 5 0 7 ) .
95
S a r t r e , L'Etre et le aient, p. 665.
This argument, e s t a b l i s h i n g the rapport between shaping the worid
through labor and c o n s c i o u s n e s s ' desire to appropriate,
finds its r o o t s in Hegel's EtLSttomenoVPgy £ * HUkif
Ch.
IV.
See G . W . F . H e g e l , XhS. EkfcPpmenpVogy £ * }LiXkf' n ,
t r a n s . J.B. Baillie (New Y o r k : Harper and Row, 1 9 6 7 ) ,
e s p e c i a l l y pp. 2 3 8 - 2 3 9 .
96
It may be wise at this point to note the two fundamental senses of f PP -n»T»i atlon. as they are given xn Rafeilt:
" ( 1 ) Action d'approprier a un usage, a une d e s t i nation, ( 2 ) Action de s'approprier une chose, d en
faire sa p r o p r i é t é . "
Both variants of the term are obv i o u s l y present in the example of the cane.
-91-
creation que j'établis entre elle et moi ne donne sur elle un droit de propriété particulier.
Il ne s'agit pas seulement que tel tableau, dont
j f a i l'idée, existe; il faut encore qu'elle existe par m o j . 9 7
Thus, even with regard to such activities as s c i e n tific
research,
sports
is to make something
and art, the goal of the
that will be pine.
It is
enterprise
important
to note that the object in such cases reveals itself to be
something that
the bit
result
of discovered
data, the goal that
of the ball being
I write —
time,
"se d i s t i n g u e radicalement
de moi-même":
is scored as the
struck by ray foot, the text
ail events which are not m e .
But, at the
that
same
it is my doing ( fai re ) that somehow sustains the
ex-
istence of these o b j e c t s in the sense that they are ay.
discovery,
m^ g o a l , © ^ t h e s i s .
work of art s p e c i f i c a l l y ,
artist's
thought
Sartre remarks that it
conceiving
Piece's c o n c r e t e a c h i e v e m e n t .
is the
Sart re
the work even after
This is the work's
continues:
et le néant»
p« 665.
the
meaning
Je suis donc avec elle [cette pensée, cette sign i f i c a t i o n ] dans le double rapport de la conscience qui la conçoit et de la conscience qui
la r e n c o n t r e C'est précisément ce double rapport que j'exprime en disant qu'elle est nienne.
Nous en v e r r o n s le sens, lorsque nous aurons
précisé la signification de la catégorie
"avoir."
Et c'est p o u r entretenir ce double
rapport d a n s la synthèse d'appropriation que je
crée mon o e u v r e . 9 8
S a r t r e , L'Etre
the
which sustains the work of art, as if a
mind were p e r p e t u a l l y
<Signification ».
Speaking in terms of
-92-
It is, then, a s y n t h e s i s of self and not-self
characterizes
ité,
appropriation
translucidité
in the Sartrean
itself
"intimand
de l 1 e n - s o i f " on the o t h e r . "
shall see, this relation holds true for all
"creation."
sense:
de la p e n s é e , " on the one hand,
" o p a c i t é , indifférence
o b j e c t s , even
that
As we
appropriated
if they are ready-made and in no way
In fact, it is the creation of the
one's
rapport
( i . e . , the s y n t h e s i s of self and n o t - s e l f ) that
of primary
importance.
It is in this way that knowledge
priation.
If a facet
of -the world
is a form of a p p r o -
is revealed to me, it
is through me that this awareness of the world comes
being.
In thinking
-- I sustain
create
the thought —
of the
in which
tutes a certain
However, there is a certain
The thought may be ©JLfiLÊ.»
the world reveals
appropriation
the physical
its r e v e l a t i o n .
between
world
"
ma-
but
indel t
i e
of the world.
the a p p r o p r i a t i o n
Clearly,
I appropriate,
N o n e t h e l e s s , we can see the
and n o t - s e l f ,
Ibi*
itself to me, c o n s t i -
itself that
of the cane, that
art, and that of k n o w l e d g e :
self
awareness
T h u s , my k n o w l e d g e of the world, my awareness of
the way
is not
is this
thought by which the thought exists
p e n d e n t l y of my b e i n g .
£Lû£ a e .
which
into
its being by means of my own consciousness; I
it, as it w e r e .
teriality
is
it
but
similarity
of the work of
it is towards a synthesis of
of consciousness
and
being-in-itseIf,
-93-
that a p p r o p r i a t i o n
aims*
F u r t h e r a o r e , the notions of discovery and
revelation*
which are bound up with the urge to know, suggest
amount
role of sight
in the pursuit
the
of k n o w l e d g e .
par-
This
c o n c l u s i o n can hardly be disputed, for, in addition to the
predominantly
and
visual orientation
of the terms
"discovery"
" r e v e l a t i o n , " we note that one often says "I see" ( j ^
YQJs ) to indicate "I u n d e r s t a n d " (le. comprends ).
We
already
(see
discussed
sight in relation to the caress
a b o v e , pp. 8 4 - S 5 ) , but
it is not readily
urge to know is related
to the spectator's
at the flesh of the dancer*6 thigh»
lated,
how the
troubled
stare
The two ideas are
re-
however, and S a r t r e does not hesitate to make a
quick and Incisive
vue est
apparent
have
leap into the realm of sexuality:
j o u i s s a n c e , voir c f e s t
graceful swoop, Sartre
the visual
Thus, in one
establishes a connection
between
caress of the Other's flesh and the viewing of
any concrete
object
fact, the apparent
of a c e r t a i n
the light
^florer»1'100
"La
or abstract concept w h a t s o e v e r .
recklessness
of Sartre's
" s e x u a l i t y " of understanding
of his polemic
In
introduction
(especially
against Freud for the
in
latter's
stance r e g a r d i n g the primacy of s e x u a l i t y ) could provoke a
well-founded
the
100
scepticism
canny t h e o r e t i c a l
JLfelot.f
p.
666.
in the reader, if it were not
flight which follows in
Sartre's
for
-94text.*°*
Sartre
continues:
Si l'on examine les comparaisons ordinairement
utilisées pour e x p r i m e r le rapport du c o n n a i s sant au connu, on voit que beaucoup eî1 entre
elles se présentent comme un certain y.ip.1 p_&r. là
vue»
L'objet non c o n n u est donné comme immaculé, comme v i e r g e , comparable a une blancheur»
Il n'a pas encore " l i v r é " son secret, l'homme ne
le lui a pas encore " a r r a c h e » " A 0
The object
virgin
to-be-seen reveals itself as an
w h i t e n e s s to-be-violated
its secret.
We are strikingly
immaculate,
in order to tear from
reminded of
it
Bachelard's
"curiosité a g r e s s i v e , " a tendency that is illustrated
the example
see what
This
of the child who destroys a toy in order
there
is inside (see above, Ch»
"curiosité
It PP»
which "décèle
quelle on peut violer
. . .
to
45-46).
a g r e s s i v e " demonstrates the violence
inquiring vision
in
of an
la fêlure par la-
je secret des choses cachées."
M o r e o v e r , we are reminded
as well of Bachelard's
analysis
of the image of the swan as naked woman, as feaisofeUSÊt as
"la b l a n c h e u r
immaculée
et cependant ostensible
c y g n e s [ q u i ] se laissent y p i r " (emphasis
. . .
added).104
les
This
101
It is important to understand this moment in Sartre s
text as a sudden and surprising introduction of a
point of v i e w that would seem to undermine the integrity of S a r t r e ' s strong reluctance to accept ^ e i«-> , ^ as a -crucian
«uncial xa.<~
factor in human
p o r t a n c e of sexuality
+v^*-re*
^ *•*<=+ «neh a moment xnax
ality.
It is on the basis of just sucn
our reading of Freud against Sartre h i n g e s .
102
S a r t r e , L'Etre
l
«
Bachelard,
L & Terre
"•
Bachelard,
L 1 E & U * i 1 * . fife**. P-
e_£ Ls. n£&at, PP. 6 6 6 - 6 6 7 .
Ê
J l u
t&T^L&& tftt C M » * . *•
50
"
t h i S
8
'
«>""«*
-95connec-tion b e t w e e n the two moments
—
two moments? which actually
in Bachelard's
occur in two separate
umes of the p s y c h o l o g i s t ' s work ~
is dramatically
scored by what
text:
follows
corpus
in Sartre's
volunder-
Toutes les images [celles de l'objet immaculé,
v i e r g e , b l a n c , e t c . ] insistent sur l'ipnorance
ou est l'objet des recherches et des instruments
qui le visent: il est inconscient d'etre connu,
il vaque a ses a f f a i r e s sans s'apercevoir du regard qui l'épie comme aaS. £&mm& EJàliUi P&FSftQt
gurpren? & asu fe&la*105
T h u s , s c o p o p h i l i a and the y ^ a t r i e b
are linked in Sartre,
as well as in Freud, a l t h o u g h we note that
two are related
through
a metaphorical
in Sartre
structure,
which
the writer uses to c l a r i f y his position on the drive
know, whereas
stroke
the
to
in Freud the two drives appear at a single
at the moment
of childhood
Schaulttgt.
Moreover,
the two urges in Freud are not related in terms of t e
figurative
rather
" c o m m e " ( i . e . , on the nrtf»PhPr* c l e v e l ) ,
in terms of a symbolic
is an e l a b o r a t i o n
me*pny m j.ç
but
structure in which one
and extension of the other ( i . e . , on
the
level).
T h i s choice of m e t a p h o r on Sartre's part is not
all g r a t u i t o u s , h o w e v e r , and his use of the image of
spied-upon
drive
bather to
illustrate the a p p r o p r i a t e
at
the
context
of k n o w l e d g e b e t r a y s a position which is more in line with
Freud's
thinking than
Sartre would perhaps care to
is quoted a b o v e , Ch.
105
If P»
S a r t r e , L'Etre fet ife né&nti
*'•
P'
667,
admit.
-96-
Sartre's use of paradigmatic
imagery to
psychological
he would call the
facets of what
elucidate
subject's
"choice of b e i n g " is, in fact, oui te similar to the technique
of Bachelard,
a representative of what we might
con-
sider a middle ground between Sartrean existentialism
and
Freudian
on a
p s y c h o a n a l y s i s , since he builds his argument
combination
of o n t o l o g i c a l and libidinal
m o r e , as we have
ingly unrelated
ly and p r e c i s e l y
A few lines
just
discovered,
instances
theory.
Further-
our reading of two
in Bachelard's writing
seem-
is c l e a r -
echoed in the text of S a r t r e .
after his Introduction of the image of
the b a i g n e u s e . Sartre
provides us with an even more
inter-
e s t i n g piece of a n a l y s i s :
. . .
toute recherche comprend toujours l'idée
d'une nudité qu'on met à l'air en écartant les
o b s t a c l e s qui la couvrent, comme Acteon écarte
les b r a n c h e s pour mieux voir Diane au bain,
d'ailleurs la connaissance est une chasse.
Bacon la nomme c h a s s e de Pan.
Le savant est te
chasseur qui surprend une nudité blanche et qui
la viole de son r e g a r d .
Aussi l'ensemble de ces
images n o u s révèle-t-il quelque^chose que nous
nommerons le c o m p l e x e if* A f t e o n *
In the style of B a c h e l a r d ,
i m a B e s that reveal
the "Actaeon
l 06
l
°?
Sartre
terms the ensemble
of
to us the nature of the urge to know
complex."107
ïfr*d.
The scene of Actaeon glimpsing the nude Diana at her
bath is an image which is central in one of Lacan s
M
T*
T
IIT« rhnse freudienne,
Lacan dee s s a y s as w e l l .
In "La Chose xrw
~ w* r**~
P i « S F r e u * as "u„ , . » »
r ^ T . l l ^ X l l l r - Z ' l
des c h i e n s dès l'abord dépistes et qu
,
r e l a n c e r à sa poursuite, sans pouvoir r a l e n ^ ^ n * „
course o ù seule sa passion pour la déesse le m e n é .
-97-
What
is thatf
is important
for us to conclude at this
in his d i s c u s s i o n of the appropriâtive nature of
g.pnnaj trg, , Sartre seems to underwrite
c o n c e r n i n g the symbiotic
a
®
juncture
the 0rejtftrirt>»
our own
observations
relationship between such
the Wisstrieb»
urges
and Sçhattltfgt —
tenden-
cies which a p p e a r to suggest a strong bond between a drive
to understand
the world and a sexual drive.
have m a i n t a i n e d
tempt
that
to master a situation;
t e r m s , the c a r e s s , the glance, and the
complex
reveal an attempt
"s'approprier
le monde
t o - b e - m a s t e r e d by both
at
Such
a conclusion
to
symboliquement."
situation
the r^rej-ftrieb and the Wjgstriefr
its origin, be the absence of the mother's
breast.
we made on the basis of the role of
sual sucking ( Wonnegaujxen > in the development
ject
(see a b o v e , C h . I, p p #
must
be considered
mentioned
in
Actaeon
on the part of the subject
F u r t h e r m o r e , we have suggested that the
may,
we
these urges see» to constitute an at-
on the part of the subject
Sartre1s
Moreover»
41-42).
as somehow
of the
Consequently,
sensub-
eating
at the heart of the afore-
a t t e m p t s at mastery —
as a kind of
informing
factor.
T h e s e h o u n d s that are off the track are other analysts
who, despite the single-minded purpose
and acumen of
their m a s t e r , have strayed from the path to Diana's
riverside g r o t t o .
See Jacques Lacan, "La Chose freud i e n n e , " in Ecrits X (Paris: Seuil, 1 9 6 6 ) , p. 221
( also p. 248 )•
-98-
Not surprisingly,
the activity of eating
then f
Sartre goes on to
introduce
into the web of appropriâtive
dencies he has thus far been weaving*
After his
tion of "le complexe
continues:
rf'Actéon,"
Sartre
ten-
postula-
En prenant d ' a i l l e u r s cette idée de chasse pour
fil c o n d u c t e u r , nous découvrons un autre symbole
d ' a p p r o p r i a t i o n , peut-être plus primitif encore:
car on chasse pour manger.
La curiosité animale
est toujours sexuelle ou alimentaire»
Connaitre, c'est manger des y e u x » 1 0 8
The "fil c o n d u c t e u r " that Sartre
a binding axis for another
is following now
"symbole
provides
d'appropriation,"
which "nous d é c o u v r o n s " ( that is, which we "remove
cover from"
the desire
the
in order to render it v j s l b i e ) •
to know —
the
Curiosity
is either sexual or alimentary,
inquiring stare w i t h which we discover an object
consequently,
either sexually or alimentarily
—
and
is,
inspired,
the latter source of the drive being "plus primitif."
A l t h o u g h he m a i n t a i n s that
"la curiosité animale" is
always either sexual or alimentary, we should remark
the "either
. . . or" construction, which Sartre
to d e s c r i b e
the relation between the two qualifiers,
e a s i l y be replaced by the more precise
Sartre points out
ject
creating
its c r e a t o r .
Sartre,
linked
could
"both • . • and."
is similar to that between the work of
The creator's mind is continually
the work of art, because the art object's
is forever
1 08
utilizes
that the rapport between the known ob-
and the knower
art and
that
to the creative
L ' E t r e e_t jjg. n é a n t ,
P*
activity of the
667<
meaning
artist;
-99at the same time, however, the work of art has an existence of its own, in-the-world, which is entirely independent of the being of the artist.
Io this sense, the art-
ist's act is structurally parallel to the caress, through
which the subject "shapes" the flesh of the other while
the other nonetheless pursues an existence of his / her
own in-the-world.
Thus is construed the sexuality of the
creative act and, by extension, the sexuality of knowledge.
But, Sartre notes, this relation of knowing subject
to object known, in terms of the caress, «n'exclut pas son
inverse":
"dans le connaître, la conscience attire a soi
son objet et se l'incorpore; la connaissance est assimilation."» 0 9 The rapport between the knower and the known is
therefore one in which the object remains forever outside
the subject, while, at the same time, the object is assimilated, incorporated by the subject, as if actually eaten.
This seemingly paradoxical double relation is some-
what elucidated by Sartre in his description of the
"devouring" of the known object:
Le connu se transforme en mfii» devient ma P " 8 ® *
et par là même accepte de recevoir son existence
de moi seul. Mais ce mouvement de dissolution
se fige du fait que le connu demeure a la même
place, indéfiniment absorbé, mange et indéfiniment intact, tout entier digère et cependant
tout entier dehors, indigeste comme un caillou.no
109
Ibltf.
110
ifeitf.
-100-
In other w o r d s , although
is a wish to devour,
ject
in a very
it might
be said that
curiosity-
it is a wish to incorporate
specific
way:
the
f,
un rêve d'assimilation
d e s t r u c t r i c e , " as Sartre goes on to call it, a wish
to digest
ob-
and to eat without digesting the desired
This wish, h o w e v e r , can be nothing more than
non
both
object*
"an
r ê v e , " as Sartre
has already suggested, for the
o b v i o u s l y cannot
a p p r o p r i a t e an object which is at the
same time t o - b e - d i g e s t e d
and
subject
not-to-be-digested:
Le m a l h e u r est que —
comme le notait Hegel
—
le désir détruit son objet»
(En ce sens, <*i~^
s a i t - i l , le d é s i r est désir de « a n g e r . ) En reaction contre cette nécessité dialectique, le
Pour-soi rêve d'un objet qui serait entièrement
assimilé par moi, qui serait &£i.t sans se d i s soudre en m o i , en gardant sa structure d ' e n - s o j ,
car, justement ce que je désire f c'est g&t objet
et, si je le m a n g e , je ne l , a i plus, je ne rencontre plus que m o i » 1 1 1
This s e a r c h for an object which can be eaten while at
the same
time remaining
complexe
de J o n a s . "
nator of the term
intact is termed t>y Sartre
Whether Sartre is actually the o r i g i -
is unclear, but his first published
of it p r e c e d e s B a c h e l a r d ' s hy
What is important
use
some four y e a r s . 1 1 2 The
i d e n t i t y of the term's originator
however.
"le
is of little
is that Sartre and
importance,
Bachelard
are once
again p u r s u i n g similar lines with regard to b e -
havior.
We should recall
that, in Bachelard,
"le
complexe
111
Xfelot., p. 6 6 8 .
112
L'Etre ejt le néant was first published in 1944, L &
Terre e_t les reveries otu, gepog in 1948.
-101-
de Jonas 11 refers to the urge
without
chewing»
nah complex
to swallow an object
F u r t h e r m o r e , Bachelard
"comme
un cas particulier
whole,
considers the J o -
de sevrage" in which
the infant's eating strategy changes from sucking to
chew-
ing, a moment at which Freud signals the inevitability
the detachment
instinct
of the sexual drive from the
nutritional
(see a b o v e , C h . I, p# 3 3 ) •
The fact
synthèse
that Sartre goes on to say that
impossible
conservée
de 1•assimilation
de l'assimilé
plus p r o f o n d e s , avec
sexualité,"1^
se rejoint,
et de
"cette
l'intégrité
dans ses racines
les
les tendances fondamentales de la
i s , then, not surprising.
never m e n t i o n s the role of the breast
the connection
Although
in the
sexuality,
read between
the lines of his text when he relates
and the Jonah complex to sexuality
Sartre
development
of infantile
can nonetheless be
and the Actaeon
eating
complex
t h r o u g h the mediating
term of appropriation»
gested the s i m i l a r i t y
between scientific research and
Having
sugthe
lover's c a r e s s , Sartre c o n c l u d e s his examination of the
verb "to know" with the following summary, which, in the
interest
of c l a r i t y , we shall quote in full:
On voit les courants sexuels et alimentaires qui
se fondent et s'interpénétrent, pour constituer
le complexe cf'Actéon et le complexe de J o n a s , on
voit les r a c i n e s digestives et sensuelles qui se
réunissent pour donner naissance au désir de ^
connaître.
La connaissance est à la fois Penetration et caresse de surface^ digestion et contemplation à distance d'un objet indéformable,
113
of
S a r t r e , L'Etre
e_l 1 Ê nâ&ait
P*
668#
-102-
p r o d u c t i o n d'une pensée par création continuée
et constatation de la totale indépendance objective de cette pensée*
L'objet connut c'est aa_
pensée comme chose»
Et c'est précisément ce que
je desire profondément lorsque je me mets en
quête:
saisir ma pensée comme chose et la chose
comme pensée*
Le rapport syncretique qui fond
ensemble des tendances si diverses ne saurait
être qu'un rapport rffftpprffPrifttiont „ C , e s î p o u ^ "
quoi le désir de connaître est, si désintéressé
qu'il puisse p a r a î t r e , un r&pport
d'appropriation.
Le connaître est une des formes que peut
prendre l f avoir» x l 4
The désir dte_ connaître
mentary
drives and
the "double
is informed by both sexual and a l i -
is the desire
to possess an object
r a p p o r t " of mine / but not-roe»
sire to a p p r o p r i a t e o n e ' s thought
It is the d e -
as a thing»
Thus, we see that Roquentin's
carded p a p e r s , h i s temptation
in
gathering of the d i s -
to put them in his mouth,
the fact that he feels them inquiringly ("il
les aaJLGte." )
and likes to look c l o s e l y at them can all be subsumed
un-
der the more general verbal category of "to have," in
terms of a c e r t a i n understanding
appropriation
of u n d e r s t a n d i n g ) .
is i n q u i s i t i v e , we might conclude
sires is a certain reification
of "appropriation"
In so far as his pastime
that what Roquentin
of thought.
Regarding
sexual u n d e r t o n e s of his acts that we proposed
desires
reification
of c o n s c i o u s n e s s
as the urge to put
114
X&1£.t
is a revelation
dethe
in the p r e -
c e d i n g s e c t i o n of this study, we might conclude that
Roquentin
(or
what
of his Self as flesh, a
itself.
And finally, as far
the trash into his mouth is concerned,
pp. 668-669.
-103-
Roquertin
has a notion
appropriation
that
to undertake a strategy of
is "peut—être
plus primitif
encore"
to actually
make
the papers a part of himself.
denominator
that
is derived from
view, the avoir,
term.
these
common
three points of
is s t i l l , however, a slightly
Why should one desire
The
mysterious
a reified thought, a reified
c o n s c i o u s n e s s , a food which refuses to be digested?
is? it
in the nature of this desire and its objects,
desire which is inseparable from its o b j e c t s , that
it to appear
in the first
these q u e s t i o n s before
tin's symptomatic
w h i c h point
dilemma.
—
placed
We must now
What
this
allows
examine
concluding our analysis of Roquen-
g e s t u r e s , attempts at
to an even more fundamental
appropriation
phenomenological
For this r e a s o n , we shall defer our
examination
of R o q u e n t i n 1 s d e s t r u c t i o n of the objects, behavior
which
can be more easily elucidated following the next step in
our t h e o r e t i c a l
inquiry.
We have shown, through a paraphrase of Sartre's work,
now faire can u l t i m a t e l y be reduced to avoir.
necessary
derstood
to understand
It is now
how avoir must, in the end, be u n -
as a m a n i f e s t a t i o n of gtre»
In any p s y c h o a n a l y t i c study there is a need to invoke
Freud,
either directly
or indirectly, and we shall
ue to do so in spite of Sartre's
the legitimacy
ardent protest
of some of Freud's most crucial
contin-
against
postula-
-104-
tions*
In fact»
tion (albeit
important
that
of Freud:
bido
theory.
of these
o n e s ) between Sartre's position
We shall not attempt
a complete
remains evident
d i f f e r e n c e s between
misunderstanding
the two
systems
disagree-
on S a r t r e 1 s
part t
that we must deal with two radically
and elaboration
p o s i t i o n , we shall draw to some extent on the
tions of Jacques Lacan
dis-
of
Freud's
interpreta-
and Jean Laplanche, the
primary
s p o k e s m e n of the s o - c a l l e d "French Freudian" school*
strategy,
a l t h o u g h somewhat
and more extensive
indirect, should yield
r e s u l t s , for, especially
ers have
clarified
some of the ambiguity
sight
psychoanalytic
translaarguments
and p e r s p i c a c i o u s manner, without
of the all-important
clearer
interpret-
in the
tions of F r e u d ' s work, as well as extended his
in a systematic
role of language
having
in the
method and the need to read Freud a. la. le_£-
It is in the s t r a n g e , arabesque
jargon of the
dream
a series of images and connections which are ornate
detail
This
in terms of
the aims and o r i g i n s of d e s i r e , Freud's French
~
it
points of v i e w .
Regarding our presentation
lost
and
resolution
for even allowing for terminological
and a possible
tinct
conten-
the notion of the u n c o n s c i o u s and the li-
fundamental
of thought,
ment
there are only two main points of
and m y s t e r i o u s
in content —
that the most
i n s i g h t s of the F r e u d i a n discovery find their
in
profound
fertile
-105-
source*
For the dream
is a symptom
of the u n c o n s c i o u s , and
rebus-like structure —
language of p i c t o g r a m s —
subjectivity.
pictorial
itself*
to u n l o c k ) the truth of the
that
The p a t i e n t ' s discourse
as a whole —
terial t h r o u g h which the unconscious
mental
dreams*s
reveals
his m e m o -
analyst, his descriptions
he had or did not have for dinner —
perspicacious
reader / analyst*
in Freud's contribution
itself thrptfgh
of
provides the ma-
allows access to the
T h u s , what
to the art of
is most
funda-
psychoanaly-
sis is the n o t i o n of the u n c o n s c i o u s , a structure
manifests
(or
dreamer's
the patient's unconscious
r i e s , his relation to the
what
a kind of
that the analyst unlocks
M o r e o v e r , it is not only in the
dialect
that
it is through a translation or d e -
c i p h e r i n g of the dream's
leads the patient
and its language
which
language*
T h i s emphasis on the language and speech of the
"talking c u r e " is what F r e u d 1 s French interpreters
(espe-
c i a l l y L a c a n ) have so well preserved of the Freudian
od.
And
this r e i t e r a t i n g
meth-
of the importance of language
as
the crucial m a t e r i a l of the Freudian technique is much in
k e e p i n g with what Sartre only sketchily outlines
plan
for the development
ielle":
"Il ne c o n v i e n t
of a "psychanalyse
existent-
pas seulement, en effet, de d r e s -
ser la liste des c o n d u i t e s , des tendances et des
tions,
il faut
in his
encore les ^ t l ? f f r e r *
inclina-
c'est-à-dire
il faut
-106-
savoir les i n t e r r o g e r » n i l 5 xhat
sis that Sartre is proposing
is, the goal of the
is The breaking of a code,
the s o l v i n g of the cipher which is the patient's
through
the technique
(we must
i m a g i n e ) receiving informative r e s p o n s e s .
lytic situation
in Freud,
signs b e t w e e n analyst
and
Thus,
like the paradigmatic
is one that necessarily
itself out on the plane of language*
What's more*
of both speaker
in a theatre of discourse is a notion that
ana-
plays
in the exchange
and analysand.
c o n s t a n t l y s i g n i f y i n g va-et-vient
mental
behavior,
of asking the proper questions
this e n t e r p r i s e of déchiffrage*
tener
analy-
of
this
and
lis-
is f u n d a -
to the f o r - i t s e l f ' s relations with others, as Sar-
tre u n d e r s t a n d s
them.
In fact*
it is constitutive
them.
Speaking about being-for-others
trui)*
that aspect of the for-itself
of
(I f gtre-ppmr-ftu-
that presupposes
the
e x i s t e n c e of the O t h e r as another free upsurge of being
the world
( i . e . , another
c o n s c i o u s n e s s ) • Sartre
maintains:
Le langage n'est pas un phénomène surajoute a
l ' ê t r e - p o u r - a u t r u i : il est originellement l 1 é t r e - p o u r - a u t r u i , c'est-à-dire le fait qu'une
s u b j e c t i v i t é s'éprouve comme objet pour l'autre.
D a n s un u n i v e r s de purs objets, le langage ne
saurait en aucun cas être "inventé' 1 , puisqu'il
suppose o r i g i n e l l e m e n t un rapport à un autre sujet; et dans l'intersubjectivité des pour-aut r u i , il n'est pas nécessaire de l'inventer, car
il est déjà donné dans la reconnaissance de l'autre.
Du seul fait que, quoi que je fasse, mes
actes librement conçus et exécutés, mes pro-jets
...,..'
_ __ ^ _r^«~~«<= un QÉ»nfi crui m'
m' —
vers mes p o s s i b i l i t é s on t dehors un sens qui
116
échappe et que j'éprouve, je gujg langage
115
TfrjçU, p. 6 5 6 .
116
Ifeiat. i
P*
440.
in
-107-
Language
is not a trait of our b e i n g - f o r - o t h e r s ,
it i_s_ oar
b e i n g - f o r - o t h e r s , and insofar as we recognize that we
in a world where there
are other consciousnesses , we are
the language
that we speak*
the manifest
content
In other w o r d s t
Language
Freud's work, is the manifest
are what
content
in
of our latent
F o r both Freud and Sartre, then,
unconwe
we say*
Consequently,
psychoanalysis
if Sartre is intent on developing a
which would be ontologically
grounded
he s u g g e s t s from time to t i m e ) , then the crucial
tance of language must
be stressed,
of this b e i n g that must be
before
(as
impor-
for the "material" of
one's b e i n g - f o r - o t h e r s i_s_ language, and it is the
But
is
of our latent b e i n g - f o r - o t h e r s in
much the same way as the discourse of the dream,
scious structures.
are
nature
questioned*
turning our gaze to the problematic of d e -
sire, we should c o n s i d e r at some length the principal
oretical
distinctions
Sartre, in o r d e r
between the systems of Freud
to ascertain our terminological
before a t t e m p t i n g
and
bearings
to map one text on to the other*
La p s y c h a n a l y s e empirique part . . * du postulat
de l'existence d'un psychisme inconscient qui se
dérobe par principe à l'intuition du sujet.
La
p s y c h a n a l y s e e x i s t e n t i e l l e rejette le postulat
de l'inconscient:
le fait psychique est, pour
elle, c o e x t e n s i f à la c o n s c i e n c e . 1 1
117
LhLsL* f P*
658.
the-
-108-
With clear and unambivalent
ly dismisses
the concept
ascribes to the school
( i . e . , that
ues:
which he
psychoanalysis"
But we must be careful here not
objection
he has just
to the casually
et, comme
signifie nullement
qu'il
conscient,
The distinction,
text, between
and knowledge
Put
consciousness
in another way,
strued as the s e p a r a t i n g
ness»
There
consciousness
is what
vécu
cela ne
par
in Sartre's
is a crucial
this distinction can be conout of two "kinds" of c o n s c i o u s -
Sartre
terms a "thetic" aspect
( l ^ conscience +hgtloue)«
tion of H u s s e r l ' s phenomenological
is c o n s c i o u s n e s s
contin-
doive être du même coup çopny
lui, tout au c o n t r a i r e . » 1 1 8
one*
antic-
est pleinement
tel, totalement
to
dropped
detonated before us, Sartre
"Mais si le projet fondamental
par le sujet
categorical-
S a r t r e 1 s use of the term conscience»
ipating the probable
bombshell
Sartre
of an unconscious»
of "empirical
of F r e u d ) •
misunderstand
terseness?
o£ s o m e t h i n g . "
which is a d e r i v a -
maxim:
Thetic
of
"Consciousness
consciousness
(also known as " r e f l e c t i v e " c o n s c i o u s n e s s , 1 & conscience
rêflécMeï
r e f e r s to that process of cognition by which we
are aware of an object
thetic property
connalMapçp^
for c o n s c i o u s n e s s .
118
Ibid
the
of c o n s c i o u s n e s s we possess knowledge ( la.
whether
it be construed as perception,
ory, reason or otherwise.
sciousness
Through
When the known object
is o n e s e l f , we have what Sartre terms
mem-
of c o n "posi-
-109-
tional self-consciousness 1 1 (La. conscience
posi tjonne[ le j£e_
soi ) « in w h i c h the self i s posited as a mere
the-world
object-in-
for a transcending c o n s c i o u s n e s s • l l 9
It is at
this Juncture that
Sartre
he p o i n t s out
it is not at all necessary to
that
oneself as an object
self*120
There
parts company with Husserl,
is also the "non-thetic" aspect
M
posit
in order to be conscious ( o f ) one-
s c i o u s n e s s to be considered.
(also known as
for
unreflective
of con-
L& ? o n g Ç i e n c e
non-thétigilfe
consciousness,"
"non-posi-
tional c o n s c i o u s n e s s , " and the "pre-reflective
cogito")
reveals no k n o w l e d g e
per se of the Self, but only "an
plicit c o n s c i o u s n e s s
of being conscious of an
im-
object."121
119
T h i s "positing" of an object by consciousness is what
gives rise to the term " p ^ * + f onnelle » " ft u s a « e t h a t
refers more to the revelation of the object than to
any situation in s p a c e of consciousness»
1 20
Sartre b r a c k e t s the preposition in the phrase c_o_a(£&) fefii, when he is speaking of non-thetic
s e l f - c o n s c i o u s n e s s , in order to indicate that the Self
is not really an object for consciousness at that moment •
We might also mention that Sartre's case
against Husserl is presented mainly in the text L &
T r a n s c e n d a n t jfe l'Ego, in which he contends that the
Ego, rather than being a transcendent conscious entity
(as Husserl c l a i m s ) , is actually tranpçençted fev. cons c i o u s n e s s and is the self which is posited as an object for thetic c o n s c i o u s n e s s : "• • • l'Ego n'est ni
f o r m e l l e m e n t ni matériellement &3JL& * a conscience: il
est d e h o r s , dans 1st °ûnde c'est un être du monde, comme l'Ego d ' a u t r u i " —
Jean-Paul Sartre, Lô. TrftQgÇepdance jte l'Ego ( P a r i s : Librairie Philosophique J.
Vrin, 1 9 6 6 ) , p . 13.
In other words, the Ego is what
the subject thinks himself to be, a construct of thetic c o n s c i o u s n e s s .
ZSLLSLHSLZ
121
We are b o r r o w i n g this definition from Hazel Barnest e r m i n o l o g i c a l key which appears at the end of her
t r a n s l a t i o n of L'Etre Ê ! L E ttâftat, fieiûfi &OSL EûiJiiagness (New York: Quokka, 1 9 5 6 ) , P» 8 0 1 .
-110-
Thus,
if I am at this moment
to have for supper,
anticipated
thinking about what
like
I am both positionally conscious of my
meal and non-positionally
s c i o u s n e s s : "toute
I'd
conscious of my
con-
est
conscience positionnelle d'objet
en
A.
même temps c o n s c i e n c e
It is important
non-positionnelle
dfelle-même."*22
to note, then, that these are not
exactly
two " k i n d s " of c o n s c i o u s n e s s , as we first suggested,
more precisely two facets of the same transcendence
manifest
t h e m s e l v e s at a single
conscience
ne lui [au
de ce qu'il est: elle
lui en fait prenrfrp connaissance. t f l 2 3
that
Sartre does not
deny
there are two levels of a sort which make up the
Psyche of a subject
and that one of these levels is well
c a m o u f l a g e d and resistant
awareness.
to the subject's capacity
for
But, he p o i n t s out: "nous n'établissons
pas
entre les deux plans considérés la différence de
cient et du c o n s c i e n t ,
irréfléchie
de la conscience réfléchie
Sartre
he calls
"bad f a i t h " (la. matfVftiSfe ZQ±)
"a lie to oneself
122
Sartre,
123
XÉLU. , p .
662.
124
lhlsi.f
552.
P.
repression
—
put
within the unity of a single
^ « fit r e e_£ l e . n A a n t ,
qui
replaces the concept of the
u n c o n s c i o u s w i t h the pre-refleetive cogito and
by what
l'incons-
mais celle qui sépare la conscience
et f o n d a m e n t a l e
en est t r i b u t a i r e . " 1 2 4
ply*
which
stroke.
T h u s , "l«interprétât ion psychanalytique
s u j e t ] fait pas prendre
but
p.
1S«
sim-
con-
-111-
sciousnessj"125
what
a denial by reflective
is grasped p r e - r e f l e c t i v e l y t
consciousness
but of which the
of
subject
has no k n o w l e d g e *
But
if it is important
Sartre's use of the term
it is equally
Freudian
important
concept
understand
"consciousness" ( L & Conscience ) y
for us not
to misconstrue
the
of "the u n c o n s c i o u s " ( &&& ffnfeewUSgtg )•
Both Freud and Sartre
that whatever
for us to precisely
share "the position that to require
goes on i n the mind must also be fcnown, to
c o n s c i o u s n e s s fauch dem p«iiBstBeia hekannt wertfep, aii£££j
is -to make an untenable c l a i m . " 1 2 6
is not
"known
scious?
t h i s response
Freud u n d e r s t a n d s
three
however,
something
to c o n s c i o u s n e s s , " is it necessarily
Freud would u n d o u b t e d l y
tive, but
Ift
answer in the
requires some
uncon-
affirma-
qualification.
the psychic apparatus as made up of
" s y s t e m s , " which he terms consciousness ( doa & £ the u n c o n s c i o u s ( &&E. EobfeEUSalfe>»
wusstseip).
*«<*
the
c o n s c i o u s (ittts V o r b e w u s a t e ) . 1 2 7 Roughly speaking,
con-
sciousness
is
kaawn..
is that system which includes all that
The o t h e r two systems contain psychic
w h i c h are not known, and these elements can be
unconscious.
elements
considered
The u n c o n s c i o u s & £ S, gygtgB however,
B a r n e s , fieJLûfi &ûd N f ^ M " " n e s e «
126
Sigmund Freud, "The Unconscious," in Xh& Standard Edition ai th& complete ppychPlori c *l ^arfcfe» vol. xiv
127
1 9 5 3 ) , P-
*
8 0
com-
125
(London: Hogarth,
p
Pre~
°*
167, emphasis
added.
Freud's original German will be included from time tc
time in the following pages for the sake of precision.
-112-
prises that
which is not only unknown
but which also can not
to c o n s c i o u s n e s s ,
be known to c o n s c i o u s n e s s .
easily see the a m b i g u i t y
term
"unconscious."
word
refers to s o m e t h i n g
that arises with regard
If used
that
We can
to the
in a descriptive sense,
is not, at least
tor
the
the
mo-
ment, available to c o n s c i o u s n e s s (it may or may not be capable of b e c o m i n g c o n s c i o u s ) *
c o n s c i o u s " is used
s o m e t h i n g that
and must
On the other hand»
in the systeaatic
is p e r m a n e n t l y barred from
writing,
to eliminate
Freud p r o p o s e s
"un-
sense, it refers
this ambiguity,
sense).
at least in
the use of the abbreviations
(fiw) for c o n s c i o u s n e s s , Des ( BfeE> * o r
the
to
consciousness
remain u n c o n s c i o u s (in the descriptive
In an effort
if
his
Cs
unconscious,
and
Pes ( V b w ) for the p r e c o n s c i o u s when speaking in the s y s tematic
sense.128
Thus
it is that we must be quite careful to read
some
of F r e u d * s a p p a r e n t l y clear and basic statements with an
eye towards
their immediate,
nal c o n t e x t s .
as well as their more m a r g i -
The metapsychological
paper on the uncon-
s c i o u s , for example, w h i c h we have just cited, begins
with
an i n t r o d u c t i o n to both the notion of the unconscious
and
that
1 2 8
of r e p r e s s i o n .
Freud states:
Freud, "The U n c o n s c i o u s , " PP- 1 7 2 - 1 7 3 .
It should be
pointed out that " p r e c o n s c i o u s " cannot be used in the
d e s c r i p t i v e sense, and thus is terminologically una m b i g u o u s , since that which comprises the system Pes
i s , by definition, unconscious (in the descriptive
sense).
-113Everything that is repressed must remain
u n c o n s c i o u s ; but let us state at the very
outset
that the repressed does not cover everything
that is u n c o n s c i o u s *
The unconscious has the
wider compass:
the repressed is a part of the
u n c o n s c i o u s f das Verdrangte j.st ein Tell des Un.bewusstep].129
We must be alert
to two c o n s i d e r a t i o n s : first
Freud may be speaking of the unconscious
scriptive
that
sense or the systematic
is not elaborated
s a y ) and, second,
that
in either the d e -
sense (a distinction
until a few pages later
such concepts as "the
<tfftsV e r d r a n g t e ) may undergo significant
the essay
of all, that
in the e s -
repressed"
qualification
as
proceeds*
Ts it true
that
"everything that
is repressed
remain u n c o n s c i o u s , " and, if so, how are we to
this s t a t e m e n t ?
must
understand
Does Freud simply mean that whatever
is
r e p r e s s e d must remain unconscious only so long as it r e pressed?
Or can
he mean that whatever
is repressed
is
p e r m a n e n t l y closed out from consciousness, banished to the
unconscious —
that
will
introduce
presently
is, to the system
Ucs, which Freud
into the essay?
Or is the ambi-
guity of the term " u n c o n s c i o u s " at play here; in other
w o r d s , does he mean
both?
F u r t h e r along in the essay we find the following
sage
in which Freud is pointing out the difficulties
b r i n g i n g to light
unconscious:
129
liLié.t
P.
166.
those thoughts of which the patient
pasof
is
-114-
A c t u a l l y there is no lifting of the repression
r Auf hebung der Verdranpunfz 1 until the conscious
idea f die bewusste Vorstellung I t * 3 0 after the
r e s i s t a n c e s have been o v e r c o m e , has entered into
connection with the unconscious memory—trace•
It is only through the making conscious C das j*e_wusstmanftep ] of the latter itself that success
is a c h i e v e d . 1 3 1
Kere
we note a s t r o n g indication that the work of the cen-
sorship
is not permanent*
Although s t u b b o r n , the r e p r e s -
sion can be ••lifted» f aufgphoben ) through the mutual
ef-
forts of both the analyst and the analysand, and the
unconscious memory-tracef
through a union with the c o n -
s c i o u s idea, can find its way to consciousness.
s i o n , it s e e m s , is not
But what of
permanent»
the system U c s , the eternal graveyard of
that which has been exiled from conscious life?
suggesting
Repres-
Is Freud
in the passage quoted above that the analyst
p o s s e s s e s the magical key by which all the captives of the
system Ucs c a n in the end
be freed from behind the bars of
the r i g o r o u s c e n s o r s h i p ?
Hardly, for this would lead
development
the
of h i s theory into an irresolvable c o n t r a -
diction.
It is in the n o t i o n of the "making c o n s c i o u s " of the
unconscious
memory-trace
that the dilemma is resolved.
First of a l l , let us remark that the " t h o u g h t " —
scious or u n c o n s c i o u s —
considered
in its most
congeneral
130
That i s , the idea which has been suggested by the analyst r e g a r d i n g what is being repressed by the patient
"
an idea of which the patient is thus u n c o n s c i o u s .
131
F r e u d , "The U n c o n s c i o u s , " o p . 1 7 5 - 1 7 6 .
-115-
sense (as a dynamic
force of some kind in the
m e c h a n i s m ), can take on many forms*
ideas, emotions,
m a i n t a i n s that
such phenomena
Among these forms
feelings and instinctual
impulses.
there are both conscious and
ideas ( Vor^tellungen *-
having this same bi-systematic
are
Freud
unconscious
He does not, however,
a s instinctual
psychic
understand
impulses (Tri ebreming^p )
as
character:
I am • • • of the opinion that the antithesis of
c o n s c i o u s and u n c o n s c i o u s is not applicable to
instincts rhat auf den Jrieb fc£ia& AnwgPtfttng]*
An instinct can never become an object of consciousness —
only the idea [d^e Vorstellung1
that r e p r e s e n t s the instinct can*
Even in the
u n c o n s c i o u s , m o r e o v e r , an instinct cannot be
represented otherwise than by an idea.
If the
instinct did not attach itself to an idea or
manifest itself as an affective state, we would
know n o t h i n g about i t . 1 3 2
Thus, there are certain
elements that are destined to re-
main u n c o n s c i o u s , e l e m e n t s from which the repression
not be lifted.
can s o m e h o w
before
(Irjebe.)
find their way into consciousness, but only as
something e l s e .
"translated"
In a way, however, even instincts
can-
The text of the system Ucs must first be
into the language of the systems Cs or
its existence can be
named:
How are we to arrive at a knowledge of the unconscious?
It is of course only as something
c o n s c i o u s that we know it, after it has undergone t r a n s f o r m a t i o n or translation [ PlflgetZVlOg
Oder UbereetZttPr 1 into something c o n s c i o u s . 1 3 3
132
IhLû.f
133
Xfeid., p . 1 6 6 .
P . 177.
Pes
-116-
It may be well to say a few words about
of repression
before
First
it
of a l l f
moving on to other
is important
considerations»
which
material can p a s s . 1 3 4
But there is also a second censorship which
is situated
boundary between the systems Pes and C s .
like the primary
to
There is, of c o u r s e ,
the systems Ucs and Pes through
only d e r i v a t i v e s of the repressed
the dynamic
mechanism
to note that, according
Freud, there are twp c e n s o r s h i p s .
the b a r r i e r between
the
at
Un-
censor, which closes off the Ucs, this
second censor can be
overcome:
In p s y c h o - a n a l y t i c treatment the existence of
the second c e n s o r s h i p , located between the s y s tems Pes and C s , is proved beyond question»
We
require the patient to form numerous derivatives
of the U c s , we make him pledge himself to overcome the o b j e c t i o n s of the censorship to these
p r e c o n s c i o u s f o r m a t i o n s becoming conscious, and
by o v e r t h r o w i n g thiff censorship f qturch djle fig.gjggttng dieser Z e n s u r 1* we open up the way to
a b r o g a t i n g the repression [frahnen uns • • •
den
£^£ £ U £ A u f h e h ^ g der Y g H * * * w n g u n g ^ accomplished
b
y "the e a r l i e r o n e . 1 3 5
The r e p r e s s i v e
mechanism
that controls the border
the Pes and the Cs s y s t e m s can be defeated without
transformation
volved.
or translation
between
any
of the psychic material
The o v e r c o m i n g of this censor is termed by
in-
Freud
"ALE B e s i e g i n g dieger Z e n s u r « " indicating a defeat, a c o n quest, a s u r m o u n t i n g
of the b a r r i e r .
On the other
hand,
134
To be more precise, we might say "around w h i c h " or
"over w h i c h , " instead of "through which," when referring to the crossing of the wall of repression:
F r e u d 1 s t e r m s , as we have just notedf
are "U©-setz:ung"
and "Ubejv-setzung. "
135
Freud,
"The
Unconscious," pp. 193-194.
-117-
when
speaking of the primary censorship! Freud
the term "Auf hebuncr. M
Now, although Strachey renders
o v e r c o m i n g as an "abrogation, , f
lost
in the t r a n s l a t i o n .
bung*
something is most
Freud's use of the term AiiltlÊthe
since the word suggests both a preserving,
as a doing away w i t h .
In addition, the literal
of Aufhebunft is a lifting ( u p ) , a raising.
see that
this
certainly
like H e g e l f s , presents some difficulties for
translator,
well
utilises
as
sense
T h u s , we can
the c e n s o r which bars the way to the Des is not
really " a b r o g a t e d , " since it is at the same time preserved.
This dialectical
movement with regard to the
sion of the primary c e n s o r s h i p is in line with what
have
argued a b o v e .
instinctual
we
Certain unconscious material ( such as
i m p u l s e s ) must be repressed;
the c e n s o r s h i p
eva-
is p r e s e r v e d .
in this sense,
But these impulses can be,
and are, r e p r e s e n t e d by ideas ( ïar^teiLiàagÊa) t which
are
capable of b e c o m i n g c o n s c i o u s ; in this sense is the way
opened for the " a b r o g a t i o n " of the primary
censorship.
We see, then, that there are some cardinal
differences
between
conceptual
the theoretical models of the
a p p a r a t u s that are presented by Freud and Sartre.
Freud e x p l a i n s by means of the descriptive and
psychic
What
systematic
u n c o n s c i o u s , Sartre seems to relegate more or less to the
Pre-reflexive
cogito —
a consciousness»
stead of dividing
the mind
s c i o u s , or thetic
and non-thetic
However, if
into a conscious
in-
and an uncon-
consciousness, we
simply
-118-
regard the universe
of mental processes as awareness
n o n - a w a r e n e s s , we discover that —
m i n o l o g i c a l w o r r y i n g aside —
tween Freud
and S a r t r e .
things about himself
t h i n g s , however,
somehow
and
point of view and
there is a shared ground b e -
The subject
is aware of many
the world.
There are other
and at work in his mind and must
c o n s i d e r e d part of his mental
life.
about the censor that stands guard at the
( aufgehofrepi
Ocs, but
confess-
the lie which has constituted his bad
of the system
Ucs?
be
In many cases, the
r e p r e s s i o n can be overcome (fresiegt); the subject
But what
ter-
of which he is unaware, but which are
represented
es to himself
or
T h i s repression can be
faith.
gates
"abrogated"
through a translation of the language of the
it cannot be unconditionally
vanquished.
Is
an instance of bad faith in S a r t r e 1 s model of the
there
psyche which cannot
translation
—
be overcome, except through a kind of
an originary bad faith that forever
vents the t h i n k i n g subject
from becoming whole to
prehimself?
For the m o m e n t , we shall suspend judgment on this
proposition
and postpone
further discussion of an "origi-
n a r y " bad faith until we have begun our examination of the
second
major point
d i v e r g e s from
simply:
theory
Freud1s.
This second
theory —
at which Sartre•s psychoanalytic
point
of contention concerns the
more s p e c i f i c a l l y ,
"Libido
the libido
itself.
is a term used in the theory of
libido
Put
quite
instincts
-119-
sexuality."136
for d e s c r i b i n g the dynamic manifestation
of
Now, in his "theory of i n s t i n c t s , " Freud
differentiates
between
the " l i b i d i n a l , sexual or life
so-called
"death
instincts."
instincts" and
The latter
the
are:
those which follow the aim of leading the living
creature to death and therefore deserve to be
called the «death instincts' : these would be directed o u t w a r d s as the result of tHe combination
of numbers of unicellular elementary organisms,
and would manifest themselves as destructive or
aggress j^ ye i m p u l s e s . 1 3 7
E l s e w h e r e Freud d e s c r i b e s such a tendency as "an urge
herent
in o r g a n i c
things."138
places under
form
life to restore an earlier state of
The former set of instincts, which Freud
the rubric
living s u b s t a n c e
life may be prolonged
ment. " 1 3 «
These
consist
of pros* have as their aim
"to
into ever greater unities, so that
and brought to higher
develop-
instincts are thus sexual in nature and
have as their ultimate
species:
reproduction.
purpose the proliferation
of the
Freud concludes that life
in the m a n i f e s t a t i o n
of the conflict
"would
or interac-
tion b e t w e e n the two c l a s s e s of i n s t i n c t s . " 1 4 0 Thus,
reality
in-
can hardly be reduced to one grandiose
human
libidinal
136
Sigmund Freud, "The Libido Theory," in XhZ Stftftrtfrfcg
Edition,. V o l . XVIII (London: Hogarth, 1 9 5 5 ) , p. 255.
137
Ibis*., p. 2 5 8 .
138
Siçmund Freud, Bevond the E L Ê A S L U H Ê . Principle, trans.
J a m e s S t r a c h e y (New York: Norton, 1 9 6 1 ) , p. 3 0 .
139
Freud,
"The Libido Theory," P» 258.
140
!£!£•»
p. 259.
-120-
manifestation,
position.
as Sartre
seems to understand
Freud1s
Leaving this rather glaring oversight
aside,
h o w e v e r , at least for the time being, let us note
Sartre's
mainly
case against
the notion of the libido
in his supposition
mental s t r u c t u r e
of human
that sexuality
that
consists
is not a funda-
reality»
If Sartre does not see sexuality as fundamental,
does he u n d e r s t a n d
it?
At first
glance, we might
conclude
that (in spite of h i m s e l f , p e r h a p s ) Sartre does place
uality in a prominent
role
in his phenomenological
s c r i p t i o n of the s u b j e c t ' s relation
for example, his claim
comportement
Pour-soi
Autrui
that
to others»
est s e x u e l dans son surgissement
sex-
de-
We note,
"l'attitude sexuelle était
p r i m i t i f envers A u t r u i , " 1 4 1
how
and further,
un
"le
même en face d1 -
et que, par l u i , la sexualité vient au m o n d e . " 1 * 2
If the for-itself
is sexual in its very upsurge in the
face of the Other, then it can hardly be denied that
sex-
uality is a primary relation of the for-itself to others.
But the rather self-evident correlate of this
hypothesis
—
appearance
that
there can be no sexuality without
of the Other —
the
is one that Sartre does not want
over-
looked:
Que ce comportement [primitif envers A u t r u i ] enveloppe nécessairement en lui la contingence
originelle de i•Stre-pour-autrui et celle de notre facticité propret
cela va sans dire.
Mais
141
S a r t r e , L'Etre
142
Ifcitf.
et le. sxksulf
P*
477,
-121-
qu'il soit soumis dès l'origine à une constitution physiologique et empirique, c'est ce que
nous ne s a u r i o n s a d m e t t r e .
Des qu'il "y a M le
corps et qu'il "y a" l'Autre, nous réagissons
par le désir* par l'Amour et par les attitudes
dérivées que nous avons m e n t i o n n é e s » 1 4 3
In other words»
"constitution"
the subject is not born with a sexual
(not to be confused with a s_££ —
i.e.,
male or f e m a l e ) , but develops such attitudes upon
encoun-
tering the O t h e r .
primary,
Consequently,
sexuality is not
since it is a drive which characterizes the subject's r e lation
puts
towards others and not towards the world.
it: "He [ S a r t r e ] . . . designates
fundamental
it [ s e x u a l i t y ] as a
s t r u c t u r e , ' but only of our
and not of our being-in-the-world,
As Stern
being-for-others
which is our very
exis-
t e n c e . " 1 •• T h u s , s e x u a l i t y functions as the "skeleton" of
all relations
between
the for-itself and the Other:
Et cela non pas à cause de l'existence d'une
certaine " l i b i d o " qui se glisserait partout,
mais simplement parce que les attitudes que nous
avons d é c r i t e s sont les projets fondamentaux par
quoi le Pour-soi réalise son être-pour-autrui et
tente de transcender cette situation de f a i t . 1 4 5
But
if sexuality
Sartre's understanding
T h e
is not the fundamental structure
of human reality, then what
in
is?
nature of this structure has already been hinted at in
the p r e c e d i n g p a g e s , but there are several instances
Sartre
is quite succinct
where
about what is primarily at stake
**3 Itoltf.
A l f r e d S t e r n , S a r t r e : His PH l o s o o h y ançf S x i g t e n t E f t l
gsvchQftnalvsJc? (New York: D e l a c o r t e , 1 9 6 7 ) , p . 1 5 8 .
Sartre,
L ' E t r e ejt le. QSJklktf PP* 4 7 7 - 4 7 8 .
-122-
for trhe Pour-sol :
bien avant
"Nous avons vu que la realité
humaine,
de pouvoir être décrite conme lîfritfp ou volonté
de p u i s s a n c e , 1 4 6
est cho:(.x <t' être»
soit directement,
soit
par a p p r o p r i a t i o n du m o n d e . " 1 4 7 We might note, in passing,
that
Sartre
tential
goes on to describe the orientation
psychoanalysis —
of e x i s -
a psychoanalysis of things and
the matter of which they are made —
as an attempt
to un-
derstand:
la façon dont chaque chose est le symbole o_bj££.ti;f de l'être et du rapport de la réalité humaine à cet être*
Nous ne nions pas qu'il
faille découvrir, par après, tout un symbolisme
sexuel d a n s la nature, mais c'est une couche
secondaire et réductible qui suppose d'abord une
p s y c h a n a l y s e des structures p r é s e x u e l l e s . 1 4 8
Now,
if we recall S a r t r e ' s discussion of the role of lan-
guage with regard
in p a r t i c u l a r ,
nellement
to the subject's being-for-others
the fact that
l'être-pour-autrui"
"le langage
£&£ o r i g i -
(see above, p» 106 )t and if
we recall as well his later contention
est sexuel dans son surgissement
(see a b o v e , p . 1 2 0 ) , then
• • •
and,
that "le Pour-soi
même en face d1 a u t r u i "
it becomes difficult to under-
stand how t h i n g s , as objectivefivjafefiLfeof being, can be
seen
in a n o n - s e x u a l
particular
light.
It seems that either
process of symbolization
this
must be construed
as
146
"Volonté de p u i s s a n c e " or "will to power": a concept
w h i c h Sartre ascribes to Adler, but which is found
e a r l i e r in N i e t z s c h e , as well»
147
S a r t r e , L'Etre
148
Xfeié.t
pp.
et L & ÛfiAOlt P*
693-694.
693
•
-123-
somehow pre-linguistic»
an intuitive
somehow
(once
or else one must presuppose
interpretation
take place before
of the meaning of objects can
the encounter with the Other
a g a i n ) the inception of language.
be implying a very delicate paradox.
that
that
a network of sexual symbolism
Sartre seems to
Although he
will invariably
suggests
accom-
pany the a n a l y s i s of things and their relation to the
ject's choice of being»
p r i v i l e g e an order»
psychoanalysis —
and
sub-
he must strain nonetheless to
other than the sexual»
in the realm of
the "talking c u r e . "
The danger of this paradox is neutralized
somewhat
when we consider what Sartre means by a choice of being
( JLê. choix &i_£tx&) under which such secondary concepts
the libido and
the will to power are subsumed.
lowing passage
is worthy
of
as
The f o l -
consideration:
Le projet originel qui s'exprime dans chacune de
nos t e n d a n c e s empiriquement observables est donc
le projet d'etre où si l'on préfère» chaque tendance empirique est avec le projet originel d'être dans un rapport d'expression et d'assouvissement symbolique» comme les tendances
conscientes» c h e z Freud» par rapport aux complexes et à la libido originelle*
Ce n'est
point d ' a i l l e u r s que le désir di9 être
soit &L&T
*>Pr<* pour se faire exprimer gnstfi-t? par les d e sirs £ p o s t e r i o r f : mais il n'est rien en dehors
de l'expression symbolique qu'il trouve dans les
désirs concrets*
Il n'y a pas d'abord &Q, désir
d'être» puis mille sentiments particuliers» mais
le désir d'être n'existe et ne se manifeste que
dans et par la jalousie» l'avarice» l'amour de
l f a r t , la lâcheté» le courage, les mille expressions c o n t i n g e n t e s et empiriques qui font que la
réalité humaine ne nous apparaît jamais que manifestée par an tel homme* par une personne sin-
-124gulière.149
It is clear that Sartre does not intend the "desjr ft'et re "
to come bgforg
(in a strictly temporal
or any other drive#
structures
s e n s e ) the sexual,
T h u s , his references to
pre-sexuai
can only be construed as an attempt
lege ontological
to privi-
over sexual considerations and has
to do with the s u b j e c t ' s early infantile history.
other way f
we
little
Put
might state that Sartre sees the desire
anto
be as a primary drive, which is at the heart of all other
d r i v e s , and w h i c h shows
dinal u r g e s , the will
attitude
itself only in the guise of l i b i -
to power, or any other
that c h a r a c t e r i z e s human
fundamental
reality*
We must now ask the question: how is it that the ontological choice can provide a dynamic
words
y what
is it about
force?
In other
the nature of human reality,
human
•being," that can constitute a drive to become what one is
(at first
g l a n c e , a very
A brief
order.
The principal
being somewhat
reductive
latter c o n c e p t ) , we must
d i s t i n c t i o n between
149
between being-in-itself ( fitrg~enr.
( gtre-oour-soi ).
p. 652.
At the risk of
(especially with regard
to the
nonetheless establish a working
these two ontological
is the being of the phenomenon*
LklsL't
is in
focus of Sartre's text is, of
and b e i n g - f o r - i t s e l f
itseif
project)?
sketch of Sartre's ontological universe
course, the distinction
esiL)
passive and static
modes.
The
in-
the full being of
-125-
the world, brute e x i s t e n c e .
really said
about bein^-in-itself
The f o r - i t s e l f ,
sciousness.
on the other hand,
is that it simply Lfi.
is the being of con-
This mode of being is actually grounded
nothingness.
itself i s
The only thing that can be
It is a nothingness through which
"nihilated"
strict s e n s e .
( nk&Ll±
in
being-in-
> and, thus, i £ ûûlt
in a
As Hazel Barnes puts it:
B e i n g - f o r - i t s e l f ( e t r e - p o u r - s o i ) . The nihilation of B e i n g - i n - i t s e l f ; consciousness conceived
as a lack of Being, a desire for Being, a relation to Being.
By bringing Nothingness into the
world the F o r - i t s e l f can stand out from Being
and judge other beings by knowing what it is
not.
E a c h F o r - i t s e l f is the nihilation of a
particular B e i n g . 1 5 0
The notion
plicated,
of the for-itself is, then, somewhat
since one must deal with an entity which is p r e -
cisely a jaçfc of being, an empty entity which
manifests
ness
itself as human reality.
in the relation
tures Immédiates
nonetheless
The role of nothing-
of the thinking subject to the world
is e x p r e s s e d by Sartre
in the chapter entitled "Les Struc-
du P o u r - s o i . M
He states:
La realité h u m a i n e , par quoi le manque apparaît
dans le m o n d e , doit être
elle-même un manque.
Car le manque ne peut venir de l'être que par le
manque, l'en-soi ne peut être
occasion de manque
a l'en-soi.
En d'autres termes, pour que l'être
soit manquant ou manqué, il faut qu'un être
se
fasse son propre manque; seul un être
qui manque
peut d é p a s s e r l'être vers
le m a n q u é . 1 5 1
From Hazel B a r n e s ' terminological
lngf?^gf i p. 800.
key in gejpfi aji£
Noth
51
com-
S a r t r e , L'Etre
ejt JLfe uifiLOi, p . 130.
-126This surpassing
( ^ p a s s e m e n t ) of the plenitude of being-
in-itself by the for-itself constitutes the upsurge of d e sire
as a dynamic tendency in human reality.
it is to the appearance
of desire in the world that
appeals for a c o n f i r m a t i o n of his claim that
is a lack, a hole
nothinnness
Sartre
consciousness
in being: "Que la réalité humaine
m a n q u e , l'existence
le p r o u v e r . » * 5 2
What's more,
soit
du désir comme fait humain suffirait a
Sartre succeeds
ThuSf
in pointing to the
that g r o u n d s human reality by calling into ev-
idence the dynamic force ( le. disjx>
which results from
its
non—being*
F u r t h e r m o r e , human reality is seen as a continuous
sequence of c h o i c e s —
.. ~-*«m«
as freedom.
"Le Pour-soi
u*
choisit
, . ._ J.' ~**. -f » i ± ou* un avec
parce qu'il est manque, la liberté ne faix qu
m a n q u e , elle est
le mode d'être concret
e t r e . « l " The for-itself
du manque
an o b v i o u s l y
it is while serving as its own
impossible
^ ~*
separated,
n e c e s s i t y to pursue something it
that
152
153
Thus»
~<*A +n choose
escape -this endless need to cnoo
from w h i c h it is forever
the for-itself
Ibid.
Tfritf»t P»
652.
in-itgrounding:
* ~~ +fi«» for-itself
goal since xne
~ Hmp.
b e in-itself and free at the same time.
self cannot
d'-
strives relentlessly to complete
itself, to achieve the plenitude of being of the
self, to be what
le
can
the
cannot
for-it-
its being»
~nrt the result of
ana
never attain
this
means
+« ifq world in a fantasmatic
c o n s t r u c t s its wor
-127-
m a n n e r : the objects that
unsubstantial
for what
an object
real
and illusory way as unsatisfying
it really w a n t s .
mechanical
there
it chooses only function in an
Like the greyhound chasing
rabbit, the for-itself
which
it wishes
substitutes
the
is forever in pursuit of
to incorporate and,
moreover,
is no hope of its ever devouring the real object, a
rabbit.
human
The f o r - i t s e l f , consciousness, freedom
and
reality are all separate terms used to describe
same ( n o n - ) e n t i t y :
that being which wants to be
but must n e c e s s a r i l y be
in-itself,
for-itself.
T h u s , the origin of desire presents
gical:
the
itself as ontolo-
the for-itself
wants to fre. Desire is then m a n i -
fested through c h o i c e .
The choice of an object, which is
always, at its o r i g i n , the elusive
a fundamental
in-itself,
constitutes
mode of being-for-itself: doing.
choice
is a l w a y s choice oj£ g ^ e t h l n g .
choice
is n e v e r separated
the object
since
of the
from the process itself, but
forms an integral part of i t .
of the f o r - i t s e l f
But
Since the original
project
as lack is to be what it is (that is, to
b e s o m e t h i n g w h i c h is not n o t h i n g n e s s ) , it can be seen
that
the for-itself
is always choosing to fill its own
lack, to achieve a plenitude like that of the in-itself.
The for-itself w a n t s ;to have
self
lack, it must choose
side
it*
o f
itself and, since it is it-
itself from what is always
out-
in other w o r d s , since the for-itself is a lack
b e i n p , it cannot
possess a being hy
possessing
itself.
-128Hr must
look for being e l s e w h e r e .
propriating
Thus, it is only by ap-
a being which is outside
itself and
claiming
this being as its own that the for-itself can choose
it-
self.
There is a complicated
connection, therefore»
being (etfe ). doing ( f a i r e ) and having ( ayoj.r ).
itself w a n t s to be in-itself (gtre ) and must
choose
itself through
world (faire ) so that
The
the mediation of an object
in the
it can have itself (&voJx>--
. . . m'apprend
for-
therefore
la réalité humaine est désir d' e t r e - e n - s o l , " 1 5 4
qui est mien
between
"Ainsi
"tout ce
à moi-même mon choix f
c'est-
à-dire mon ê t r e , » * 5 * and
M
a t i o n ] est aie-one. . • .
parce qu'elle est l'image de mon
l a situation [i.e., fout? situ-
libre choix de moi-même et tout ce qu'elle me présente
est
mien en ce que cela me représente et me symbolise."
Do-
ing and having are b o u n d up in the same drive, which is
grounded on the desire to be.
"Grounded on the desire to b e " : the originary
and its m a n i f e s t a t i o n
same system.
in human reality are part of the
"Le projet
originel d'un pour-soi a £ ftfcUl
£ i S Ê £ 2 U Ê goj* être."is? but since the for-itself
lack and can only choose
* 5 * Xfcié*t
p. 653.
155
Xfeié.f
p. 5 4 1 .
156
Ibid*,
P-
639.
157
Ihlsi.,
P-
651.
desire
is itself
itself outside itself, the being
-129-
w h i c h it chooses
Although
is never
the being of its original
the object of the for-itself's choice is alvays
somehow determined by the aim of the original
this object
it
aim*
of the manifest
is a r e p r e s e n t a t i o n ,
drive
is always
project,
fantasmatic:
a surrogate for the real
object
(the f o r - i t s e l f - i n - i t s e l f ), a metaphor for that which
permanently
foreclosed
his d i s c u s s i o n
to the for-itself#
of love and Jealousy
is
For example,
in Proust,
in
Sartre
maintains:
[ C e s é m o t i o n s ] ne sauraient se réduire au strict
désir de posséder une femme, mais • • • visent a
s'emparer £ travers la femme du monde tout entier • • • [ L ' a m o u r ] apparaît • . • comme un rapport fondamental du pour-soi au monde et a s o i même ( i p s é i t é ) à travers telle femme
p a r t i c u l i è r e ; le femme ne r e p r e g e n * e [emphasis
a d d e d ] q u ' u n c o r p s conducteur qui est place dans
le c i r c u i t . 1 5 8
T h u s , the object
mate object
in love
is a representation
of the ulti-
in the for-itself's fundamental project:
the
desire to be*
S a r t r e ' s ontological examination
of desire yields,
then, as he p o i n t s out, a structure that is roughly p a r a l lel to that
generated by Freud's psychological
analysis.
*n a passage quoted earlier (see above, p . 1 2 3 ) , the phil
osopher's
b e
comparison
of Freudian
to his own can
seen as f o l l o w s :
f i s t )
E M P I R I C A L ? ORIGINAL PROJECT
TENDENCY
OF BEING
158
thought
Xfeia!., p. 6 4 9 .
* I n Freac* )
:: MANIFEST : COMPLEXES/
»**VE
ORIGINAL LIBIDO
-130Moreover, according to Sartre» "le désir d'être [le projet
originel d'être] • • • n'est rien en dehors de l'expression symbolique qu'il trouve dans les désirs concrets." 1 5 9
Since the desire to be is grounded in nothingness and cannot be apprehended except through its manifestation in a
symbolic sense, it must be latent, giving the impetus to a
conscious tendency while at the same time being re-presented, netaphorized into something which it is not.
The
fundamental project can thus be understood as a kind of
originary bad faith, for the subject must, of necessity,
always be denied a direct knowledge of his desire to be
—
a desire which can only be apprehended in a symbolized,
representational and translated m o d e . 1 6 0
Thus, although Sartre does not use the word, it is
not impossible to apply the term "latent" at this point in
his argumemt, whether one admits of an unconscious, in the
systematic sense, or not.
It is also clear that the com-
plexes and original libido are latent, according to the
Freudian system.
Sartre's equation, then, seems to bal-
159
ifeiSÎ. » P. 6 5 2 .
160
It might be helpful to note at this point that the
various terms which Sartre uses to describe the role
of the object in the empirical tendency — representation, symbol, metaphor, etc. — should all be understood as a kind of translation from an inconceivable,
unattainable mode (the for-itself-ln-itself) to one
that is both conceivable and attainable. Thus^ the
represented, symbolized, metaphorized object o. the
for-itselfs original project can only he manifested
through a kind of "surrogate" object which stands in
the place of the inaccessible object.
-131-
ance except
for one more consideration: the desire to be
is originary
Freud?
for Sartre; is the libido originary
Sexuality is an empirical
far as Sartre
is concerned;
ty in F r e u d ' s
system?
tendency»
for
a metaphor»
what is the status of s e x u a l i -
The Three Essays oja the Theory fii Sexuality
what
is probably
study of d r i v e s .
contain
the principal elaboration of Freud's
Rather than examine this text
directly»
it may be well to draw on Jean Laplanche's commentary
d r i v e s in Freud»
psvchapalYfrg T
for in Laplanche's text»
years of r e v i s i n g , had difficulty
dismantled
instinct
(IrJLÊfe) are examined with a ter-
rigor that even Freud himself»
Both mechanisms»
the instinct
as a result
and the drive, can be
impetus
< 1 & apjiÊfiee.), the aim (le feul ) » the object dlofrjet)»
mechanism»
fiojjxc^).
of
maintaining*
into four roughly separate units: the
the source < 1 &
on
YÀJ& fet »°rt &&
the subtle differences between the
( I n s t i n k t ) and the drive
minological
as
and
The impetus is the essence of the
the force which is the instinct
/ drive
itself;
the aim is the act towards which the mechanism is driven»
and the thing by means of which the aim of the instinct /
drive can be accomplished
system;
is the object
in the
mechanistic
the source of the mechanism's driving force d e -
pends on the nature of the particular mechanism.
source
of the Instinct
The
is "that somatic process in an or-
gan or part of the body from which there results a stimu-
-132-
in mental life by a d r i v e . " 1 6 1 The
lus represented
of the drive
is the instinct
itself.
In short * there is only one instinct —
self-preservation.
by Freud
hungry
infant.
that
The example, par excellence
to illustrate
source
of
selected
the instinct at work is that of the
The mechanistic source of the
vative process is, in this case, somatic.
self-preser-
The various
parts of the baby»s body tell the infant that it is hungry.
will
Hunger
is the impetus for the motor response
be, of course, eating.
self-preservation,
to eliminate
result of
which the
The aim of the instinct
but more particularly, the baby
the physical
the milk —
The nourishment
since it is the thing
mother's breast
through
the action of the infant at
of
its
is the manifestation of the instinct.
ready, as we shall see, the baby has entered
the symbolic
pirical t e n d e n c y
161
it-
C o n s e q u e n t l y , when given the breast, the
baby sucks on it, and
Ltegta^Xgn
wants
instinct's aim can be achieved, is the object
the instinct.
into
is
tension which has arisen as a
its lack of nourishment.
self, then —
which
of the
Al-
(willy-nilly)
plane of consciousness through the
em-
to suck, which must be regarded as a aaainstinct.
Sigmunct Freud, «Instincts and Their Vicissitudes, • in
Xhe Standard Edition V o l . XIV (Londonï Hogarth, 1 9 5 3 ) ,
P. 123.
T h i s description is cited by Laplanche in his
ï i Ê £t a o x i en ppychftnMYg* < P « - A s : Flammarion, 1 9 7 Û ) ,
p. 25.
-133Although
function
the two mechanisms9
in a similar fashion*
is an important
is somatic,
difference
instinct and drive,
it must be noted that
between the two: the
the drive is psychical»
ped11 on the instinct.
The drive
there
instinct
is "prop-
In addition to the satisfaction
of
its hunger that the b a b y achieves through the ingestion of
the milk, the child
is also experiencing a pleasurable
s t i m u l a t i o n of the lips and mouth through the action
sucking
at the nipple
the b o d y .
sensual
and the movement
of warm milk
of
into
This stimulation provides the infant with a
pleasure
that will henceforth be associated
the s a t i s f a c t i o n of
with
the instinct, and later, as the child
d i s c o v e r s more erotogenic zones, will be desired in itself
as s e x u a l i t y .
stinctual
pleasure
satisfaction,
constitutes
shoot
Sexual
and this secondary pleasure,
which
the aim of the drive, can be seen as an off-
of the
instinct.
This is, in essence,
notion of p r o p p i n g ( k±*X&MS.f
stinct
is thus grounded on in-
AuIfi-tUUlO* >•
Laplanche's
Although the in-
is primary and does not constitute, in itself, a
Psychological
s t r u c t u r e , it does not « i s t
"tf'ftfrord Pour
se faire e x p r i m e r ensuite par les désirs & PPPtgriQri" < t o
borrow some w o r d s of S a r t r e » s ) .
with its m a n i f e s t a t i o n
a
s
the source ot
The instinct
is bound up
as drive and can even be regarded
the drive:
Quelle est finalement la source de la pulsion?
Dans cette p e r s p e c t i v e , on peut dire que c est
l'instinct tout entier.
L'instinct tout entier
avec lui-aiême sa "source," sa "poussée,* son
^
"but" et son "objet" tels que nous les avons d e -
-134-
finis, l'instinct, armes et bagages avec ses
quatre facteurs, est à son tour source du p r o cessus qui le m i m e , le déplace et le dénature:
la p u l s i o n . i 6 2
Thus, the drive
is a mimetic process: a re-presentation
the
mechanism.163
162
163
instinctual
of
Lapianche, yjj* £-£ a ° x l EH pgyghftttftVyggt P» 41.
At this point, we should reconsider Freud's statement
with regard to the systematic unconscious and Triebe*
On page 115, we cited the following:
I am • . . of the opinion that the antithesis of c o n s c i o u s and unconscious is not app l i c a b l e to instincts [ jiat auf tfen Tr*gfr
feeing Anwenflung 1" An instinct can never become an object of consciousness — only the
idea f die Vorstellung 1 that represents the
instinct can.
Even in the unconscious,
m o r e o v e r , an instinct cannot be represented
otherwise than by an idea.
If the instinct
did not attach itself to an idea or manifest
itself as an affective state, we could know
nothing about it ("The Unconscious, , f p.
177).
Is Freud talking about pulsion or inP*inÇt here?
Lap l a n c h e 1 s suggestion that the drive f pulsion. XrJ_e_fe )
As a d e r i v a t i v e , a representation of the instinct ( iag t i n c t , Inst}ffifr*i seems to be muddled by the passage
we have just cited, in which the drive seems to be
p r i m a r y and mimed t>y a representation ( YprgteHttng >•
Either the use of the term Tr*eb in this case is a
divergence from terminological rigor on Freud's part
or L a p i a n c h e * s analysis is somewhat less than conclusive.
A third possible interpretation presents itself,
however.
Continuing our reading of the passage, we
note the following (both the English and German vers i o n s are given for the sake of p r e c i s i o n ) :
When we nevertheless speak of an unconscious
instinctual impulse or of a repressed instinctual impulse, the looseness of phraseology is a harmless o n e . w e can only mean
an instinctual impulse the ideational representative of which is unconscious, for nothing else comes into consideration ("The Unconscious," p. 1 7 7 ) .
-135Sexuallty, "qui représente le modèle de toute pulsion
et probablement la seule pulsion au sens propre du
terme,«**• and its power source, the reservoir of libido,
is aoj. originary desire.
At this point it must be main-
tained that the instinct of self-preservation is at least
•ore primary than the sexual drive.
Sartre's equation be-
comes unbalanced, and the comparison should be rewritten:
«enn wir aber doch von ^ n e r . . u n b e ¥ r U " H b r e Triebregung oder einer verdrangten Trieore
gun* reden, so ist dies eine harmlose Nachlassigkeit des Ausdrucks. Wir konnen nichts
anderes meinen als eine Triebregung, *•*•»
VoretellungsreprSsentanz unbewusst ist, denn
etwas anderes kommt nicht in Betracht (Das
Unbewusste," in the flrfftWW»**» *&£*&> V o i * X
[London: Imago, 1946], P» 276).
««ihlo confusion on the part
Freud seems to sense a possible c o n i u ° ^0_n<4__ o f
^ —m» +*% hie ••tooseness ox
of the reader, for he refers to his ^ h . w e v e r , w c
phraseology." In clarifying his point, h o w ^ e r » W «_
note that he shifts from ^
to X ^ ^ f c t n l : i n scribe the repressed that can only ~ ^ J
bothf
anct
ness through a representation. ino.ee
Freud's discarding of one term for «"»>*her ^ £ _ * *
fort to "tighten" his V*™Be°X°**'*lZ
T r ieb and XnPlanche-s effort to ^ ^ " ^ V
^ ^ M ^
TZ
l
«Haiti» help us to understand why. X
Jl_
clnt>e
the stirring, moving * « " £ • • °* **. Laplanche points
understood as the Inft*iliKt. * ° r ; i n c t t n a t p r o p s the
out, it is the force of the ^ ^ f Quelle] of the libidrive (that is, it is the sour
[% g f l M l t
.- t h e
do).
Since this is the case, ? h *
conscious, exT r ^ b in its entirety — cannot be
( _ ^ } a n d ob_
cept through its manifestation M
"
*££«,.. C onject (QiuieJtl). The impetus ( £tftOft »
* L ^ , D U t the
scious as an affective state < *ltgKtrilfftMtf
^
^
source (the Txi£bxfe£lWS> » s * U C ? ' erf f r o B conscious
in its entirety, is forever banished ir
lile#
....tion of the instinct
Thus, the lxiej> is a ~ ^ ° d * f c a n o n i y become con<lû£iinjt±)t and the Irisfe. i ^ e i i
a p p e a r a n c e as an
scious through its manifestation, its
empirical tendency»
»•• Laplanche, 3LU *1 mfiXl ÊU attfiO.oai»*» *«
l8
'
-136-
(In S a r t r e )
E M P I R I C A L : O R I G I N A L PROJECT : :
TENDENCY
OF BEING
< I n Freud/Laplanche)
M A N I F E S T : I N S T I N C T J*
DRIVE
SELF-PRESERVATION
Sexuality drops out of
the equation as merely another
in the symbolic
an "empirical
chain»
tendency.»
Of course, it may be misleading to declare that
uality
first
link
sex-
is « m e r e l y " a n o t h e r link; it is more precisely
link, the link w h i c h Joins the symbolic
real.
the
with the
It is the "model of every drive," as Laplanche
p o i n t s out, and no one can deny that Eros plays a predominant
role
in F r e u d - s thought.
course on sexuality
Sartre's
support
the baby
of desire in Freud.
^
by the
of one argument
*wA«»
other.
•K«+
it can be seen that
instinct
and
remarkable
In the example
nraiity
orai
^ i n t of
tude ear. e x c e l l e n c e which marks the poinx
between the
Leaving
«,*» nnte some
aside, however, we nox«
nursing,
that
this
to either the instinct
to both
articulation
the drive:
r_
^
, *i„« of orality can
description
*u rft-ive.
or the drive.
in a rather complex
In fact, it
^
apply
applies
fashion:
. rf(.nB u n e position tout a
,e feut. sexuel . . . est dans un
v
^
Le
fonction
^ différf ait s p é c i a l e par rapport au
a l i m e n t a i r e ; il est a la fols te •
ent.
Le but de l'alimentation était
165
?bio%t
*>• 22<
of
is the a t t i -
s x o n n e l , implique a la fois U B
relation, d i s o n s :
l« incorporation, ^
"
tain type d'objet, l'objet qui est precis
s u s c e p t i b l e d'etre avale, incorpore.
It is evident
of d i s -
is, without a doubt, the source of
misunderstanding
this d i s c r e p a n c y
This proliferation
-137l»ingestion; or, en psychanalyse nous parlons de
l'incorporation.
Les termes peuvent paraître
bien proches, et pourtant ils sont décales l un
par rapport à l'autre. Avec l'incorporation, le
but est devenu scénario d'un fantasme.
The primary manifestation of originary desire —
swallowing, incorporation —
text.
eating,
finds support in Sartre's
Since the fundamental project of being-for-itself
is the desire to be in-itself while remaining for-itself,
the aim of this project is a kind of self-possession:
the
-^ ,4._.w _— an impossible
for-itself wants to \ nfffT" orftte itself
»«
»»
task.
Taking another look at an important passage cited,
in part, earlier in this study (see above, P- 100), we
read:
Le malheur est que — comme le notait Hegel -le désir détruit son objet. (En ce sens, di
sait-il, le. d^sir ÊÊi dlsjx iS. « f ^ J ? ^ 8
added]. ) En réaction contre cette n c * e s V ^
dialectique, le Pour-soi rSve d'un objet qui
serait entièrement assimilé par moi, q u i ^ ^
Bai, sans se dissoudre en moi, en gar an
structure d'ÊB^fiûi, car, justement ce que je a
sire, c'est çej: objet et, si Je le mange,
l'ai plus, je ne rencontre plus que moi. Cette
synthèse impossible de l • assimilai** et se
intégrité conservée de l'assi«ile se
^ J ^
dans ses racines les plus profondes, a v e ^
tendances fondamentales de la sexua
j.é.<,oi-f dreams
This object of which the for-itself
dream is, then, by
M h i c dialectical process of
necessity, fantasmatic, and +this
" "
.,„„, with the fundamental
desire has "deep-rooted connections
r*
*he sexual drive]." In
tendencies of sexuality [i.e.t *«« s e *
* •«« the original fantasmatic
fact, as Laplanche demonstrates, tne
166
Ibid.,
167
Sartre,
p.
37.
r'F.tre
ejt Ls. ufeftUit
P*
668
*
-138-
object
is the breast
an object
or, more specifically,
which is symbolically
the nipple -
connected by
with the real object of instinctual
contiguity
life, milk:
Comprenons bien que l'objet réel, le lait, était
l'objet de la fonction [ i . e . , the b i o l o g i c a } .
instinctual f u n c t i o n ] , celle-ci étant comme
p r e - o r d o n n é e au monde de la satisfaction»
C'est
cet objet réel qui a été perdu, mais l'objet qui
est lie au rebroussement auto-érotique, le sein
devenu sein fantasmatique —
est, lui, l'objet de la pulsion sexuelle.
Ainsi l'objet sexuel n'est pas identique à l'objet de la fonction, il est déplacé par rapport à lui, il est
dans un rapport
de contiguïté tout à fait essentiel qui n o u s fait glisser insensiblement de
l un a l'autre, du lait au sein comme son symbole* 168
Although
sexuality,
the preceding discussion demonstrates that
being
a drive rather than an instinct, is not
the o r i g i n a r y source of d e s i r e , but rather a symbolic
ifestation
of a more primary mechanism
stinct of s e l f - p r e S e r v a t i o n ,
of desire, the in-
it is clear that Freud's sys-
tem is still not in accord with Sartrean
logic.
The
°**igin of desire for Sartre, as we remarked earlier,
ontological.
°* dissatisfaction
t n e
origin
in the subject.
The biological
ocuses
on that same moment
the point of articulation
drive —
i-f
an
state
nature
argument
of consciousness —
that
ontological resolution
Vie e t
which
of
between the instinct and the
is to be
formulated
16 8
Lapianche,
and
of desire, as it is construed by Lapianche,
*ust s o m e h o w give way to a phenomenological
f
is
it is the rift between being-for-itseif
e i n g - i n - i t s e l f which precipitates the fundamental
of
man-
mort en p p v c f r a n a l v s e t
P» 3 7 .
-139-
which
is appropriate to human reality.
sire must be discovered
that
The origin of de-
in the upsurge of consciousness
is, in the upsurge of the for-itself, the
of n o t h i n g n e s s
the phallus —
appearance
and the opening of the ontological
Psychoanalytically
speaking, this moment
that signifier which serves to
--
rift.
is marked by
originarily
d e s i g n a t e , as a primary link in a signifying chain, the
effect
of the nothingness that is signified.
In an effort
to clarify some of the obscurity surrounding the role of
Lacan1s
^ «
«1 «nee at Jacques
the p h a l l u s , we shall now take a glance
*
essay regarding this concept,
M T « Signification
"La t>ign"
du p h a l -
^*_
~i «• n-f articulation
l u s , " in which he examines the point of arxx
tween the instinct
and
be-
^ *
-« fhe origin of desire»
the drive as the o n *
S p e a k i n g of the rift f r o . which desire emerges, Lacan
draws on a p a s s a g e fro» Freud • s *££**&
ciple.
Freud
*** E l ^ u x *
^ ^ '
maintains:
No substitutive or reaction
f ^ ^ T / p e r s î s t fice to remove the repressed instincT
f
ine t e n s i o n ; and it is the d i f f « ~ e n C « *J ^ *
amount between the pleasure of s a t i "
which is d ^ m ^ e d and that £ * c h i- acta»
^
W h f T » t f that P ~ ^ d J - * h # a f I I ' position atwill permit of no halting at any P°
^
g
tained, but, in the poet's woras,
K
,
forward u n s u b d u e d " [ Mephistopheles in Goethe
Faust, Part
This moment
sons.
First
I ].169
in Freud
+ «„=, for at least two reais interesting for
. + __ the quirk in Straof all, it demonstrates the q
chey's translating
project
that
Laplanc
* the rigorous attention
s t r a i g h t e n out by means of tne " »
69
p
Freud, Bevond itofe ElffrfW» Erinr4pVfe»
»• 36«
he pays
-140-
to the German text.
M
* h e repressed
nal
«The repressed instinct" is actually
d r j ^ " ( d e ^ yergrgnrte
TVl*p)
in the
origin
text and this correction should be kept in mind in the
Present
context,
Principal
role.
in which Laplanche's argument
Secondly,
plays a
this sentence in Freud
asis for the following paraphrase
in Lacan's
is the
text:
le désir n'est ni l'appétit de la satisfaction,
ni la demande d'amour, mais la différence qui
resuite de la soustraction du premier à la seconde, le phénomène même de leur refente ( Snal-
*can, like Freud, d e s c r i b e s the advent of desire in pseudo-arithmetical
subtraction
terms.
instinctual
hunger, and the second term carries an erotic
connotation
«portant
and thus points to the sexual drive.
It is
to note that desire is neither one nor the oth-
er, but rather the relationship between the two terms.
o v e r , this remainder can actually be seen as an absoU t e
Vftlue
»
tor
gards the first
ubtrahend.
it makes little difference whether one reterm or the second as the minuend or the
A positive difference ( "le phénomène même de
leur r e f e n t e " ) is derived no matter which direction
Process takes.
°
170
^
the demand for love ( 1 & demande d' a-
Clearly, the first term refers to the
nction f
the
of the appetite for satisfaction ( l'appétjt
^ * g at lgfftctipn.) f r o m
a^Uii:)-
Desire is initiated through
I n the appetite for satisfaction,
the
there
conscious c h o i c e ; the infant is merely hungry and as
T
Jacques L a c a n , "La Signification du phallus," in E c r i t s It ( P a r i s : Editions de Seuil, i971 ), p. 110.
is
-141-
l Û n g
t h e
^
W U l
n0t
» W * l
In
^ ^
t h e
* • the term implies,
"
is evident
sciousnes,
of
ishment, but
« « « *
is relieved,
the
neerf#
the infant must a ^
^
w l t h
T h i 6
^
^
organism
*<>r love, on the other
for
that this second notion implies
a
to the demand,
tension
^
^
^
^
^
^
^
^
^
(
hand,
satisfaction.
the con^
^
^
^
^
^
at least as far as the infant is con-
e r n e d ) , the aim
is metaphorized
as sexuality emerges
the d i s c u s s i o n above of Laplanche's a r g u m e n t ) .
Seen
(see
from
another perc?rk*>0 + 1 ~
*- - H « c x i v e , once consciousness of the need
arises,
the object of the instinct is re-presented
in a
^antasmatic
sr**»»-*.» i
scenario and becomes a weak substitute for the
desired object «-* ^i -,
o t
J e c t
biological satisfaction*
What the inreally w a n t s , then,
strings a t t a c h e d .
V e
thG
r e a l
is biological satisfaction
with
It wants to be able to demand and
object which consciousness has somehow
royed ( P h e n o m e n o l o g i c a l l y speaking, this object
nxhilated [ n é a n t j g f ]l-
Thus, the fantasmatic
has
object
&°P* e thing t& fee. desired for the infant, and the
erence b e t w e e n the appetite for satisfaction as m i and +Vxe* **
i n e
demand
Positive:
nuend
n
for love as subtrahend is obviously
I*
REAL O B J E C T > FANTASMATIC OBJECT,
^ P E T I T E FOP SATISFACTION - DEMAND FOR LOVE > 0.
tion of the terms can be reversed, however,
nfant w a n t s
fantasmatic
for
to be able to ask for and receive botft
and the real object.
In other words, the
-142-
baby w a n t s to have both the object of consciousness and
the object which consciousness prevents him from ever r e ally having*
doubled, and
Thus, the object of the aim of the drive
is
consequently:
FANTASiCATIC OBJECT > REAL OBJECT,
DEMAKD FOR LOVE - APPETITE FOR SATISFACTION > 0.
then
The combining
of these two points of view yields:
(APPETITE FOR SATISFACTION - DEMAND FOR LOVEJ
> 0.
"It s e e m s , then, that an instinct [ein Trieb»
d r i v e ] is an urge inherent
a
in organic life to restore
an
earlier state of t h i n g s . " 1 7 1 Freud's assertion can be interpreted
in two ways*
First, as Freud seems to intend,
the human organism still wants to behave as if it were a
n o n - c o n s c i o u s , one-celled organism*
Secondly, the human
o r g a n i s a simply wants to return to a pre-conscious
(i.e.,
Br£or Î-SL c o n s c i o u s n e s s ) sirate in which it does not have to
"think, for c o n s c i o u s n e s s
a n d
fantasy
fantasmatic,
is never as satisfying as the real
Thus, obtaining
the object of a drive
hotel on Park Place
temporarily
transforms real into
is like purchasing a
in a game of Monopoly:
the player
satisfied with his long-dreamed-of
s u c c e s s , but the revenues from
thing*
the symbolic,
financial
plastic
s t r u c t u r e will never enable him to pay the gas bill for
hi
»
I 71
real
Freud,
apartment.
B e v o n d ;tfce
pleasure
Eningiple.
P*
30.
is
-143-
The "earlier state of things» can, of course, be restored and,
in all cases, eventually L& restored.
Freud so succinctly
death.«W2
T h e
remarks:
impulse.
"The a i * of all life
is
death drive exists in conjunction with
and both these impetuses
nary
As
are metaphors for the same
ordi-
Human reality strives constantly to close
the o p e n i n g between
its own phenomenological
nothingness
j,
i....*!!- universe.
( c o n s c i o u s n e s s ) and the non-fantasmatic unive
Desire
is desire for this closure and the goal of the drive
b e achieved
Eros
temporarily
can
through sexual objects or perma-
n e n t l y through d e a t h .
^
.é-^i «w -the permanent
Unfortunately, the P
sure
+ ~ A « i l v a solution to the
is not reatty
provided by death
problem
of d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n ,
* .4.4* «é-t«o -termination
for with the termin
life, human reality becomes a meaningless
S a r t r e ' s ontolo«ical schema
ly the
term.
rf».An«trates
demonstrax
quite
J « •.wen into
is tasen
consideration,
^~„+h as conceived by conthat is, death as c
^
,. m in.tlon of tension which
s c i o u s n e s s : a permanent elimination
not, h o w e v e r , result
173
clear-
«„i v be the desire for a
the desire for death can only be
f a n t a s m a t i c object —
172
of
«»«.! object and suggests,
inadequacy of death as a real, onj
if the p r e c e d i n g discussion
that
clo—
i =« of c o n s c i o u s n e s s . 1 7 3
in a loss of cons
would
The
XfelSÎ.f P. 3 6 .
ccount of old Feather—
Neil Hertz points out that ™ J * p d e a t h i n Eliot's
s t o n e ' s fantasy of 8 " r y J ^ s t r a t i o Q of this dilemma.
Mlfldlemarch is an apt ilLustr
detailed
w r i t t e n a
Before his death, the miser n d e g t l n e d t o annoy those
plan for his funeral — a p i "
in a t t e n d a n c e .
In Chapter 34, we re
. , t i v e in some form or
We are all of us imaginative
-144-
desire for death cannot,
then, be an instinct;
be a d r i v e .
speaking of the original
Once a 3 a i n ,
of the for-itself, Sartre
it can onl
project
explains:
Le pour-soi surgit comme néantisation de I • ensoi et cette néantisation se définit comme projet vers l « e n - s o i : entre l•en-soi neanti et l en-soi projeté, le pour-soi est néant.
Ainsi le
but et la fin de la néantisation que je suis,
c'est l ' e n - s p l .
Ainsi U realite
fc^*^*/*^.
désir d'Stre-en-soi . • • L'Etre oui fait 1 ob
jet du désir du pour-soi est donc un en-soi qui
serait à lui-même son propre fondement . . . La
valeur fondamentale, qui preside a ce J ^ ^ * * *
justement 1•en-soi-pour-soi, c• eS! *~ ft ~ f®
déal d'une conscience qui serait f o n d e m e " * n ^
son propre étre-eo-soi par la pure c o n 8 C ; e " * | ,
. -.-.
^—«
n'est cet ideal
qu'elle prendrait d'elle-même.
C esx
qu'on peut nommer Dieu.
Ainsi pcut-on dire que
ce qui rend le^mieux concevable le pro Je
fonda
mental de la réalite humaine, c est que
est l'être qui projette d'etre Dieu.
r* ^r4
uranlS
t o
beCOBie
The subject,
i 01
in wanting to become God,
* «-f self-possession of
m o r t a l , for what he seeks i s a sort of setT P
which he can remain c o n s c i o u s .
«Ta. mort nous rejoint a
L.& mo»
~ +w» brood of desire;
other, for images are the o
tf
BUCn
and poor old Feathers o - t ^ . w ^ f did
at the w a y others cajoled «
In
not escape the fellowship of ill»-*
^
^
writing the programme for h * B
that
tainly did not make clear to h ^ ^ ^ ^
^
his pleasure in t h * J ; ^ e d t o anticipation,
formed a part was « ^
B | h e c o t t I d inIn chuckling °™* **l™l
hand,
h i s dead
Qt
fLict by the ^gict clutch
u e n e B S
w i t h
he inevitably mingled his co
he w a s preoccupied witn
x
c o f f i n
was one of grati ficat ion * » - J £ * o r k : N o r .
(George Eliot, JLLiidlejaaxSLu IN e w *°
ton, 1 9 7 7 ] , P. 2 2 2 ) .
l
»
S a r t r e , L'Etre
ejt le. niant, PP- 652-653.
-145-
nous-même,Mi7s
b u t
dea
th
is precisely the death of con-
sciousness*
Thus,
itself:
in huiian reality the aim of being is to have
«'Le projet
Siàe. &£UDL g t p e . "
inseparable
originel rff un pour-soi as. peut
In fact, being and having are
viser
virtually
as modes of consciousness:
D n
^ d e s i r n e P e u * être, en son fond, que
^'êtrg ou désir d« a v o i r » I 7 6
désir
Le^desir d' avoir est au fond réductible au désir
d f e t r e par rapport à un certain objet dans une
certaine relation d ' e t r e » * 7 7
La totalité de mes possessions réfléchit la totalité de mon ê t r e .
Je suis ce que
J9sJL*176
In p s y c h o a n a l y t i c
h&ve
terms, what the subject wants is ig.
the p h a l l u s , a project which, as noted by Lacan,
fers to the closure of the originary ontologicai
^hich
is opened
signifier
as d e s i r e .
But the phallus
re-
rift
is merely a
and, w h a t * s more, a signifier for nothingness.
Thus, originary
desire can only be symbolically
satisfied
by i n c o r p o r a t i n g or appropriating objects which are m e t o nymicaily
related
to the real object —
that
itself can only appropriate partial objects.
tion
is, t h e r e f o r e ,
Ifri-d»T P*
159.
176
Ifritf., P*
670.
177
XfeJUt-t P* 678.
178
Ibjtf. y P* 680.
appropria-
the symbol of the attainment
ideal of the for-itself —
175
is, the for-
of the
«un en-soi qui, en tant
que
-146-
p o u r - s o l , serait
son propre f o n d e i e n f " »
lation of the for-itself
—
possessing and the
possessed can only be symbolic:
and this rein-itself
"on ne saurait
trop
sister sur le fait que cette relation est s v m P P U g u e
idéale.
inet
Je ne s a t i s f a i s pas . . • «on désir originel
etre à moi-même mon propre fondement
. . • Par
d'-
l'appropri-
ation."180
. .
^ _*_=i= »nd Freud's
The balance that weighs Sartre's and
of desire
theories
, ,.
.._„, i « «. more precise
can now be calibrated in a «ore v
(In
TENDENCY
fashion:
Freud/Lacan)
U M
OF BEING
Our r e a d i n g of Freud against Sartre draws to a close.
We have d i s c o v e r e d
that at the two moments when
Sartre
s e e m s most at odds with the Freudian system, the diverg
e
between
Freud's depth psychology and Sartre's pheno-
irreat as it
l l v ao
n e n o l o g i c a l o n t o l o g y is not realty so s*
at first
glance.
u n c o n s c i o u s , but
appears
Sartre denies the notion of a systematic
, 1 - ^ «-P "originary bad faith"
posits a kind of
orxK
. . „ . . ontological project
(our t e r m ) by which the o r i g i n » 1 onxot fc
only be known through its
dencies —
. . a c + . t i o n as empirical
manifestation
_ « * +« failure,
a project which is doomed to fax
can
ten-
although
oositive value on the
the subject cannot help but place a v
consciousness
•
which manifests
î*
i^«
Regarding the
libido
^
+ c ï u a U t y does not earn
theory, we have observed that sexuatixy
179
Ibjp>, p. 682.
1 8 0
IbJLot.
the
-147-
o r i g i n a r y status in Freud that Sartre claims.
«propped»
on an instinctual
the phallus as signifier
we can conclude that
Freud —
force and,
It is
if the notion of
is employed as a mediating
human reality —
term,
for both Sartre
aal
a r i s e s through a nothingness at the heart of be-
ing.'"
F u r t h e r m o r e , we have seen that, once beyond
primary o n t o l o g i c a l
cerned,
the
considerations with which he is con-
s e x u a l i t y plays a cardinal role in Sartre's
system
as w e l l .
In fact, he maintains that the for-itself
sexual
• *-, +v.» world of the Other,
its very upsurge into tne
in
•K«-t although Freud
c o n c l u d e , therefore, that atxno «
We m i 6 h t
Sartre are not
for the most
supplement
in complete
strives to be its own foundation
human
and
i _4«*st the importance
Keeping in mind xn
the o r i g i n a r y ontological dilemma
a project
and
accord, they seem to present
part two points of view which complement
one a n o t h e r .
of b e i n g -
is
/.#.t«0 + the
(that
of
for—itself
^ _j~v*4 0ve a plenitude
and achiev
the goal of which is foreclosed
reality due to the very nature of the
to
for-itself),
court; a.o approach toward a
we can utilize a more or less Freudian a p P
Psychanalyse
d^s. £]&&&£.'
vig the w o r l d and
rily a choice
t o T
+ K « «subject1 s attitude yjs-ftr
x n e
n i manifest what
its objects will manifes
i„on its appearance as majii.of being, but, given its a P F
•-nv
f e s t a t i o p . will be fundamentally
i ex
is prima-
sexual
sexu
in structure.
close to developing his
S a r t r e , in fact, comes very
... i«Le désir est manown notion of p t a v a g e . He wr
~'
q u e tel,
e st
L\
que d'etre, nous I ' avons vu.
*
^ ^
( u_-anque„
directement Ç O X I Ê SliC ^ être
e B p h a s i s ).
Etre et Le ûÊftnjt, p . 664, Sarxr
-148-
Sexuality
is the child of Being and Nothingness.
We are now in a position to respond
"Why should
one desire
to the
question:
a reified thought, a reified
con-
s c i o u s n e s s , a food which refuses to be digested?»
The
urge to possess concrete
ab-
objects, or to concretize
stract, n e b u l o u s forces, is an off-shoot
selfs
fundamental
of the
project: to have itself as
for-it-
in-itself.
As we have observed, the mode ftY^iX i* basically
cal and a p p r o p r i a t i o n
particular
ject
ontologi-
*_ an
~~ «tteaot
represents
atTeap* to achieve a
manner of being.
Moreover, each manifest
ob-
of o n e ' s desire must be understood as a displaced ob-
ject with
regard
to the originary ontological urge.
we see that such goals as the r e l o c a t i o n
consciousness
(virtually
Thus
of thought
and
_~rt the same enterprise) and
one and the saw
the ingestion of a food which will somehow not he
consumed
are modes of a p p r o p r i a t i o n which merely sxmhS^LZ^
the
f o r - i t s e l f ' s real goal: to be
tiont
««.itself as a free
in-itsen
to be Grod*
As Sartre
notes»
^
^ n t - i t s e l f ^ fundamental
the f o r - i t s e n
*_ ii~
Ject, due to its necessarily symbolic
doomed to f a i l u r e .
less fondling
Plex
founda-
It is not
«nrf ideal status»
and
is
Roquentin's inquir ng
~+
*nd. his Jonah comof trash in the street, and n
are all charades which
but f o r e v e r
pro-
latent and
surprising,
I-*».»* & more fundamental,
manifesx
+ + p p a b l e
unutterable
tendency of his being,
^
+ thpre are times when he
then, that there ar
-149-
goes so far as to destroy the papers by tearing or burning
them,
for, as Sartre
sired object
failure
points out, the urge to destroy a d e -
is a logical
and appealing consequence
of
the
to find satisfaction in its possession:
C'est précisément la reconnaissance de l'impossibilité qu'il y a à posséder un objet qui entraîne pour le pour-soi une violente envie de le
tfillMJxa.
Détruire, c^est résorber en »o , c est e n t r e t e n i r avec l«etre-en-soi de l'objet de
truit un rapport aussi profond que dans la creation.
Les flammes qui brûlent la ferme a
laquelle J'ai mis le feu réalisent peu a peu la
fusion de la ferme avec moi-même:
en s'aneanD
tissant, elle se change en uSiL'
? c o u p ' «£ **
trouve la relation d'être de la creatxon, mais
inversée: Je gu^s. le fondement de la grange qui
brûle; je s ^
cette S " * * ^ ^ » ! Je de_truis
son ê t r e .
La destruction realise ^ p
^
plus finement que la création —
l ftpîT0^
tion, car l'objet détruit n'est P>«- l * f j £ . .t
montrer i m p é n é t r a b l e .
Il a l'impénétrabilité
la suffisance d'être de l'en-soi qu il ft Ê £ Ê
ii M l'invisibilité et la
mais, en même temps, il a i iuv*=»
. __., iii
t r a n s l u c i d i t é du néant que Je suis, puisqu
n'egt
Thus,
pVytg.182
through
this "creation
~«».»aa." the subject
in reverse,
tempts to produce an object which will resemble the
object
~ +%>**+ will
of his ontological desire: one that
b o t h the impenetrability
and the t r a n s l u c e n c y
at—
ideal
manifest
and plenitude of being in
itself
of the for-itself, an object that, as
e m a n a t i o n of the s u b j e c t ' s consciousness, will be its own
foundation
strategy
for,
of appropriation
like other empirical
symbolic
182
while remaining
mode.
,+eolf.
in-i*seti.
Of courser
this
is condemned to fa
~4**e it functions in a
tendencies,
*~A «prelv represents
The object destroyed merely
Uil£t. t P. 6 8 3 .
the
-150-
reai aim of the for-itself•s urge*
object
is destroyed,
plenitude
except
in the past;
in the
it exists merely as the translacency of memory»
We see, then?
that F o q u e n t i ^ s
habit of picking
discarded scraps of paper represents?
s t r u c t u r e , an effort
is.
the
it no longer exists as a concrete
to be possessed —
present,
What's more, once
Through
up
in its detailed
to have the phallus, to be what
he
a lengthy analysis of his description of the
p a p e r s and the manner in which he treats them, we have uncovered
an expansive
network of data which contributes to
our u n d e r s t a n d i n g of the individual consciousness —
quentin's —
outward
Ro-
as this particular for-itself manifests the
signs of
its universal signifying project.
al-
though one can say that the fundamental project of all
consciousnesses
that
is to become God, the specific
each c o n s c i o u s n e s s employs
strategy
towards the icfe£ realiza-
tion of this goal is unique in its specificity.
this level
and
that one can begin to speak about
It is at
personality
complexes.
It
is clear that Roquentin's descriptive preamble
his relating
of an "event," a fragment
to
which is situated
in the entry of "mardi 30 janvier," is a dense and r e v e a l ing piece of d i s c o u r s e .
of
As we have shown, several
aspects
R o q u e n t i n ' s psychic leanings seeoi to surface in this
Passage.
If this is so, then our analysis should
s o m e t h i n g about
the rest of the journal —
reveal
Roquentin's
P s y c h o l o g i c a l c r i s i s and his decision to write a novel.
-151-
We suggested earlier
essentially,
that what Roquentin
is "play with fire."
stand this notion of playing,
fitr5
which
does,
How are we to under-
its relation to avoir and
and, on the other hand, the intense seriousness
fcoquentin
ation which,
views his existential dilemma —
a situ-
in part, gives rise to his sudden and appar-
ently i n e x p l i c a b l e
incapacity to pick up a piece of lined
school s t a t i o n e r y from
Printania?
with
the sidewalk in front of the Hotel
Chapter
III
TO PLAY OR NOT TO PLAT
est, somme toute, une image assez ressemblant
e
de la v i e ,
Ch
cun de nous, gajQLS. atftTE frtfl £ttt£
£ Ê Jojxex ( q u e l s que soient les beaux prétextes
Çu il 8 e d o n n e ) , assemble, selon son caprice,
selon ses c a p a c i t é s , les éléments que lui fournit l'existence, les cubes multicolores q u f i l
trouve autour de lui en naissant.
Les plus
doues cherchent à faire de leur vie une cons t r u c t i o n compliquée, une véritable oeuvre
art.
il f a ^ t tacher d'etre parmi ceux-là,
pour cyue la récréation soit aussi amusante que
possible...
(Martin du Gard, fc£fe Ifclè&iiJLi, Vol.
7
» P. 2 8 3 ) .
We have remarked
that the various facets of Roquen-
s b e h a v i o r with regard to the paper he picks up from
r e e t
hi
s
destroying —
USt
be
c
q U e n t l n
touching, his staring, his mouthing
and
in some way constitute an activity
that
° n s i dered play.
"Comme font les enfants, 11 R o -
a d o p t s a pattern of behavior that mimicks, that
"-enacts a c t i o n s of what we shall call a more "serious' 1
"*•
er
As our psychoanalytic
^ying
vest
is
significance
couched
°«bination
e
e
inquiry has revealed,
the un-
of R o q u e n t i n f s rather off-beat
in-
in the relation of this interest to a
of paradigmatic
childhood events,
mythical or
r w i s e , which serve as a framework for a later strucîn which these childhood moments are re-created
°^icaily.
In addition
meta-
to the infantile tendency to put
« ero_
-153-
found objects
into his mouth (a reproduction
breast-feeding
scenario ), Roquentin
of the Actaeon
complex,
onstrated,
1 ence
is related
of the
also shows us
a structure that»
evidence
as we have
dem-
to the scopophilic moment o&f exce].-
in which the child discovers the fundamental
anatom-
ical difference between the sexes while peeping on a
member of the opposite sex, who is perhaps urinating
defecating.
or
In Roquentin's hydra complex, we noted (by
f o l l o w i n g a thread left by F r e u d ) an extension of the P r o metheus complex, a mode of behavior whose early
is the scene of the c h i l d f s theft
parental p r o h i b i t i o n ,
his/her
friends
prototype
of matches, in spite of
in order to play with fire with
in some secluded spot.
Thus, the Jonah,
Actaeon,
Prometheus and hydra complexes, as well as the
activity
which Bachelard
can all be u n d e r s t o o d
hood moment
agressive,"
as forms of repetition of a child-
of some import,
e n f a n t s " : play.
amination
terms "la curiosité
a repeating "comme font
les
We shall now turn our attention to an ex-
of this behavioral strategy, the playful
of which is s o m e t i m e s readily apparent, but often
element
times
not.
After completing
Jonah c o m p l e x e s
his discussion of the Actaeon and
and the appropriât!ve nature of knowledge,
Sartre a c k n o w l e d g e s that the apparent
sport present
gratuity of play and
a stumbling block to the progress of his
-154-
u n i v e r s a l reduction of human activity to having, and u l t i mately to being.
a form of
In what
sense can Is.
lÊtt be construed
as
appropriation?
First
of all»
Sartre
notes:
•.
•
_-_-<- à i iBSDplt de sérieux»
le jeu, en s 1 opposant a l esprit <*
semble l'attitude la moins possessive, il enlevé
au réel sa réalité.
H y a sérieux quand on
part du monde et qu'on attribue plus de «••»lJ*«
au monde qu'à soi-mSme, à tout le moins quand on
se confère une réalité dans la mesure ou on ap1fi3
partient
an o p p o s i t i o n
Ite s é r i e u x .
tendency
au monde» *
is constructed between L E ±*»
The drawback inherent
to confuse
and the
in the latter
the brute, contingent
e^oxli
is its
reality of the
The Êfifitil ÛS. fiir.-
world with aspects of the for-itself.
i*«
views freely chosen attitudes as contingent necessity
« ~ „ ~ the freedom with which
and, in so doing, manages to ignore the ire
he/she p a r t i c i p a t e s in a given situation.
world were dictating
an attitude to the e ffP r*
,
, „ crfuce
f u r n i s h i n g not only a playing surface
projectst
out
i OC5
also imposing the rule
»»
for the f o r - i t s e l f s
Q-f
*the game»
Such
-for* the Qgorit && ggrietf2>
is not really the c a s e , however, for the e s p n * .
has, at bottom,
. M g oerspective.
merely chosen this persp
Further-
4« the Sartrean sense of le.
a game, in
* ~+ »hat it feels is
for the "serious mind» acts out of
more, this is hardly
IS*,
necessity —
ssnrit
The attitude of the
~+ «lav. but
de. s é r i e u x , then, is not one of p W ,
one of w o r k —
163
. __
it is following o r d e r s .
i~ + . c t .
slave labor, in lacx.
S a r t r e , I-'Etre fit ±£. nlftûl» P»
rather
It is also in bad
669#
-155faith, b e c a u s e , as Sartre points out:
enfouit
«l'homme
sérieux
au fond de lui-même la conscience de sa l i -
berté.»184
But how are we to understand Sartre's
that
the esorit
is. sÂl±£M&
postulation
manifests itself when "on at-
tribue plus de réalité au monde qu'a soi-même," if we keep
in mind
that such a perspective
is also characterized by a
furtive denial of one's ontological
freedom?
In other
i 4>K*n the world?
is f r e e d o m somehow more real than
words,
Or do
reality
rtiAtP r
and brute contingency ^
promote
e a u j as a kind of
freedom
fifty-fifty
e n t e r p r i s e , with each factor more or less
sharing the r e s p o n s i b i l i t y for establishing the parameters
and factual
ramifications
As we remarked
of a given
above, the e&ZZLL
situation?
&& £Ê£iÊU£ tends
j+ooi-f with those of the
confuse aspects of the for-itself wixn
self.
there
This
+ *,«• -for the thinking
is not to say that, for xne
in-it-
subject,
*_ ^—^^« ««-He for-itself
is a radical separation between the
and
- m.i«t be classified on one
the in-itself w h e r e b y phenomena musx
side or the othersubject
self.
Rather, phenomena represent
an interaction of the
The world ^ .
through
.
.
for the
-* - itself with the
*or-xi»
in-itself.
in-it-
Consciousness,
its very upsurge, brings nothingness into the
world and along with this
^irtcrical void its bagphenomenologica
gage:
w i^*
value, meaningchoice,
negation,
tributes
* IfcLU*
freedom,
-l ri than to oneself
more reality to the world than
One atwhen
-156-
one neglects the input of this nihilating program,
one credits the in-itself
for directing an enterprise
only the for-itself could m a n a g e .
This project
for-itself
the work of the
is accomplished
self's Manifestation
world.
rhen
through
of the
for-it-
as freedom on the raw material of the
A t t r i b u t i n g such aspects as value and meaning
the world
in-itself
with regard
is to deny the input of
to a given
An example
to
consciousness
project.
is perhaps in order here.
d f adversité " —
"le coefficient
that
In speaking of
that is, the degree to
which things appear as obstacles in the various paths of
human e n d e a v o r —
versité
Sartre
remarks:
"le coefficient
des c h o s e s , en particulier, ne saurait Ztre
gument contre notre liberté, car c'est
«ire
p a r
position
Ia
c
^g
un ar-
p_ax OSXk&f c»est-à-
préalable d'une fin que surgit ce
d'adversité."185
coefficient
d' ad-
(ua r o c h e r ) would
He then points out that a
present
itself as a powerful
obsta-
cle to one rho has decided to try to displace it; but, on
the other hand,
*ho
the same
crag would be of great use to one
is in s e a r c h of an elevated vantage point.
quently:
"En lui-meme —
er ce qu'il
à-dire
d'envisag-
peut être en lui-même -- il est neutre,
qu'il
manifester
s'il est même possible
Conse-
c'est-
attend d'etre éclairé par une fin pour se
comme
adversaire ou comme auxiliaire."
185
XkL£., p. 562«
186
Ibitf.
Fur-
-157t h e r m o r e , if
o n e
w e r e
to
t r y
to
c l i B b
^
the
^
^
^
Promontory would be constituted as an obstacle only
terms of the very project
to climb
it.
^
i n
Thus, if a climber
fails to reach a crag's summit, it can hardly be said
that
he is d e f e a t e d by the rock in-itself. but rather by circ u m s t a n c e s which are the direct consequences of his i n i tial project
to climb the crag:
"c'est donc notre
liberté
=tui constitue
les limites, qu'elle rencontrera par la
suite.«187
.
T*
it is not, then, the world
eats u s , or a l l o w s us to succeed.
in-itself that d e -
The world merely sup-
es us with the raw material through which we can
defeat
O U r S Ê L Vetc
^ves, or arrange for our own success»
^Cie-iU. refuses
to comprehend
aking into consideration
an now u n d e r s t a n d
quentiality
the foregoing remarks* we
how it is that the esprit
pte serieu^
By conferring
con-
and meaning on the world in-itself, the e_fi-
^^i-i SîÊ g g r j e u a
seeks to deny the freedom which is consti-
ive of its very
o u s
consciousness ( o f ) that world.
The
mind wants to make the for-itself a mere chip in
ante of the game which it feels the world is playing.
u
®t
ns
S
as we have cited above, "on se confère une
la mesure où on appartient
attempt
8 h e s
187
to deny
*° constitute
i&id..
^
this.
**c ions as a mode of appropriation.
e
The esprit
au monde."
its freedom,
Moreover, in
the egprjt £e_
itself as an object, as
realité
ëÂz±.&\l&
in-itself:
-15g-
"l>homme
est sérieux quand il se prend pour un objet,
ï* is in this desire for objectification
that we recogniz,
tendency of the aaoxil te fiixHaux., for
*he a p p r o p r i a t i v e
the subject
"ise
wishes to reify his consciousness, to become
in-itself that would be its own foundation (for he must
a a r i o r l choose
this attitude, aate. of the for-itself an
in-itself).
Play
$hi,nga
s
o n
'
th
« other hand, consists in not taking
«»«-iously.
it is an attitude that is fundamentally
aware of itself as freedom:
Des qu'un homme se saisit comme libre et veut
user de sa liberté, quelle que puisse être d'ailleurs son angoisse, son activité est de jeu:
il en est, en effet, le premier principe, il
échappe à la nature naturée, il pose lui-même la
T a e u r e * lfts règles de ses actes et ne consent
a payer que selon les règles qu'il a lui-même
posées et d é f i n i e s . 1 8 9
J "t
2
i
8
°eS
lm
n o t
Portant
vrit
e
to bear in mind that one who is at play
off the world as inconsequential —
°**se. as u n r e a l .
a
Rather, the "esprit çie Jeu" (a term
Is not S a r t r e 9 6 , but one that we shall propose to d e -
C r i b e
^A£
*hat attitude
^itself.
th °od
which seems in opposition to the e^-
£e_ fiérjeux.) understands the world in terms ot
°ntingency
e
or
its
and the freedom brought to bear upon it by the
Meaning, value, and consequences are under-
in terms of the f o r - i t s e l f f s project and not, as in
case of the esprit
i&id», p. 669.
de sérieux*
as qualities
inherent
-159-
to the i n - i t s e l f .
as an object
glfe ,*eu take
itself
to be manipulated by the circumstances of
for
situation,
Nor does the esprit
the esprit
free s u b j e c t i v i t y
de Jeu comprehends
its
itself as a
through which the circumstances
them-
selves are infused with their value qua circumstance.
is p r e c i s e l y
the esprit
in this focus on its existential
freedom
that
de Jeu appears to escape the appropriative
ten-
dency which is fundamental
have thus far examined
sciousness
It
to the various attitudes we
in this study.
The playful
seems to be little concerned with
itself as in-itself:
con-
possessing
"Il semble donc crue l f homme qui
J o u e , applique à se découvrir comme libre dans son action
e l l e - m ê m e , ne saurait
aucunement
se soucier de gpffgetfer un
monde."190
être au
At this Juncture, however, we must raise the
of how w e are to understand
the for-itself's
question
project-as-
P l a y in terms of the conclusions drawn earlier from
claims of S a r t r e ' s a s : «le projet originel d'un
0-Ê Peut
viser <xue s^û
appropriative,
fttre."191
such
pour-soi
If the original project
is
how can the esprit £e_ ifeu. escape this ori-
ginary b i a s .
The fact
a
U
t
ÔÊUt
we note
of the matter is that it does not.
First
of
that in his exposition of his notion of le.
Sartre goes on to say: "Son but [i.e., the goal cf he
190
IhLû*»
PP.
191
Ihisi'f
P. 6 5 1 ( q u o t e d a b o v e ,
669-670.
Ch. l i t
P* *28 >.
-160-
who p l a y s ] , qu'il
le vise à travers les sports ou le mime
ou les Jeux proprement
dits, est de s'atteindre
comme un certain être, précisément
lui-même
l'être qui es* en q u e s -
tion dans son ê t r e . " 1 9 2 Thus, the project of the esorit £e_
JJÊU.
has b e i n g as its aim, as is the case with the other
attitudes we have thus far presented»
The nature of this
being towards which the esprit de Jeu strives is distinctly different,
"the esprit
however, from the ontological objective
de s é r i e u x .
wants to attain
of
The being which the esprit 1 & d&M
is not precisely "un être au monde" —
a
being by which the subject can exist in the world as an
object —
but rather a being
ê t r e " : the for-itself
and çbpgeq
ge
"qui est en question dans son
as relentlessly free
as such ( i . e . , as n o n - ê t r e ) .
subjectivity
If the esprit 4§L
*»*g^K seeks to c o n s t i t u t e s itself as an object, which it
is not,
in order that it might have itself, the esprit £tfe
J^U seeks to accept
it is, in order that
because
itself as the free subjectivity,
it might not be had.
In this sense,
it refuses to deny its responsibility
titudes t o w a r d s
which
for its at-
the world, the playful consciousness
be said to be in "better" faith than the esprit £&
can
&&£-
Second of all, although the notion of play carries
*i*h
it the sense of an action which is gratuitous, non-
acquisitive,
192
XkiOt
and non-serious, the apparent
P. 670.
irreducibility
-161-
of .tajre to avoir, with regard to the playful
does not hold up under closer scrutiny»
serves:
attitude,
As Sartre o b -
"il est rare que le jeu soit pur de toute ten-
dance a p p r o p r i a t i v e * " 1 9 3
for his examples
to include
Drawing from the realm of sports
(although expanding the pool of
all playful
nothing to undermine
examples
activities in general would do
the foundation of the argument
which
he is in the process of d e v e l o p i n g ) , Sartre points out
that
the desire
to perform well in competition,
to win, to
break a record, or even the wish to be considered
all manifest
the desire to appropriate oneself
through o n e 1 s being-for-others*
supplementary qualities.
o t
objectively
Of course, it could be
that all forms of Ijg. Jeu do
contended
gpprtit
not hetray
these
Nonetheless, there is no manner
Play which is free from at least one appropriative
ponent:
"Le sport est en effet libre transformation
m i l i e u du monde en element de soutien de l«action.
fait, comme
l«art,
il est c r é a t e u r . " 1 9 4
The solitary
Player, although he/she may have little or
competitive
other what
dart
comd•un
De ce
dart
no interest
in
throwing and may not care one way or an-
others think about this activity, is still en-
Raged in an enterprise
ay
which the world and the
objects
in it are transformed according to the actions of
his/her
93
194
là±&.
Although he states that such an activity is
" r a r e , " the remarks that follow would seem to suggest
that a form of play that would not include an appropriative aspect is more than rare, it is impossible.
Xfcitf.
-162throwing hand*
As we pointed out earlier» games, along
with such activities as scientific research and art, manifest the for-itself»s attempt to achieve a synthesis of
self and not-self through which consciousness 1 relation to
an object can be characterized as possessive (see above,
Ch. II, pp. 90-91).
While the object of such creative ac-
tivity (that is, the brute reality of the world, which is
to be transformed) retains the "opacité" and "indifférence" of the en-Bo). the role of the cour-goi in shaping
and sustaining the meaning of this "ailieu du «onde" allows consciousness to enter into a "double rapport" with
the situation in question: consciousness both conceives
*he situation and encounters i t . 1 9 5
Thus, le. Jejj is creative in that it transforms the
*orla
into a backdrop which receives its qualitative fac-
ets f r o m
ee
the
free
proJect
of the for-itself.
The for-it-
l f uses its freedom to shape the world and, for this
reason, play must be considered a gesture of appropriation.
It is easy to see, then, how the playful attitude
li
—
* e all the other tendencies we have thus far investigat-
ed
—
is an attempt on the part of the subject to "s'ap-
^oPrler
le
non£fe
e v r a b o l i c I aement."
Consciousness cannot
Possess the world as in-itself, but, through its investing
°* meaning and value into the world, it can possess the
195
See L .. g t r e ej: JU nkinlf
PP* 90-91).
P- ° 6 5
(
*l8°
&t>0
^
Ch
"
"'
-163-
world
as situation, as representation,
f e s t a t i o n of itself.
Consequently,
like other fundamental
on the part
as a symbolic
mani-
the esprit de Je_y.,
attitudes, constitutes an
attempt
of the subject to master the situation in
which he finds himself: a situation which is both within
his grasp —
because
meaning comes
the for-itself
it is through consciousness
into the world —
cannot
and beyond him —
sidestep the contingent
that
because
factors pre-
sented by the world in-itself, nor those presented by the
body which it "has to exist" (see note * 9 1 f p . 8 5 ) , nor
the for-itself 1 s own facticity (i.e.,
those presented hy
the inescapable
necessity for consciousness to be free to
choose )•
L e a v i n g S a r t r e ' s ontology to one side for a moment,
l e t
u
s once again turn our attention to Freudian
consider-
ations.
In fiejEao^ xh&
Pleasure principle, Freud
undertakes
what
is p e r h a p s his most extensive examination of the e_fi-
&Tlt
st& J Ê U in its most
pla
c
y.
ase
°r
As an example
"normal" manifestation:
of such an activity, he cites the
of a small boy of one and a half who often threw one
another of his toys across the room, into a corner or
under
°-o."
the bed while emitting the drawn-out syllable "o-oThis sound was thought toy the boy's mother to be
the baby talk equivalent of the word £oft («one,
5 e r
children's
away).
theory was confirmed by a later, more extensive v e r -
-164-
sion of the child's game
string tied around
in which he used a bobbin with a
it to play "gone."
The child
would
fling the reel over the edge of his bed, thus making it
disappear, and would accompany this practice with the usual " o - o - o - o . "
sight hy
Then he would pull the object back
means of the attached string and would
into
welcome
the bobbin* s reappearance with the sound "ia." ( t h e r e ) .
T h u s , the game's complete cycle encompassed the polar v a l U e s
£firt-da, d i s a p p e a r a n c e
It is important
and
to note that, as a rule, the child
°nly played the game through
Without
however,
£â»
return.196
its first stage, that is,
r e t r i e v i n g the cast away object.
It was evident,
that the second stage, announced by the gleeful
provided
P o i n t s out
the boy with the greater pleasure.
that,
Freud
in general, the boy iras quite well-be-
haved and that he was very attached to his mother, who had
hreast-fed
him herself
and who had more or less taken
°* him by herself with little outside help.
somewhat
remarkable
fact that the hoy
m o t h e r departed for a few hours.
e a d
196
Freud to the following
T
It is thus a
never cried when
These
care
his
considerations
conclusion:
h e fort-rf* game and its role in Beyoptf IhS, E L Ê A S L U X Ê .
P r i n c | p l f T a s a w h o l e , is an informing factor for much
of the work of both Laplanche and Lacan.
In addition,
it is examined extensively in Jacques Derrida's L &
£ * X t Ê P o s t a l e : j£e Socrate l EnejàSt fet au-tfela (Paris:
Flammarion, 1 9 8 0 ) .
See also Julia Kristeva's Là B&VQ.i u t i û û e u langftge p o é n w e : L-1 P^nt-garçle a. 1 & tLu Oil
i û m e i i v i à a e siècle, LfcU&CftftOftOl fil MaUftrme (ParisE d i t i o n s de Seuil, 1 9 7 4 ) , A, lit 3 ("La Négativité
t r a n s v e r s a l e au jugement thetique 1 * )•
-165-
T h . interpretation of the «a.e
^ ^ s t
ous.
It was related to the child»s gre***st
cultural achievement the i n s t i n c t « ^ J « J £ { ation (that is, the renunciation of ^ î n f h î s
s a t i s f a c t i o n ) which he had made in alio
n
Is
mother to go away without P " * " * ^ « ' " J
^âepensated for this, as it were, by J 4 - « l * • * £ „
ing the disappearance and return of the objects
within his
reach.197
This re-enactment
of the scene of the disappearance
and
subsequent
return of the mother is carried out by the
«_ W W J «
One might wonder why
child t h r o u g h the use of the bobbin.
One mxg
^,.r.o the distressing
the child would wish to re-produce the
stances of his mother's absence.
circum-
T-P the explanation
n
is
~* ±H& bobbin must n e c e s that the throwing away of the
ventured
* ~+ its retrieval»
sarily precede the joyful moment oi
this
^ « U h the observation
i n t e r p r e t a t i o n can be countered wx*n
that
.é-u. -fîr^st stage only —"""
the
the game
is often played through
the fort
, 1 U -«-enacts the mother» s
stage in which the child re ena
disappearance
sequently,
to repeat
without attempting
the question
,log.
remains.
+« «ake her return»
to
wh
Con-
y does the child wish
* ^,,-elv have caused
an experience which must surely n
him
displeasure?
•wat it is difficult to draw
A l t h o u g h he is aware thax
!
4„ns from an isolated example
c o n v i n c i n R universal conclusions
. K . i . c c uses this case
such as the fort-da game, Freud nonetheless
tion of the effects of
*s a kind of paradigmatic
*hat
i *„n to repeat» (gifrrferho"compulsion
~«+ of
i « t^i « development
oi this
^"* notion by
Re begins his aev«
he will call a
i
kngs
197
manifes a
a
^
n g
h
Freud, fiej^î U *
£ 1 * * * ^ EriOXl^»
P-
-166-
pointing out three possible
boy" s b e h a v i o r .
First
interpretations of the small
of all, Freud notes that the
fort>
ââ game c o n s t i t u t e s a repetition of an earlier event
in
which the child played a passive role»
the
experience on his own terms»
forming
By repeating
the boy succeeds in trans-
his initially passive part into an active
one.
This strategy, Freud c l a i m s , "might be put down to an instinct
for m a s t e r y that was acting independently of wheth-
er the memory was in itself pleasurable or n o t . » 1 9 8
idea that such behavior might be related to
an
The
"instinct
for m a s t e r y " C B e m a c h t i g u n ^ s t r i e b ) is reinforced when we
recall
F r e u d » s initial analysis of the fprt~£ft game: the
c h i l d ' s play c o m p e n s a t e s for the renunciation of
tual satisfaction
absence —
—
his failure to protest his
i n that he, himself, stages the
instincmother1s
disappearance
and return of "objects within his reach" (grreichfrftren £fc~
g g n s t g n ^ n t.
We
a r e
rcill i no :ed
of the Prejftrjefr, that
urge
in the child w h i c h drives him to reach out and grab
t h i n g s , an attempt
discussed
*ical
Ch
.
previously,
at its origin the primordial
I, p p . 4 1 - 4 2 ) .
Thus, the absence of the mother, a
the significance of which is highly charged ow-
ing to the mother's
role as one of the original objects of
h e b a b y ' s d r i v e s , is easily understood as an
98
ontolo-
rift on which desire lays its foundation (see above,
situation
t
to master a situation which is, as we
ifeiot-t
p. 10.
instigating
-167-
factor
in the manifestation
drive's
of the Greiftrieb. given
dependence on the more inclusive Bemacht i ?m^g-
Secondly, Freud hazards the hypothesis
«ight
this
represent
same hostile
that
the
for the child a means of expressing
impulse
that he suppressed
the
in refraining
a direct protest in regard to his m o t h e r 1 s
emitting
game
from
ab-
sence.
The fort-da «ame, or more precisely the fort-
only
version
of the game, would
sym-
bolic revenge
then function
on the part of the player:
[the g a m e ] would have a defiant meaning:
then, go awayi
I don't
need you.
m y s e l f t # M X 9 9 Consequently,
child would derive
pleasant
ful i m p l i c a t i o n s
repetition
"In that case it
'All right,
I'm sending you
away
the apparent paradox that
enjoyment
experience
as a kind of
the
from the repetition of an un-
is resolved, because given the v e n g e -
of the tossing about of his toys, "the
c a r r i e d along with it a yield of pleasure
another sort but none the less a direct
of
one.»200
The third consideration which Freud calls to mind
°ne that
c o m e s to bear not only on the specific example
£°-Z^Lda (which
in fact
seems to be only marginally
f o r m e d by such a m o t i f ) ,
°* a c t i v i t y .
quently,
199
HO*.
200
utu.
often
is
of
in-
but on children's play as a genre
Children wish to be grown-up and, conseplay at being an adult.
Although
Freud
-168-
does not make the connection, one night attribute
wish to the
instinct
this
for mastery as well, because, in a
c h i l d ' s e y e s , it is the adult who seems to be in control
of the world
passive r o l e .
in which the child finds himself playing a
T h i s aspect of children's games, in which
the child imitates the behavior of the adult, is only
directly manifested
in the throwing away of his toys by
_ithe small boy in Freud's example.
rt is. however, strlkit is,
ingly present
— «.«* «M-io ff&sie *to which
in another version of the ga
Freud
in a footnote:
alludes
in-
One day the child's -«>«»•' j £ n * ; ~ %?Jf?*
the
several hours and on her r t
^ ^ t
incomwords 'Baby o-o-o-ol' w h J £ ~
J
however,
prehensible.
It sooned * « ™ e d ° ^ £ t u d e t h e
that during this long period of s o u
child had found a method of making J J - » ^ ^
appear.
He had discovered his r
f u l l - l e n g t h mirror which did not « £ * ^ l d n a k e
ground, so that by crouching down he
his m i r r o r - i m a g e 'gone.'
iko-ic: disappearance by disapThe child imitates his mother's disapp
P e a r i n g from h i m s e l f .
^«•a not yield the d i s The game does not y
eal event, however,
tressing c o n s e q u e n c e s of the re
the child
since
^
i „* the circumstances of his
is in full control of tne
reappearance.
•^..«tlottSi at work either
All three of the above considerations,
ther
together or independently
serve to illumi—
of one ano
-r «.11 playful bahavior, if we
nate the general motivation ol ancall
*
* Freud's theoretical d i s c u s to mind the elements of Freua
sion of the pleasure principle
201
Ibid., P . 9.
rf what
ana
is "beyond."
A
-169-
brief s k e t c h of these mechanisms is in order.
The lental
apparatus, Freud contends, is under the
dominance of the pleasure
the reality p r i n c i p l e .
principle and its
"subsidiary,"
The pleasure principle ( dag Ij^gi-
£ T i n ? ) u ) can best be understood as an economic
s i t i o n of the psyche
amount
to constantly endeavor to reduce
the
of freely-floating energy in the apparatus by r e -
leasing it.
through
pre—dispo-
This release of energy is
instinctual
accomplishment
satisfaction
accomplished
or wish-fulfillment,
of the aim of a desire which finds
**oots in the u n c o n s c i o u s .
its
This strategy, otherwise
known
process, 9 1 is thus a rather primitive
as the "primary
the
pro-
cedure by which drives are satisfied without reflection
°r
concern for the consequences of this satisfaction.
t h e i r
t o
simplest
form,
s
Sa
h
>
*ve
least
of an unconscious instinct or drive.
The pleasure
ect
a state usually achieved, at
far as the pleasure principle is concerned, through the
tisfaction
ever
and
( Lust 1 corresponds to a reduction or stabilizing
°f m e n t a l excitation —
a
In
then, unpleasure (Unlust) corresponds
an increase or overabundance of mental excitation,
Pleasure
on
»
principle is not the whole story,
for, as Freud points out: "If such dominance
the immense majority of our mental processes
to be accompanied
howexist-
would
by pleasure or to lead to pleasure,
Whereas u n i v e r s a l experience completely contradicts any
-170, U C h
C O n C l U S l o a
CterStand
**e»
*he
'
, , 2
Consequently,
C l t e e
the
force.
ln
nent
al
In support
of the pleasure principle's
effects of what he terms the
/-*__ «
, . ••
lfl&£
geftl>jt»tgprinr,jp)f
functions
it is important t o un-
Principle as a tendency
rather than as an omnipotent
P^inclnl^tf
ly
2
Ple*8"~
this limitation
reUtt
°
of
dominance,
«reality
a mechanism which actu-
in the service of the pleasure
principle:
S
t.
• • • Principle does not abandon the intenultimately obtaining; pleasure, but it
n e v e r t h e l e s s demands and carries into effect the
Postponement of satisfaction, the abandonment of
a number of possibilities of gaining satisfacon and the temporary toleration of unpleasure
aS a
* n ^ e p o n t h e l o n « indirect road to pleasUre »^"3
n
o t
r e a l i t y principle
consciousness
is thus a reflective gesture, a move
to control and direct the blind reckless-
of the primary process in view of the data received
nterpreted by the system Cs«
nown
This second principle,
as the «secondary process, 11 therefore
appears
function of c o n s c i o u s life and thus has little to do
c o n t r o l or mastery of those drives which are resed.
Obviously,
we have still not rendered
the whole
* with regard to the LttgtpringJP»
What is beyond
°n
to r e p e a t .
the pleasure principle is the compul-
First
of all, let us note that the
free-
I V " *•» •& 1
owing e n e r g y i n the unconscious cannot always achieve
C
*-^Scha.T*j»x»
e e
w
because
*Û2
ièid*, p. 3.
£*>!£•, p. 4.
of the barrier of repression which dams
-171-
its path*
Consequently t
seek resolution
through symbolic
these unconscious impulses
can only pass through the
transformation —
of such m e c h a n i s m s as displacement
the energy attached
which
censorship
representation
by way
and condensation*
to a particular unconscious idea
If
is
strong enough, it will become absolutely necessary for it
to pass through the censorship in one way or another * because of the unhealthy quantity of unpleasure
generated
through the struggle of the repressive mechanism
(which
requires a certain level of energy of its own to effect
its t a s k ) and the
charge.
instinctual
impulse which seeks
dis-
The free charge of the unconscious idea must
be
"bound" in some way, controlled before it is allowed to
Pass the censorship and subsequently mastered
tered c o n s c i o u s form.
overly-charged
This binding and mastering of the
impulse comprises both the displaced
c o n d e n s e d representation
t
ion),
in its a l -
of the impulse (its
as well as the compulsion
to repeat —
symbolizafor the
pulse can only temporarily be mastered and will
to strive for discharge*
cannot be
and
The importance of this
im-
continue
procedure
overlooked:
A failure to effect this binding would provoke a
d i s t u r b a n c e analogous to a traumatic neurosis;
and only after the binding has been accomplished
would it be possible for the dominance of the
Pleasure principle (and of its modification, the
reality p r i n c i p l e ) to proceed unhindered.
Till
then the other task of the mental apparatus, the
task of mastering or binding excitations, would
have precedence —
not, indeed, in opposition to
the pleasure principle, but independently of it
-172-
and
to some extent in disregard of
Thus we see that
the repetitive aspect common
is in two
children 's play
Player's attempt
to control
to
senses an indication of the
to control
to which he is subject•
an activity
it.204
the level of mental
excitation
First, there is the repetition
for purely pleasurable
reasons —
an
attempt
freely-flowing energy through its discharge,
thus r e d u c i n g the quantity of unpleasure in the mental
paratus which results from a surfeit of unbound
Second,
there
impulses*
(Freud's case of the
young boy repeating his mother's departure, kids
doctor, etc. ) .
excitation*
the unpieasurable
effects
This enterprise is carried
out, as we suggested above, through the symbolic
tion of the aim of the
to
impulse through binding and r e p e t i -
in an effort to neutralize
the r e p r e s s e d
playing
i n this second case, the child attempts
aaster the u n c o n s c i o u s
of
ap-
is the repetition of an activity that one
would n o r m a l l y consider unpieasurable
tion
of
realiza-
impulse*
Finally, we might mention a few comments of Lacan
*hich
are pertinent
to the foregoing considerations of the
£2JZ±=:S£S, game and of children 1 s play in general*
In his
•'Fonction et champ de la parole et du langage en
psychana-
l y s e , " Lacan
Freud:
remarks that
" i e sujet n'y maîtrise pas seulement sa
e
*> l'assumant,
204
in the exemplary case cited by
ifei£*T
tais . . .
p.29.
privation
il y élève son désir a une puis-
sance s e c o n d e , » 2 0 5
In its simplest sense, the raising of
the subject's drive to a second power can be understood
the replacement
desire dependent
of one drive by another, with the
latter
on its mere primary manifestation for the
driving force of its impulse*
boy has replaced
as
In terms of fort-da. the
the desire for his absent mother
(D1)
*ith the desire to play the game ( D 2 ), an interest of a
second degree
first
which nevertheless remains informed by the
degree, or primary u r g e : to instigate the return of
the mother*
propping,
We are reminded here of Laplanche's notion of
in which the source, impetus, aim and object
the instinct
provide the source for the «trive —
of
desire
raised to the second power, as it were (see above, C h . II,
P*
131).
in fact, the fort-da game, being a play of pres-
ence and a b s e n c e , of have and have-not, repeats the o r i g i nary moment
at which desire appears as a wish for closure,
a leaping of the ontological gap that was opened with the
emergence
But
of
consciousness»
the r a m i f i c a t i o n s of this squaring of the o r i g i -
nal v a r i a b l e are more complex and extensive than the mere
supplementing
of one desire for another.
Lacan continues:
Car son action [ i . e . , the action of the player
°* f o r t - d a ] détruit l'objet qu'elle fait apparaître dans la provocation anticipante de son
absence et de sa présence.
Elle négative ainsi
le champ de f o r c e s du désir pour devenir a
05
Jacques Lacan, "Fonction et champ de la parole et du
langage en p s y c h a n a l y s e , " in Ecrits I (Paris: Editions
de S e u i l , 1 9 6 6 ) , p . 2 0 3 .
-174elle-même son propre objet. 2
If the first power drive ( D M —
object —
source, impetus, aim, and
provides the source for the second power drive
C D * ) , it can also be said that the aim-object package of
D» (the return of the mother) serves as the informing ob^ ._».j~ and
.nrf its
its axs
disappearance
and
ject of D* That is, the bobbin
vi
i„ «qoectively)
in the system
retrieval (the object and aim,
respectif
.*.-, ; r% A mftchanisin which
D* appear only as incidental parts in a mecnan
**.«. -.turn of the mother.
has, as its actual function, the return
The game becomes an object of desire in itself ("pour devenir elle-.Sme son propre objet"), because (1) it nihilates the object of its Informing drive by replacing it
^ Ol
it neutralizes the attracwith a symbolic object, and (2) i* ne
^ *~~ it is precisely in the
tion of the bobbin as object, for
* this object that the aim of D* is
presence and absence of this ooj
found.
in this way, the player's action «negative ainsi
le champ de forces du désir" in binding the anxiety-pron f Dl,
voking, free-flowing energy of u »
t h e
a
process that Freud
y» • P T f f î r h « l u n g t i f : " > < i n g '
t h e
terms, as we have just seen, the HIT^TT- — compulsion to repeat.
trace a path from Lacan back to
At this point, we can trace
* »n object lacking to the
Sartre.
If the symbolisation of an o
,. + h i S object in the raising
subject in some way "destroys" this
then a connection appears beof desire to a second power, " e B
^ + . f f i e B , creation and detween the two appropriative strategi
-175-
struction.
engaged
The young boy who plays the fort-dft game
in a creative act t
vented hy
for (whether the game was
is
in-
the player himself or learned) this "sport" is
en effet
libre transformation
ement de soutien de l'action»
est c r é a t e u r . " 2 0 7
d'un milieu du monde en é l De ce fait, comme
The boy's desire is foiled hy
l'art,
il
the ab-
sence of his mother, a situation whose coefficient of adversity
is understandably
attachment
to her*
quite strong, given his profound
The youngster
wiggles out of the
clutches of this anxiety-provoking reality, however, by
re-shaping
freedom.
the world according to the demands of his own
In playing fqrt-da»
it is he who initiates the
comings and goings of the object of his desire
and,
through the u t i l i z a t i o n and affirmation of this creative
freedom,
he gets the sense of escaping the prison that is
the world in-itself and the freedom of the other (a limit
°n the s u b j e c t ' s own
freedom)*
Of c o u r s e , this maneuver succeeds only through the
destruction
of the original object, a violence which
carried out
through the metaphorization of the original
desire and the symbolisâtion
t
erring
bol
c
e
back
of the original object.
to Lacan's essay, we note further: "le
se m a n i f e s t e
Sartre,
161).
Resym-
d'abord comme meurtre de la chose, et
e t t e mort constitue dans le sujet
20?
is
L'Etre £t
1 ' éternisation de son
le. nâ&Ot, p . 670 ( s e e a b o v e ,
p.
-176-
d e s i r . " 2 0 * The original desire, rather than achieving
isfaction,
creative
him*
sat-
subject1s
is merely neutralized through the
destruction of the object which is lacking to
T h u s , the activity provides relief only while it is
being performed and it must therefore be relentlessly
peated according
the product
itself
to the demands of the W ^ e d e r h o l u n g s z w a n g T
of " I f éternisation de son désir • "
The esprjt
for
re-
de Jeu*
the world
then, as an attempt
symboliçuemeot*
to
appropriate
fails, as do other
m e a n s , to s a t i s f y the for-itself's fundamental urge to be
its own
foundation.
for-itself
In not taking "things" seriously,
only plays at appropriating, at devouring,
becoming in-itself*
*lf»s
freedom*
and contingent
for-it-
Realizing the limitations of the opaque
being-in-itself of things which refuse
°e incorporated,
*>y the o t h e r 1 s
at
The esprit otg. ,feu constitutes a sort
of a c c e p t a n c e , as it w e r e , of the necessity of the
s
the
to
realizing the limitations imposed upon it
freedom which refuses to be controlled,
the
^âarJJt o^g. Je^i freely creates its own game, its own rules,
its own attitude
defeat
it and,
towards the things which can
potentially
in so doing, becomes to itself its own m a s -
ter*
208
L a c a n , "Fonction et champ de la parole et du
n p s y c h a n a l y s e , " p# 204*
e
langage
-177-
At this point, we shall propose that
i*eosyncratic
Roquentin's
use of the scraps of paper he picks up from
the ground constitutes a game that he plays "comme
l e S
o n
**»*-M
font
I* is, thus, not only a tendency to bring
he objects to his mouth that can be considered a gesture
the gffprlt jje. Jeja, but also his handling,
and d e s t r o y i n g of the trash.
e game is a somewhat
o n
of
f
°rt~da.
scrutinizing
We might say that
Boquen-
more elaborate, less clear-cut
Drawing on our earlier analysis of
* q u a l i t i e s of the objects and the nature of his a e o n s , we note that the hypothetical informing factors of
dentin's
behavior -- the grgiftriefrt
**ûftfi» ScJiajiiiigjt and
the Wisstrieb. as well as the P r o m e -
neus and hydra complexes —
all suggest
highly-charged.
P o t e n t i a l l y anxiety-ridden moments that call for
ra
tempo-
**y, but repeatable resolution through the Wiederfrg-
^RgPrwPnc,
These paradigmatic
instances of childhood
empts to master freely-flowing instinctual
impulses,
their earliest manifestations, reveal a structure
S
u
remi
niscent
npleasure
re
&,
the C O B D U ^
lease
of fort-da;
/ pleasure, an instinctual
impulse driving
lv
^
urge to
in nature*
Paradigms
which
for
They are desire
serf -to a second power through a transformation
ginary
even
gone / there, have not / have,
/ instinctual satisfaction*
ri
at-
one which is metaphoric and
of the
appropria-
Roquentin's repetition of a host of these
in a game with a single object thus
appears
-178-
as a re-transformation
of the original impulse, a re—cre-
ation of the childhood
structure, an adult version of the
fort-rfa game, if you w i l l .
activity
is an attempt
We see then that
to master a situation, to "s'appro-
prier le monde symboliquement, M
the use of his freedom
But
Roquentin's
to give more reality
than to the world
to
in-itself.
if the notion of play is so all-encompas6ing,
it can be applied to an activity which is at heart
priât ive, w h i c h is based on a childhood paradigm,
which is ultimately
an attempt
if
approand
to satisfy a primordial
de-
sire (to be for-itself-in-itself ), then what kind of b e havior
is o^l
Play?
We need only recall our discussion of the esprit &§.
S é r i e u & to shed light on this potentially shadowy
area.
The esprjt £e sérieux and the e_gRrJL± &&_ dfiU are attitttrfggy
not p a r t i c u l a r modes of behavior.
When one is acting on
very
the grounds that what one does is the result, is the
choice of o n e 1 s freedom to transform the medium of the
*orld
in-itself
the product
into a «meaning-fall" construct which is
and responsibility of the for-itself's own en-
leaver, then one
is at play.
I*t
on the other hand,
one
is acting on the grounds that one has no choice in the
matter, that
Waning
all responsibiIty
° l e which his freedom
choose.
is dictating the rules by which
and value appear as such, then the subject
abandoning
r
the world
is
for and consideration of the
is playing in his choice not to
This is the esprit d £ £grigUX»
-179-
It
we shall
is with this difference of attitude
in cuind that
now speculate on the importance of the
we have extensively dissected
existential
anguish»
in relation to
paragraph
Roquentin1s
the nausea which appears as the cen-
tral concern of the novel•
The journal
entry of "mardi, 30 Janvier"
continues
*ith the relating of the so-called "événement" which R o ctuentin was so reluctant
to mention earlier on in his
Piece of writing for that day»
It is 8:15 in the morning
and, while exiting from the Hotel Printania where he currently resides»
officer»
Roquentin
spies the boots of a military
His narration of the event
runs as follows:
Donc, a u j o u r d ' h u i , je regardais les bottes fauves d'un officier de cavalerie, qui sortait de
la c a s e r n e .
En les suivant du regard, j'ai vu
un papier qui gisait à coté d'une flaque.^ J'ai
cru que l'officier allait, de son talon, écraser
le papier dans la boue, mais non: il a enjambe,
d'un seul pas, le papier et la flaque.
Je me
suis a p p r o c h é : c'était une page réglée, arrachée
sans doute à un cahier d'école*
La pluie l'avait trempée et tordue, elle était couverte d e ^
c l o q u e s et de boursouflures, comme une main brûlée.
Le trait rouge de la marge avait déteint
en une buée rose; l'encre avait coulé par endroits.
Le bas de la page disparaissait sous
une croûte de b o u e .
Je me suis baisse, je me
r é j o u i s s a i s déjà de toucher cette pâte tendre et
fraîche qui se roulerait sous mes doigts en
boulettes grises...
Je n'ai pas pu.
Je me suis resté courbé, une seconde, j'ai lu
" D i c t é e : le Hibou blanc," puis je me suis r e levé, les mains v i d e s . Je ne suis plus^iibre,
je ne peux plus faire ce que je veux.
S a r t r e , La. Nausée»
p. 2 3 .
-180-
Perhaps the most logical cruest ion we might ask is:
vhat, if anything,
situation, about
is different
about
this
particular
this particular scrap of paper, about
quentin's state of mind at this particular moment,
renders
that
the simple act of picking up a piece of paper ( a l in R o q u e n t i n 1 s case, as we have demonstrated,
beit
act
Ro-
i s
not really so "simple") impossible?
let us proceed b y highlighting
t i n f s description
such an
First of all,
those aspects of Roqaen-
of the event which seem most
pertinent»
We note first (as does Roquentin) the "botte fauves"
of the cavalryman»
There seems to be no relation
between
these tawny boots and the piece of lined paper, except
the fact
that
the path of the boots 1 movement serves to
Point out the scrap of paper in the first place*
Thus,
of the s o l d i e r 1 s boots gives way
Koquentin's
perception
immediately
(that is, without mediation) to his
of the object
for
of his unusual interest.
perception
The boots
them-
selves recall a seemingly unrelated reference, which occurs earlier
in the journal entry for "30 Janvier," to an
°ld man who used
to sit in a sentry-box in the
Luxembourg
g a r d e n s when Roquentin used to play there as a child.
°ld man
The
frightened the young Roquentin and his friends,
b e c a u s e they sensed he was alone ("nous sentions qu'il
«tait
s e u l " ) and also "qu'il formait dans sa tête des pen-
sées de crabe et de l a n g o u s t e . " 2 1 0 At one point, he is de-
ai
° Xfeio;., p. 2 1 .
-181scribed as having "une pantoufle" on one foot and
tepttipe"
"une
on the other*
As for the position and surroundings of the paper, we
detect n o t h i n g of major significance.
street
It is lying in the
"à coté d'une flaque," a spot which should be of
little or no concern
pers whether
to Roquentin
they are dry
who likes to handle
enough to crumble or wet
that burning them "ne va pas sans peine."
whether
pa-
enough
Moreover,
they are yellowed, mud-stained, or new and white
as swans is equally of little importance to Roquentin,
*e have seen»
Along this same vein, we are
"to discover any
importance
as
hard-pressed
in the fact that the soldier
strides over both the paper and the puddle, and
therefore
avoids c r u s h i n g the morsel with the heel of his fawn-colored boot.
Roquentin
Intact, or crushed and
enjoys his prizes whether they are
crumbling»
The paper itself is a lined sheet, "arrachée
doute à un c a h i e r d f é c o l e . "
It has been rained on and is
c u r r e n t l y " t r e m p é e " and "tordue."
Q
**ZgeBi:
sans
None of these
details
an attitude other than Roquentin 1 s formerly
ful a t t r a c t i o n
to pieces of paper on the street.
play-
The fact
*hat this particular sheet is "trempée" and "tordue" seems
to
s
make
*aring.
it a prime candidate for torching or
inquisitive
Roquentin compares it to "une main brûlée" be-
cause of the blistered
appearance and puffiness of the
sheet's s u r f a c e , and because of
the pink tint
which
-182-
splctches
it as a result
the page's margin.
must
of the running of the red ink of
The ink (of the student's writing,
p r e s u m e ) has run also.
we
The bottom of the page is
h i d d e n "sous une croûte de b o u e , " a condition which,
one
s u s p e c t s , can only add to the appeal of the sheet to R o quentin.
In fact, he is already rejoicing in
of the prospect
of touching this tender and fresh "pate"
("paste" or " b a t t e r " ) ,
of rolling it into gray " b o u l e t t e s "
("little b a l l s " or "meatballs" Roquentin's
anticipation
note the food imagery
in
delectable vision, a description of qualities
w h i c h , "pour un p e u , " would in the past have tempted Roquentin
to put the scraps into his m o u t h ) , when he is sud-
denly unable to carry out the act: "Je n'ai pas pu."
^
* + K O lined sheet draws our attenOne final aspect of the tinea
tion legible:
the title of the pupil's written exercise
" D i c t é e : le Hibou blanc."
about the topic
Is there
that somehow relegates this
is still
something
particular
Piece of paper to the category of those scraps wh-ich, for
«
T * W e focus our attention on
L u1
R o q u e n t i n , are untouchable?
i*
+o first that this creature
the image of the owl, we note firsx
a "oiseau r a p a c e , nocturne,
ill Robert) >
nnf,t.nt
portanx
it i*
An "hibou felfeûc/'i s
is
des aigrettes" ( Lfc Efe-
most
likely a snowy owl
moBX
~+ «. soecies of large white
< N y ç t e a gcantfjaca), a «ember of a sp
cording to r o l l e r ' s ,
^
**~~
tundra.
In ancient Greece, acin
~ «flcnciated with Athena,
"the owl was associât
owls found on the Arctic
^ -the bird came to symbolize
the g o d d e s s of wisdom, and the BIT
wis-
-183-
dom."211
Drawing from such seemingly innocuous
Catherine
imagery
Savage Brosrnan, in her study of the
trivia,
zoological
in ta. Nausée « reaches the rather hesitant
sion: "Might
watching?"212
the white owl suggest
wisdom? purity? night
Perhaps, hut one would he
hard-pressed
discover the origin of Roquentin's existential
in such
an
interpretation.
glimmer
into this obscure cvil-fte-sac (where, no doubt,
only such s p e c i e s as the owl can see without
the term
to
paralysis
A n o t h e r observation, however, casts a faint
of light
conclu-
difficulty):
" h i b o u , " in a now out-dated, figurative
sense,
d e n o t e s an "homme
triste, solitaire" ( L E fgti* Rofrert >•
Whether R o q u e n t i n
is exactly "triste" or not is something
which is open
"Moi,
to debate, but he is certainly
je vis s e u l , entièrement s e u l .
s o n n e , Jamais; Je ne reçois rien f
t o d i d a c t e ne compte
"solitaire":
Je ne parle à per-
Je ne donne rien.
p a s . " 2 1 3 Neither, apparently
F r a n ç o i s e , the woman who runs the Rentfey-vpqg &S&
L'Au-
does
ChSMk"
U £ £ g and with whom he occasionally has sexual relations.
l
*i
—
then, the owl reminds Roquentin of himself, so be it
we are still
unable to find a way beyond the dead
end
*hich bars us from the answer to our question: why can't
Herbert Dei gnan, "owls," in Collier's gncycIppetfifrt
Vol.
18 (New York: Kacmillan, 1 9 7 3 ) , p. 262.
212
213
C a t h e r i n e Savage 3ros«an, "Sartre's *»**«•«• ^ " * l
J»"
a R e s in L E N a u s é e , " in SyWPPgitfP 31f P* 1 2 4 (footnote
#33).
S a r t r e , ta. K&nsÂ&i
P'
18,
-184-
Roquentin
pick up the
paper?214
Roquentin describes his inability to carry out
simple
act —
pleasurable
this
a gesture which is, moreover, normally a
one —— as a loss of freedom: "Je ne suis
l i b r e , " j e ne peux plus faire ce que je veux."
This
plus
loss
of freedom (or, more precisely, this sense of a loss of
f r e e d o m ) seems to be related in some way to
perception
tion.
Roquentin's
of inanimate objects on the morning in ques-
He c o n t i n u e s :
Les o b j e t s , cela ne devrait pas fQttçfrext puisque cela ne vit p a s . On s'en sert, on les
remet en place, on vit au milieu d'eux:
ils
sont u t i l e s , rien de p l u s . Et moi, ils me
touchent, c'est insupportable.
J'ai peur d'entrer en contact avec eux tout comme s'ils étaient des
bêtes v i v a n t e s .
Maintenant je vois, je me rappelle mieux ce
que j'ai senti l'autre jour, au bord de la^mer,
quand je tenais ce galet.
C'était une espèce
214
A l t h o u g h we have failed to discover the source of Roq u e n t i n ' s existential paralysis in the preceding obs e r v a t i o n s concerning owls, there is, however, an owl
at one of the sources of ffartre's existential phi \>Q&£>~
fiitt> In H e g e l ' s preface to his PhilftgPPfry & £ EifeJblt
w e read: "The owl of Minerva spreads its wings only
with the failing of the dusk" ( G.W.F* Hegel, Ifce_ EfciI O S O O ^ Y û i Right, trans. T.M. Knox.
London: Oxford,
1942, p . 1 3 ) . Hegel is referring to his earlier a s sertion that "philosophy • • • always comes on to the
scene too late to give it" (p. 12 )•
In other words,
P h i l o s o p h i c wisdom always appears only after actuality
has been well-established.
If indeed Hegel's preface
is an informing factor in Sartre's text (masking as
the text of R o q u e n t i n ) , its connection can only be
seen as a reference to the incapacity of thought to
keep pace with the world, of thetic consciousness to
master the in-itself.
This realization that the
thinking individual can never become master of the
w o r l d fin a " s e r i o u s " s e n s e ) does reinforce the interpretation that Roquentin is being menaced by "countera p p r o p r i a t i o n " on the part of the en-go*, an interpretation we are about to put forth.
-185-
d'ecoeurement douceâtre*
Que c'était donc d é s agréable!
Et cela venait du galet, j'en suis
sur, cela passait du galet dans mes mains*
Oui,
c'est cela, c'est bien cela: une sorte de nausée
dans les m a i n s . 2 1 5
Roquent in feels that
is not
objects have begun to touch back»
clear whether he is repelled hy
picking up the piece of composition
the very
its c o u n t e r - c a r e s s and immediately
evidence
is available
«ore, his statement,
e u x , " s u g g e s t s the
idea of
paper just before
grasps it, or whether he actually touches it,
It
he
experiences
lets it go, although no
to indicate the latter and,
what's
"J'ai peur d'entrer en contact
avec
former.
This " f e a r " of a double contact is not mere
whimsy,
h o w e v e r , for, as Roquentin goes on to explain, he had
just
such an experience some days earlier while handling a
small stone at the s e a s h o r e .
His narration of this inci-
dent
appears
in the "feuillet sans date."
After
*hat
in the "histoires de samedi et d'avant-hier
remarking
. . .
il
n'y a rien eu de ce qu'on appelle à l'ordinaire aa araofeftSûi'tZie __
a n
a p o l o g y
yhich anticipates the nearly
iden-
tical d i s c l a i m e r that appears in the entry of "30 janvie
**» M
just
incident —
before Roquentin's recounting of the paper
the text
reads:
Samedi les gamins jouaient aux ricochets, et je
voulais lancer comme eux un caillou dans la mer.
A ce moment-la, je me suis arrSte, j'ai laisser
tomber le caillou et je suis parti . • •
Voila
215
216
S a r t r e , ta. Causéef
XkXé^t
P*
p. 23.
11t emphasis
added.
-186pour l'extérieur. Ce qui s'est passe en m o i n a
pas laissé de traces claires. Il y avait quell e chose eue J'ai vu et qui - ' * - « • » * • • £ i S
je ne sais plus si Je regardais la mer ou le
.alet. Le galet était plat, sec sur tout un
cSté, humide et boueux sur l'autre. Je le te
nais par les bords, avec les doigts^tres
écartés, pour éviter de me salir.
At a glance, we note nothing about this incident that
should cause Roouentin any displeasure, much less an "écoeurement."
» .«.« not mentioned among the
Although stones are nox
-. .,
+„ nick up and handle, the
small objects that he likes to pic* up
.^ * r>+ the "Hibou blanc"
rock's condition, similar to that oi
+ cnouentin, who admits to
fragment, should in no way daunt Roquenxm,
+ lo.ct. the look and feel of
having enjoyed, in the past at leas ,
some pretty disgusting bits of trash.
Thus, the «écoeurement+ rfnuceStre»
douceaxre and the "nausée
-«l.tlvely recent reaction to
dans les mains" constitute a relatif
0„„...tttin pleasure.
objects which formerly gave Roquentin P
Something
i„ the objects or in Roquentin.
indeed has changed, either in the ooj
So ends the entry of "mardi, 30 Janvier.
r-* a eood bit of commentary has
As one might suspect, a go
„«d origin of this nausea is
appeared in which the nature and orig
4„- for the moment, Sartre's own
Leaving aside, ior
_.».». J .-.«. let us glance
«•f this condition, «-e^ ««» m
Phenomenological theory of tnis
«tive readings which concern
at a few of the more informative re
examined.
themselves with Roquentin's illness.
217
lfcitf., PP. 11-12-
-187-
ïn the essay by Catherine Savage Brosman, which we
have
already mentioned,
and effect of "some
object
pared
the author examines the
77 similes and metaphors
or the human body —
function
in which
usually the latter —
is
an
com-
in part or in whole to an animal or part of an ani-
mal #"218
c t i s c u s s i o n i s both applicable and
R e r
revelatory
in the
present
instance*
not only because of the title of
the s c h o o l c h i I d » s dictation exercise which serves to name
the object
because
and place it in a zoological category, but
also
Roquentin often sees his desired papers as
" c y g n e s " (another b i r d ) ,
and he regards the
terrifying
scrap of J a n u a r y 30th as one of those objects which seem
like "betes v i v a n t e s " to the touch.
the use of the zoological
Brosman notes that
analogy, which is so prevalent
in S a r t r e 9 s n o v e l , is for the most part pejorative and "in
short, animal
sea inspired
i c . "219
that
—
T h i s
imagery
is used to convey a feeling of nau-
in part by the very
conclus
ion
existence of the organ-
hinges on the opposition
which is hard, unmoving, non-changing, and
that
is, en-soi —
slippery,
protean, and organic ~
£SU, w h i c h is "empty,
human body.
exists
and that which is soft,
free and
between
inorganic
flabby,
not exactly the cauxr
«néant', " but rather the
The body is problematic, because, although it
as a thing-in-the-world,
egrs&l' **
218
B r o s m a n , "Sartre's Nature: Animal
s é e « " p. 1 0 7 .
219
XtLLo!., p. 110.
is
also
that
Images in L & £&U-
-188-
sabstance which consciousness has to "exist" (see
C h . II,
85f
p#
footnote
above,
# 9 1 ) and is therefore neither
tally opaque and hard, nor totally transparent
and
gible for the consciousness which has to inhabit
to-
intan-
it»
T h u s , according to B r o s m a n 1 s argument, those images of
organic
the
(and especially those of animals) serve to remind
the perceiver of "existence at its most physiological:
Pure, viscous flesh, wj tfrou* even the PPggifriUtE fc£ C £ y^lt-
agajP?+
protoplasmic
identity"220
This
restriction
by the p h y s i o l o g i c a l , although Brosman does not put it in
so many w o r d s , refers to a real or imagined
o n e 1 s existential
b
o d y , and,
ganic
the
freedom
limitation
on
that is imposed by one*s own
for this reason, such a perception of the o r -
is experienced as unpleasurable, even nauseating,
by
perceiver.
This o p p o s i t i o n between hard and soft, and its nau-
seating effect
on S a r t r e 1 s protagonist,
length in an earlier piece by
*hich is influential
^»ent
is that
° !£!£•?
221
at
Jean Pellegrin, an essay
in Brosman's article, as well as in
some studies by other w r i t e r s . 2 2 1
ftr
is discussed
The gist of
Pellegrin's
Foquentin's palaise is provoked by
p . 108, emphasis
vari-
added.
Among these are Georgiana Colvile^s "Eléments s u r r é a l istes dans L & Nausée:
Une hypothèse de l'écriture,"
in
L-'Egprjt Créateur 17(1977): pp. 19-28, and Gerald^
P r i n c e ' s "L'Odeur de la nausée," also in L'Esprit £ r l âJt^ux 1 7 ( 1 9 7 7 ) : pp. 29-35, as well as his "La Main et
la menace de l'en-soi dans l'oeuvre romanesque de S a r t r e , " in Romance Notes 1 0 ( 1 9 6 8 ) : PP* 7-10 (discussed
below).
-18S-
ous objects which he experiences
first
symptom
incident
as "double-faced."
The
of this "maladie étrange" is, of course,
the
with the fiat stone; the second is Roquentin's
inability
to grasp the piece of paper.
Pellegrin
notes:
Relating the two,
L'analogie entre le feuillet et le galet est évidente:
objets à deux faces, l'une sèche,
lisse, luisante, l'autre sombre, mouillée,
souillée.
Le feuillet nous apporte en outre un
renseignement nouveau:
la face inférieure est
inseparable de l'autre, elle est constitutive de
l'objet»
S'il est possible, en effet, de nettoyer le galet, au contraire le papier sali, le
p a p i e r - b o u e ne peut —
"ce qui ne va pas sans
peine" —
qu'être brûlé et détruit entièrement. 2 2 2
Sometimes
the two faces of the object are inseparable
u n a l t e r a b l e , other times
it is possible "en effet" to
and
im-
prove the condition of that side which is "sombre, mouillee
»
souillée."
Other objects which fall into this t w o -
*aced c a t e g o r y are, for example, the sea, a hand,
c
ity
s t r e e t s , and a bench on the tramway —
all
certain
highlights
in P e l l e g r i n ' s analysis, which lead the writer to a more
general d e s c r i p t i o n of the nature of the two sides of the
objects
in
question:
En l'occurrence, l'une des substances sera solide, minérale, métallique, sèche et lisse au
toucher, éclatante et nette pour la vue, ou
t r a n s p a r e n t e , éclatante encore, éventuellement,
pour l'ouïe.
L'autre, liquide, mais d^une l i quidité menacée de solidification, végétale,
sombre, et, selon le mode de perception,
32
Jean Pellegrin, "L'Objet à deux faces dans "L& H A ^ S Ê Ê , " in Revue des pciences feWUftingg #113 ( 1 9 6 4 ) , p.
87.
-190gluante, fade, floue. 2 2 3
These two groups of traits Peregrin labels ..compact" and
••visqueux," respectively, drawing on the terminology of
LIBIT. *i 1* « i « l .
H. Points out that at times "le vis-
queux se livre contre le compact," and at others, the reverse is true. 2 2 * He also remarks that the general terms
"compact" and "visqueux" can be understood in terms of
other dichotomies:
stasis / movement, appearance / reali-
225 A H this is quite interesting
ty, value / antivalue. 2 2 5 All this is H
and, as we shall see presently, indicative.
There are,
however, two difficulties in Pellegrini argument that we
j A
must be careful to keep in mind.
First of all, Pellegrin
rxr
* „<+h things, the eji^efii; he
tends to equate the compact with thing
~„« «.s representative of
views the other "face," the viscous, as r P
,
consciousness, the apUtr-PP*-»
Now, as Brosman later points
'
i ~ Pelleeria's inexactiout (without, however, mentioning Pellegri
wo
. n l , 8 n e s s depicts the
tude), Sartre's notion of consciousness
*
aai as a transparent,
+ ^nscendin«
transcenam*
aSii£=.
nothingness, a kind of
„ hurdlv be construed as
This being can hardly
^i - *hat "la conscience est
viscous. Pellegrin's deduction that
.,.. o f the line: "Les penvisqueuse" stems from his reaaing
,. -»_
Plus fade encore
sees, c'est ce qu'il y a de plus fade. Plus
intangible clarity.
que de la chair."
>,• &s Roquentin reflects on it,
Thought, as Koq
323
Xfcid.., p . 8 9 .
224
Ifei££.» P- 9 1 .
225
IfeiiJ., p p . 91 ff.
- l & l -
*ay at
its horizon be the pre-refiective
transcendent
consciousness, but
b e i n g neflect?rf-y r T
cogito,
in its present context
of
it is posited as an object for con-
s c i o u s n e s s , almost e n - 9 o | . as it were.
It is "plus fade
encore que de la c h a i r , " for it lacks the flesh 1 s
material
presence while, at the same time, it lacks the for-its e l f « s sharp translucency.
Thus, "les pensées" can
indeed
*>e seen as " v i s q u e u s e s , " but not completely as Dour-R fî ]f
since the reflective
nature of Roquentin f s meditation
in-
dicates an interplay of both the for-itself and e t r e - ^ t f r - .
frtttrviit which,
to be sure, is a kind of subspecies of the
gPttr-froj, but nonetheless a dimension that
clouds consciousness1
qualification
Without
this
of P e l l e g r i n i statement, we risk a serious
misunderstanding
tions that
crystal c l a r i t y . 2 2 6
radically
of the relationship between the opposi-
he sets up.
Secondly,
Pellegrin fails to inform us as to why an
acute a w a r e n e s s of double-faced objects, of the viscous as
opposed to the compact, should suddenly render
fioquentin
2 26
We m e n t i o n the role of being-for-others here, even
though this dimension of the for-itself may not seem
to be directly at work in Roquentin's statement.
It
is, h o w e v e r , the very mechanism which allows the subject to reflect on himself at all, since he must take
a p o s i t i o n as pther in order to secure a point of view
on h i m s e l f .
Thus, self-reflexivity presupposes an
awareness of the existence of the Other and, consequently, a being-for-others.
This speculation on our part, however, does not totally r e s o l v e the question of the Quality of feeJug of
the v i s c o u s and its phenomenological ramifications, as
Sartre sees them —
an analysis we shall examine a bit
later (see below, pp9 202 f f • ) •
-192-
existentially
ill.
Slime can make someone nauseated,
enough, but why after repeatedly enjoying shit- and
true
mud-
stained, perhaps peed-on, decomposing, worthless scraps of
junk that
nist
he finds in the street, does Sartre's
suddenly
lose his stomach for such
protago-
endeavors?
+ „ +T-v to answer this question,
Before moving on to try T O
should mention
amidst
*.s+«= «f critical data
two more bits of cri^x
~~ the novel,
the w e a l t h of commentary on the nove
we
supplied
information
. . a i l B i g of Brosman and P e l which bears on the preceding resumes 01
^ 3 J . i ^ ^ "The Ose of Colour in Lft
In an article entitled
The us
legrin.
„ . «Lecture colorée" of the
HaUÊÊfe," D.J. Fletcher proposes a
lecxu
,
**.
o b j e c t s and images in the
+„*t.
text.
He maintains that
deep,
-» —«rt have a stabilizing
dark colors such as black and blood-red have
effect
-
on Roquentin, while
are u p s e t t i n g . " /
menace de l'en-soi
_+.ipasteus
and pink,
especially
in his "La Main et la
Gerald Prxnce, in his
dans
H oeuvre romanesque de Sartre,"
l'oeuvre
- La seule partie du corps qui
"la main est
.11- main peut se présenter comme
soit «à deux f a c e s ' , " for "*-* m a i D P
elle est osseuse, dure et
paume ou comme surface convexe,
„ „ l l e et moite de l«ausèche d'un c o t é , et charnue, moite
p o i n t s out that
, • -that this exclusivity of the
object that
_~ there are other body
is not entirely valid, because ther
tre."228
hand
0 n e
miKht
Parts that manifest
227
226
« tcind of two-sidedness: the
this same kina
„f Colour in ta HftiiaÊÊ," in
D.J. F l e t c h e r , "The Use °f Jot
370-380.
M o ^ r a LjuxguisS- E ^ v i S S 6 3 ( 1 9 6 8 ) . PP
^o L'en-soi dans I'oeuP r i n c e , "La Main et la menace de
vre romanesque de Sartre,' P-
-193-
foot , for example*
justifiable
Such an objection would be correct
if it were not for the ontological
cance of the "objet à deux faces" and for the
*ay in which
and
signifiparticular
the hand manifests this value.
Prince p o i n t s out that, according to Sartre, the
body:
• • • est la facticité du pour-soi — naiss a n c e , r a c e , nationalité, structure physiologique, passé —
et, par ses affinités avec l'ensoi, il représente un piège redoutable pour la^
c o n s c i e n c e , Menaçant à chaque instant de l 1 empâter, de l«engloutir, si elle ne le dépasse pas
par l'acte l i b r e » 2 2 9
Now,
it is Just
such a trap into which the potfr-goj might
fall that is suggested by both the animal imagery in the
text
and the theme of the "objet à deux faces": the
t h r e a t e n i n g to invade, as it were, consciousness
and e n g u l f i n g
it, transforming
it
itself
into something which is
neither material nor free, but a soft, flabby, pasty
Such
ep-gpi
muck*
a state can be surpassed, through the utilization
of
one's freedom, one's capacity to freely choose an
attitude
towards o n e ' s facticity (the body, for e x a m p l e ) .
But it
is at this point
that we discover the cogency of Prince's
a r g u m e n t , for the hand, while appearing as an "objet à
«eux f a c e s , " while being in fact a part of the body, is at
*he same time that part of the body which is capable of
the greatest
degree of instrumentality.
it:
Xfeid», p . 7.
As Prince
puts
-194-
• • • la main est d'habitude admirablement
Humaine et expressive, toute proche d'un instrument perfectionné, parce que loin d'être chose
parmi les choses, elle aide l'homme à découvrir
les choses*
La menace que représente l'en-soi
est alors d'autant mieux mise en valeur qu'elle
se manifeste là où on l'attend le moins, dans la
partie la plus spirituelle —
ou presque —
du
corps h u m a i n . 2 3 0
T h u s , the hand,
lay which we can normally surpass the fac-
icity of our consciousness through an "acte libre," r e veals itself to be not only the very flesh that we wish to
n e u t r a l i z e , but also, as an "objet à deux faces," an laa
« e , a reminder of this two-faced situation
H e n c e , the exacerbated
itself*
horror provoked by images of the
hand*
These last two critical points of view bear
on our consideration
tion to the general
*o the "objet
a
of the "Hibou blanc" scrap*
directly
In a d d i -
information they supply us with regard
à deux -Paces," which we now understand
kind of instigating
factor for Roquentin's palajge,
to be
they
*lso supply us with two observations yig-ft-vjg *he sheet
° * Paper
T h e
that Roquentin cannot bring himself to play with.
fed margin on the sheet has both run and faded and now
appears as "une buée rose *"
Moreover, the "cloques" and
" b o u r s o u f l u r e s " that cover the scrap give it the appearance of M u n e
is
n a i n
bï.Siee,"
Thus, the "Hibou blanc" page
not only an "objet à deux faces" itself, but
e r e d
condition
also reminds Roquentin
ifeJLo:*, p * 9.
of the
its weath-
double-faced
-195-
object
par excellence*
suggests another
the hand, and its pink tint
intermediate zone between the bright,
durability of red
and the clear emptiness-of-color
which the red of the margin has been
combined»
We have discussed at length the appropriative
of R o q u e n t i n ' s occasional
interest
debris, and how his attempt
with
nature
in playing with paper
to appropriate these objects
I s , at heart, based on a universal human urge for consciousness
to become its own foundation:
in-itseif.
rapppr+
0f
the
for-itself-
We have also remarked that, because the arojjtfeJLê
t n e
possessive
relationship —
that is, the
perceived status of the object as both mine and not-me
—
ctoes not in any real and lasting fashion satisfy the wishe
s of that being whose desire is to become God, the a p p r o -
Priative project
f
or-itselfts
is doomed to failure.
desire
The object of the
is only related in a symbolic
sense to
*he real object
of this drive to achieve a closure of be-
in
unfortunately f
«:
an object,
that is intangible, incon-
c e i v a b l e , and forever absent from the for-itself's
°* P o s s i b i l i t i e s .
Part
realm
Thus, any appropriative strategy on the
of the subject produces only a limited
satisfaction
in an a l l e g o r i c a l mode, much like the results of wish f u l fillment
in a
dream:
T o u t e f o i s , on ne saurait trop insister sur le
fait que cette relation estfityrcfrpUffueet itfâaie..
Je ne satisfais pas plus mon désir originel d'être a moi-mSme mon propre fondement, par
l-appropriation que le malade de Freud^ne satisfait son complexe d'Oedipe lorsqu'il rêve qu'un
-196-
soldat
tue le Tsar (c'est-à-dire son
père)»231
The inability to realize the desired form of
gical appropriation can result
ure.
First
discovered
itself«s
fundamental project, since the symbolic
wishes to own*
intact
that
appropriative
ondly,
is never
to be unsatisfactory for the aims of the for-
there
object
appropriated: for example, the sparkling-
new, white Cadillac
tactics
in four main forms of f a i l -
of all, the object-to-be-possessed
itself is nevBT
cally
ontolo-
El Dorado that the migrant
In this case, the object
farm
remains so radi-
and outside of the for-itself's
engulfing
it does not in any way become a part of the
relationship as it has been defined»
is the frustrated wish of the Jonah
it has been devoured.
the s u b j e c t s
Charrain bathroom
Such a failure is best
desire to consume (food,
tissues, e t c . ) .
these cases the object
Sec-
complex
that seeks an object that would remain intact even
through
worker
after
exhibited
drink,
We note that in both
is eliminated from the
appropria-
tive r e l a t i o n s h i p , either from the start or along the way.
The third and fourth forms of failure are a bit
Poignant.
There
feel possessed
more
is the case of the subject who begins to
by his objects.
The middle-class, w h i t e -
collar w o r k e r overspends himself, succeeds in owning a
sparkling-new,
white Cadillac El Dorado, and then
must
*ake on a second job, scrimp and save and worry, risk a
231
SartrBf
L'Etre g.t l éflgftflt,P*
682.
-197-
collapse of his family life —
this glimmering
ject
piece of steel, glass and rubber»
has gotten uppity.
appropriation
ail in order to support
The ob-
And there is finally the case of
in which the object is indeed owned,
kept
intact and causes no problems whatsoever for the p o s s e s sor»
A y o u n g executive
Cadillac
purchases a sparkling-new,
white
El Dorado and, as time passes, the initial
of p o s s e s s i o n
discontented
object:
gives way to a more matter-of-fact,
somewhat
point of view regarding the meaning of the
"Yeah,
The object
thrill
it 1 s a nice enough car, but now what?»
b e g i n s to lose the magical qualities
through
*hich the o b j e c t ' s possessor confers upon it its value*
The effect
of the meaning-producing
aspect of the
self has reduced the car to a rather trivial
*or the value
marginal
for-it-
significance,
initially given to the Cadillac has only a
connection with the thing in-itself (status, suc-
cess [ i . e . , the meaning of owning the c a r ] <
of expensive
painted steel, glass and rubber>•
meaning / value of the ohject
commonplace
> a piece
As the
becomes more familiar and
to its owner, the object 1 s thingness
once
again begins to display its bared fangs.
These examples, which focus on appropriation
of material
pl
*ce
orld.
ownership, may seem, at first glance, out of
in a discussion of Antoine Rocjuentin's rather ab-
stractly
w
in terms
defined relationship with the objects in tkL&
He is, of course, hardly a materialist:
-198-
• • • je ne demande qu'a m 1 a p i t o y e r sur tes ennuis des autres» cela me changera*
Je n'ai pas
d 1 ennuis» j'ai de l'argent comme un rentier* pas
de chef, pas de femme ni d'enfants; j'existe»
c'est tout.
Et c'est si vague» si métaphysique»
cet ennui-là» que j'en ai h o n t e . 2 3 2
Nonetheless»
the concrete nature of such examples may
help
us to c l a r i f y why it is that the objects in Poquentin's
world seem to touch back*
It is particularly
in the
and fourth instances of the failure of appropriation
such a perception
is likely to occur»
cisely an intensified
that
Indeed»
third
that
it is pre-
awareness of these last two
aspects
is at work in L & Nausée, for in both circumstances we
note a kind of
eral»
immutable
to possess*
at first
in-itself»
T h i s change»
then»
that Roquentin
attributes
is actually a result
relationship to these objects.
sensations»
min-
which the for-itself is trying
to the objects themselves»
of his intended
pleasant
invasion of consciousness by the hard»
the nausea»
The u n -
seem to emanate from
the
objects only because they are revealing themselves / are
being revealed ( jge_
consciousness
tendency
r
?v?lent)
in
t h e i r
thingness»
struggles to overrule as a result of its
to b r i n g meaning into the world.
What suddenly triggers these sensations for
is difficult
to determine precisely»
ence with the stone —
that
is brought
given that it is the first
up in the journal ~
Sartre»
l& ttausee» p« 136.
Roquentin
although his experiinstance
narks the onset
the crisis that would perhaps have begun with the
2
which
of
"Hibou
-199-
blancM
scrap had Roquentin never tried to skim stones
the kids at the beach (in other words»
b e g i n s with a realization about
Roquentin's
with
crisis
"objets à deux faces" in
g e n e r a l , and not with the discovery of a equality which is
peculiar
to a given object
development
in particular)»
The onset
of this condition, which the diarist
and
terms
" e c o e u r e a e n t , " as well as "nausée»" can be understood as a
kind of two-staged
The first "kick in the e y e " 2 3 3
satori•
on his way to existential enlightenment
occurs when R o -
quentin
handles the partially muddy»
partially
clean
stone.
His n a u s e a signals an awareness of the radical
d i s t i n c t i o n between the en-soi and the relentless
urging
of the dreadful
freedom that defines ail the parameters of
human r e a l i t y .
The initial epiphany»
on a p r e - r e i e x i v e
of his realization
level —
however»
that i s , Roquentin
takes
place
is conscious
(if we may risk a tautology) without
actually knowing what it is he r e a l i z e s * 2 3 4 Because Roquentin
fails to understand»
to grasp (and, thus, t& tt*£-
£ £ £ to some e x t e n t ) the nature of this ontological
sight,
in-
the source of his anguish, he is kicked over and
over again
objects:
through his perception of apparently
the glass of beer»
the a u t o d i d a c t e
demonic
hand, the
2 3 3
At least according to Jack Kerouac, th s is * J * * * *
r e n d i t i o n of the Japanese term for this kind of sudden
illumination.
See his £ô£°xi i a EftXiS (New York.
Grove Press, 1 9 6 6 ) , p» 7•
" •
The point of distinction between non-thetic and thetic
consciousness —
see above, C h . II, PP- 108-110.
-200-
piece of paper, A d o l p h e 1 s suspenders.
Roquentin1s
satori
occurs
the celebrated chestnut
ond epiphany,
what
The second stage of
in the park, on a bench,
tree root at his feet.
in which Roquentin
with
This
sec-
gains an understanding
of
he has only sensed intuitively signals a turning
point, as it were, in his struggle to overcome his fear of
objects.
This knowledge will eventually lead Roquentin t o
his decision
to write a novel, the culmination of the p a r -
ticular series of appropriât!ve gestures which serve tto
map out the terrain
that
is Roquent in's life
story.
Before «oving on, we should pause to note Sartre•»s
own contribution
to the notion of 1 & Oftug^e and to tthe
idea of the «objet a deux faces," with regard to the f a i l ure of the
tactics of
appropriation.
T
^*
+ Ttc + r»» et le
In the section of L çtre " *•*.i.
,
i~ c»«»+«*otfi
to the role of le_ corps in Sartre s
tology, we read the
néant that is devoted
^^"
ohenomenological onPncuw
•»
u
following:
Cette saisie perpétuelle par "*
, ~ ^ " 1 * ' ™
a c C o m
goût fto.
et sans distance qui »
*af°e J ^
lue d t n T m e s efforts pour - e n délivre
et ,ui
~^
• „+ -*»
avons décrit ^ ^
est B Û Û gout,
c'est
ce axiB
que nous
n
a i l l e u r s s o u s le nom de HAUfiÊfe.
vu
*
j. wi« «ivèle perpétuellement
crête et insurmontable révèle r
^
^
«on c o r p s a ma « • " f a " ? ^ l # i 0 « l . douleur phynous ' • c h . r c h i o » . l ^ J J J ^ * ^
d e 6 q u e
lft
sique pour nous en d e u v r e r t
_„_
*
•*
—.+ Avictes oar ta con^
douleur ou l'agréable sont « * ^ « s P fia f f t c t l .
s c i e n c e , ils manifestent a leur
^
^
cité et sa contingence et^c esx
sée q u ' i l s se dévoilent.
235
S a r t r e , V Etre fel 1 Ê niaûlt
P-
404
*
-201-
Nausea
is a taste that we have ( "qui est mon gout" ),
*t Is the direct, unmediated apprehension
it
is "existed" by consciousness*
and
of the body,
as
In other words, nausea
is the revelation of one aspect of the facticity of consciousness:
its necessary connection with the en-soft
the b o d y . 2 3 6
The fact that consciousness must
body constitutes
radically
a limit, as it were, on the
free posture (see above, Ch»
# 9 1 ) ; more precisely,
"exist"
—
the
for-itseif'e
II, p . 85, footnote
we should say that consciousness
re-
mains free JLû spite of the body, which posits it, for others,
as an object
a direct
décrit
in the world»
avons
ailleurs sous le nom de Causée" )« and we note a
she u n d e r s t a n d s
to B r o s m a n f s essay, in which
the extensive use of animal imagery in La.
to be a reminder of the role of "viscous flesh" as
r e v e l a t o r y of the facticity of
But
as those
consciousness.237
as the arguments of other commentators, as well
is
of our own investigation have intimated, it
not merely
those organic
suggestive
of one»s own flesh, that can potentially
substances, which are directly
gate the perceiver's nauseous apprehensions.
*Iso
making
reference to his novel here ( "ce que nous
c o n n e c t i o n of this reference
Nausée
Sartre is clearly
those
insti-
There are
"objets à deux faces," those objects that
236
The other aspect being the impossibility
s c i o u s n e s s pot ±si be. free.
2 3 7
B r o s m a n , "Sartre's Nature: Animal
fijie.," p . 1 0 8 .
are
for con-
Images in Lfc &a_u.-
-202-
both hard and mushy*
that can reveal the
f a c t i c i t y of freedom to the apprehending
and, consequently,
result
for-itself's
consciousness
in nausea*
It is not so much the hardy
dry durability of the up-
per side of the object that causes discomfort
for its per-
c e i v e r , but rather the sudden contact or apprehension
the object's mushy, or otherwise sluggishly
flip side»
of
inconsistent
Sartre's pardigmatic example of the
substance
of such an object's "underbelly" is le_ visaueu#. the v i s c o u s , or s l i m e .
It is important
to understand, first of ail, that in
his existential
analysis of objective qualities as revela-
tory of certain
states or concepts of being, Sartre
sees
the solid state as normally suggestive of brute existence,
the en-soj -
Consciousness, on the other hand, contrary to
the reading Pellegrin gives us of the vjgguetfg (see above,
PP«
190-191),
clouded
is symbolized most precisely by a clear,
liquid —
water, for example:
"l'eau est
un-
le sym-
bole de la c o n s c i e n c e : son mouvement, sa fluidité, cette
solidarité
non solidaire de son être, sa fuite
u e l l e , etc., tout en elle me rappelle le
Hictway between
Pour-soi."238
these two extrems of solid and liquid is a
n o - m a n ' s land of viscosity:
2 3 8
perpét-
slime.
S a r t r e , L'Etre et le. JQÊÛûlf
P#
702#
-203-
"Le visqueux est l'agonie
de l'eau," says Sartre, who
continues:
• • •
il [ le v i s q u e u x ] se donne lui-même comme
un phénomène en devenir, il n'a pas la permanence dans le changement de l'eau, mais au contraire il représente comme une coupe opérée dans
le changement d'état.
Cette instabilité figée
du visqueux décourage la possession*
L'eau est
plus fuyante, mais on peut la posséder dans sa
fuite m ê m e , en tant que f u y a n t e » 2 3 9
Slime240
comes*
i s thus a becoming:
a becoming which never b e -
It is neither the fleeing fluidity of liquid
constant
(the
becoming of the for-itself), nor is it the hard,
u n c h a n g i n g stability of solids (the brute contingency
the in-itself )•
very
nature
of
It is a substantive quality that by its
"décourage
la
possession."
This unsuitability of the viscous object as an object
to-be-appropriated
can be explained as follows.
The
for-
itself» s original project, as we have seen, is an approPriative
enterprise:
foundation,
were.
the for-itself wants to be its own
to create and subsequently hftYv itself, as it
Given this a„ priori consideration, Sartre
the e n c o u n t e r with the viscous in the following
239
2
Ihlsi.f
describes
manner:
p. 699.
* ° We shall make liberal use of Hazel Barnes' translation
o f
1 Ê visoueux as "slime" or "the slimy," for at times
it seems to communicate the sense of Sartre's term in
a more striking and, indeed, palpable way . . . an effect that is preferable to the rarer and more abstract
" v i s c o u s , " as the term is usually rendered (quite c o r rectly, of course, since Sartre himself chooses the
abstract term in lieu of the more oozily concrete
va^e).
At other times, however, we shall go with the
term " v i s c o u s " if the quality in question is something
other than the slimy per ££•
-204-
• • • ie surgi ssement du pour—soi a l'être
étant appropriatift le visqueux perçu est " r i s queux à p o s s é d e r f M c'est-à-dire que le lien originel du moi au visqueux est que Je projette d'être fondement de son étret en tant qu'il est
moi—même i d é a l e m e n t » 2 4 1
The for-itself
surge and*
is an appropri ati ve being in its very
consequently f
sees the irorld and those
up-
objects
in it as possible foundations for its own being —
on an
ideal level, of course, since the for-itself must
somehow
project
an image of itself into the object and play at fee.-
comipff this object without ever really achieving this
possible ontological goal*
priate the slimy
there
Thus, the temptation
to a p p r o -
is irresistable for the pottr-soj, since
is no other manner in which it can, at heart,
an o b j e c t .
im-
treat
Sartre describes this encounter with the yJLfi-
OU&&2. and its overall
effect:
Cette viscosité est donc dLiÀ 7- dès l'apparition première du visqueux — réponse a une demande, déjà o^n £S* Êûiî le visqueux paraît comme
déjà l'ébauche d'une fusion du monde avec moi;
et ce qu'il m'apprend de lui, son caractère de ^
V Ê O l p j i ^ auJL ffil&SÊir^t c'est déjà une réplique a
une interrogation concrète; il repond avec son
être même, avec sa manière d'etre, avec toute sa
matière* 2 4 2
I seek my ideal being in the slimy, *n atte.pt to »«•approprier
o±
le «onde sy«boIiquerent»
the object
»on object
payment
through the
intercession
of my attention, but lo and behold, the d e -
sucks at my soul like a leech, exacting pre-
for my wild, presumptuous wish, which, in the
241
S a r t r e , L'Etre e_£ L E ûâfiUi, P« 697.
242
JLfcid.., pp. 6 9 7 - 6 9 8 .
end,
-205-
it will never
grant:
Le v i s q u e u x est docile»
Seulement, au moment
même où je c r o i s le posséder, voila que, par un
c u r i e u x r e n v e r s e m e n t , c'est lui qui me possède
• • • voici que le visqueux renverse les t e r m e s :
le Pour-soi est soudain compromis»
J'écarte les
mains y je v e u x l â c h e r le visqueux et il adhere a
moi, il me pompe, il m ' a s p i r e » 2 4 3
it is that \j& v i s q u e u x "décourage
Thus
cause of the threat
c'est
of c o u n t e r — p o s s e s s i o n •
la revanche de
both
Like
"Le visqueux,
1'En—soi•"244
N o n e t h e l e s s , "il y
visqueux»"245
la possession, " b e -
a comme une fascination
the tempting lure of the snake,
attracts and r e p u l s e s the c o n s c i o u s n e s s
ters it, ie_ v i s q u e u x p r o v o k e s a certain
that
with such
only
he/she
to the attraction
t o w a r d s the oozing g o o » 2 4 6
The subject
v e r t i g o v i s - à - v i s the v i s c o u s :
en lui comme
le fond d'un
encounper-
distaste
experiences
u n d e r g o e s a kind of
"il [le v i s q u e u x ] m'attire
precipice
pourrait
m'attir-
er."247
2
*3
2
* 4 Itoitf.
IfriçU* P*
du
which
u n e a s e in the
ceiver, who p e r h a p s v i e w s the object
in p r o p o r t i o n
tactile
700.
246
We might point out that a p e r s o n ' s fear of snakes
often c h a r a c t e r i z e d by the illusion that the skin
the snake is slimy to the touch»
247
S a r t r e , \. ' E t r * &± 1$- néftnt, p . 7 0 0 .
is
of
-206-
Sartre c o n t i n u e s :
rreter
le p r o c e s s u s d ' a p p r o p r i a t i o n . " 2 * 8
then, in one's e n c o u n t e r with le_ visgueux
al's freedom»
The a p p r o p r i a t i v e
at mastery on the s u b j e c t ' s part,
dissolved
imprisoned
is at stake,
is the
as an
flight
that
individuattempt
seems to be turned
consistency»
is the fear that c o n s c i o u s n e s s
in it, that freedom
the perpetual
What
situation,
sy-turvy by o b j e c t s of q u e s t i o n a b l e
of the v i s c o u s
df
"Je ne suis plus le maitre
top-
The
might
fear
be
itself might cease to remain
it is and become more or less
by limits w h i c h are ill-defined»
menaces the overly a c q u i s i t i v e
Le_ vjsgueux
for-itself w i t h a being,
the d i m e n s i o n s of which are m u d d i e d and slowly
shifting»
Time o o z e s , space is a blob»
But
like the f o r - i t s e l f 1 s f a n t a s y that
of the world
through a particular
object
o r i g i n a r y urge to be its own f o u n d a t i o n ,
appropriation
will satisfy
the threat
(or
i n s i d i o u s a t t r a c t i o n ) of the v i s c o u s s u g g e s t s a being
is equally
unattainable:
C'est la c r a i n t e non de la mort, non de 1•En—soi
pur, non du néant, mais d'un typB
d'etre particulier, qui n'existe pas plus que 1'gn-spj-poursoi et qui est seulement r e p r é s e n t é par le v i s queux»
Un être ideal que Je r e p r o u v e de toutes
mes f o r c e s et qui me hante comme la v a l e u r me
hante dans mon ê t r e :
un être idéal où l*En-soi
non fonde a priorité sur le Pour—soi et que nous
nommerons une Antivaleur» 2 4 9
249
ifcié.t
P. 7 0 3 .
its
that
-207-
In striving to be its own foundation ( in-itself-for-its e i f ) , the for-itself
b r i n g s value
a premium of meaning on that w h i c h
e s s a r i l y , tries to appropriate»
value par excellence»
of the f o r - i t s e l f
into the world,
it encounters
To be its own
is thus the endlessly
a^ freedom»
antivalue
putting
and,
foundation,
elusive
is the
goal
opposite
extreme:
it is an ideal being in which the
in-itself
("l'En-soi non f o n d e " ) takes control of the
for-itself.
The for-itself
sion of the in-itself
b e c o m e s stymied
and, as a result
ing of the f o u n d a t i o n a l
aspect of the
(its c r e -
free*
Thus, at
e x t r e m e , there is b o t h f o u n d a t i o n
(freedom)
in between
we see, then, that
w i t h ie. v i s q u e u x
is b e i n g without
these two ideal s t a t e s , there
f o u n d a t i o n and n o n - b e i n g
(the b e i n g of
what
is at stake
of this loss of
is
consciousness)»250
in the
is not really the f o r - i t s e l f 1 s
but only an i l l u s i o n
250
by this inva-
for-itself
and being; at the negative e x t r e m e , there
foundation;
foundationless
of this n e u t r a l i z -
ative f o r c e ) , c o n s c i o u s n e s s i s no longer
the p o s i t i v e
nec-
encounter
freedom,
freedom»
In case this notion of c o n s c i o u s n e s s is not yet a l t o gether clear with regard to this study, we include at
this point Hazel B a r n e s 1 w o r k i n g d e f i n i t i o n of Being—
for-itself:
The nihilation of b e i n g - i n - i t s e I f ; cons c i o u s n e s s c o n c e i v e d as a lack of being, a
desire for Being, a relation to Being»
By
b r i n g i n g n o t h i n g n e s s into the world the
F o r - i t s e l f can stand out from Being and
Judge other b e i n g s b y k n o w i n g what it is
not»
Each F o r - i t s e l f is the nihilation of a
p a r t i c u l a r being (Being and Nothingness» p«
800)»
-208-
Nausea a r i s e s , t h e r e f o r e ,
as an intuitive or knowing
a w a r e n e s s of one of two contingent
threat
to the f o r - i t s e l f ' s
existants that pose a
freedom.
There is one's own
body, an in-itself which consciousness
there
is the v i s c o u s , an object
ties t h r e a t e n s to engulf
it.
In summary,
has to "exist,"
w h i c h by
its very
the c o n s c i o u s n e s s
we might
say that
But, one might
t h i n g s , don't
disguised
•
• • and,
reactions
they?
encounters
in the face of
Kids play w i t h
delight at t h i n g s that are " g r o s s " ?
f u r t h e r m o r e , a d u l t s manifest
slimy
faintly
True
enough
a w h o l e gamut
towards the v i s c o u s .
p e r s o n are y o u if y o u like the
this
sickness*
M u d p i e s , f r o g s in the pocket,
and attitudes
of the
that causes
object, this r e v u l s i o n
the slimy is hardly u n i v e r s a l .
quali-
it is the threat
pour-soj» b e i n g bogged down by the en—soj
particular brand of existential
that
and
of
What kind of
slimy?
If y o u give in to the " d e m o n i c " a t t r a c t i o n of an object
with an unstable
e n f a n t s " engaged
consistency,
you are "comme
in playful a c t i v i t y .
an object w h i c h a t t r a c t s with the
lame and u n s u b s t a n t i a t e d
par excellence
—
promise of ideal
this attitude
be e n s n a r e d by the false p o s s i b i l i t y
nightmare:
reality
than it d o e s to itself when faced with a s o l -
id, stable object —
value
les
In m u c h the same
way as the esnrit fte Jeu refuses to concede more
to the world
font
antivalue.
The esprit
appropriation,
refuses as well
of the
to
appropriâtive
de Jeu r e a l i z e s
its
-20&-
freedom
(perhaps not without
situations?
since
an occasional
it does not consider
a limit on this freedom,
f l i n c h ) in b o t h
being-in-itself
but instead as raw material
the u n d e r t a k i n g of a creative
act*
Now,
in response
as
for
to
the q u e s t i o n of why someone likes the slimy and chooses it
over some other object
for playful
appropriation
(a ball
or a stick, for e x a m p l e ) , we should recall that play,
other modes of a p p r o p r i a t i v e
tempt
to master a situation*
object
behavior,
like
represents an at-
The selection of an oozing
for t a c t i l e p l a y f u l n e s s w o u l d indicate a strategy
to overcome
the very threat posed by the visqueux ~
invasion of the pour— soi by the en-sojL *
f e e l i n g m e n a c e d by c i r c u m s t a n c e s
apparently
in jeopardy,
s i t u a t i o n , but
The
subject,
in which his freedom
u s e s this freedom
to re-create
in such a way that, in r e p e a t i n g
cally the d a n g e r o u s c i r c u m s t a n c e s ,
cacy of his freedom
to pursue
the
the
allegori-
he r e — a f f i r m s
the course of his
is
the e f f i original
project•
It is just
himself*
such a situation
Originally,
in which Roquent in finds
s u c h games as ducks and drakes and
the f o n d l i n g of c h e s t n u t s , rags and paper w e r e played
a certain
amount
of p l e a s u r e , a s u r p a s s i n g of the
t h e m s e l v e s t h r o u g h a c r e a t i v e use of freedom,
towards
the m e t a p h o r i c
nal object
a
t
satisfaction
of which is u n k n o w a b l e
a certain
point, R o q u e n t i n f s
with
objects
a striving
of a drive, the o r i g i -
for consciousness*
a t t i t u d e changes*
But
He b e -
-210-
glns to see objects as they are —
non-conscious
world*
pieces
signification
Suddenly*
is vaporized*
the metaphor
col-
or otherwise»
since the o b j e c t s have become more real to Roquentin
back in a plot
en-soi «
brought
on them*
The objects seem to
of c o u n t e r - p o s s e s s i o n ,
R o q u e n t i n f i n d s himself
in a crisis of
on by his w i l l i n g n e s s to adopt
touch
paranoia
&& s e r -
the esprit
horror:
J e ne suis plus libre, Je ne peux plus faire ce que
veux."
Tt is bad faith to believe
tude
But it is e a s y to see t h a t f
that o b j e c t s take priority
apprehend
Roquentin
that
if I adopt
is afraid
my remis-
world»251
of being absorbed by the
H e is d e n y i n g his freedom»
a t t r i b u t i n g more r e a l i t y
the a t t i -
thetiqyte ) would
I am trapped by the
of
existential
over the PO^IJV-soi»
flective consciousness ( 1 A conscience
takenly
Je
that the contingency
the en-soj. c o n s t i t u t e s a real limit on one's
freedom.
than
an insurgency of the
This is why S a r t r e ' s c h a r a c t e r w r i t e s with
M
are
Roquentin can no
longer a p p r o p r i a t e the o b j e c t s , symbolically
his o w n perspective
of
be ing-in-itself * existants which
a. priorjL void of m e a n i n g .
lapsest
contingent
He is in bad faith*
en-soi»
for he is
to the world than to c o n s c i o u s -
Once again* we should point out that the world can in
dieted limit us p h y s i c a l l y —
that i s f it can impose
l i m i t a t i o n s on our bodies? w h i c h we are condemned to
exist*
It imposes no real l i m i t a t i o n s on our a t t i tudes* however* nor on our ability* our necessity* to
c o n s t a n t l y choose o u r s e l v e s in terms of the world in
which we find ourselves»
-211-
nessi
We shall now look at what happens when
game
is turned into a vomi tous nightmare
toys come to
Roquentin's
• • • when his
life*
Earlier, we described how R o q u e n t i n ' s handling of the
papers is a kind
of elaborated b a s t a r d i z a t i o n
of the
para-
digmatic
c h i l d r e n ' s sport of f o r t - d a (see above, p»
177)»
We noted
how the playing
com-
out of R o q u e n t i n ' s v a r i o u s
plexes t h r o u g h his c h i l d i s h habit
to m a s t e r f r e e l y - f l o w i n g
was a repeated
instinctual
attempt
impulses —
the
p l e x e s t h e m s e l v e s , which arise as a result of the
taken
by an individual
consciousness1
become i n - i t s e l f - f o r - i t s e l f
tion of the w o r l d .
subject
the world
transcend
t o w a r d s the f u l f i l l m e n t
his s t r a t -
as defenses,
the s u b j e c t ' s
of his o r i g i n a r y
seems to take their very
it»
the p a p e r s m a n i f e s t s an off—shoot
tile G r e i f t r i e b .
gn-sol
desire, do not
For i n s t a n c e , we h a v e noted how R o q u e n t i n ' s
in t o u c h i n g
as
capacity
the c o n t i n g e n c y of the
The in-itself
s t r u c t u r e and invert
is turning on him,
His c o m p l e x e s ,
f r e e l y created n e t w o r k s to insure
the f o r t .
appropria-
of c o u n t e r — p o s s e s s i o n ,
egy of play b r e a k s down*
hold
to
At this point, we can add that if the
in a campaign
to c o n t i n u o u s l y
course
o r i g i n a l project
through a symbolic
b e g i n s to sense that
is engaged
com-
As R o q u e n t i n ' s
the o b j e c t s that begin to grasp
of an infan-
playful attitude
o b j e c t s y i e l d s to the esprit de ^ f ) e u x t
him:
pleasure
however,
towards
it is
-212-
Les objets» cela ne devrait pas toucher« puisque
cela ne vit pas*
On s § e n sert* on les remet en
place» on vit au m i l i e u d'eux:
ils sont utiles»
rien de plus*
Et moi» ils me touchent» c'est
insupportable» 2 5 2
Roquentin
very
feels that he is no longer free»
existence of objects
seems to prevent
because
him from
transcending: their c o n t i n g e n c y towards a project
by their
we would suspect
terms of R o q u e n t i n 1 s Jonah complex»
self-appropriation
ing of an object
that will remain
intact
this drive
in the fact that R o q u e n t i n
to what
he p e r c e i v e s
c o u n t e r s as a nausea;
Moreover»
in the
in the street
a reversal of the
t h r o u g h -the s w a l l o w i n g
We find evidence
and
normally»
later scene
the urge to
above»
by the h o u s e s that
Ch* I» ppm
252
Sartre»
253
Ifritf». P.
in his hands»
is walking
having
and read
he suddenly
22* 46-47)»
the
fears
surround him as he
might
in the shape of
sur moi sur le
papier
A s we p o i n t e d out earlier
Lfik Nft\*g£e, p . 23*
130.
regurgitate*
in which Roquentin
with a ( n e w s — ) p a p e r
de c y g n e * " 2 5 3
to
as changes in the o b j e c t s he en-
"les m a i s o n s se referment
en m o n t a g n e
being
d e s c r i b e s his r e v u l -
be e n g u l f e d by a m o u n t a i n o u s wave of water
a swan:
incorporat-
of an o p p o s i n g reaction
of a y o u n g girl's b e i n g raped»
being e n g u l f e d
realize
even after
given up w o r k i n g on his book on R o l l e b o n
account
supported
his desire to
devoured*
just
freely
utility.
In like manner»
sion
the
(see
this scene bears a strong
-213-
connection
with R o q u e n t i n ' s description of his paper
gathering*
both because there is a paper in his hands at
the time of the halluciantion
image of the swan*
and because of the
The later s c e n e , then»
strued as a n o t h e r m a n i f e s t a t i o n
also u n d e r s c o r e s
hydra complex
in n e u t r a l i z i n g
s e l f * s invasion*
con-
This fear of being
by a c o l o s s a l , w a t e r y swan —
monster" —
can be
of the en-soi ' s apparent
turning of the tables on R o q u e n t i n .
devoured
recurring
a species of
the inefficacy
"water
of Roquentin 1 s
the threat of the
He does not, at this point,
in-it-
arrogantly
set fire to the w a t e r y i m a g e , but flees it in terror*
T h u s , R o q u e n t i n * s change in f u n d a m e n t a l attitude
in a reversal of the hydra complex
The threat
sa's head,
71-72 )•
point
From a somewhat
of view,
and purely
complex
in men
anxiety*
254
sexual
centers
g e n i t a l i a , the domain of the
The r e s e m b l a n c e
Medusa to a h a i r — e n c o m p a s s e d
connection
I, PP»
is very s m a l l * 2 5 4 Consequently,
p e n i s , f u n c t i o n s as a trigger m e c h a n i s m
castration
Medu-
that women lack a p e n i s , or at least
the one they have
view of the female
like that of the
(see a b o v e , Ch*
elementary
the c a s t r a t i o n
around the d i s c o v e r y
that
as well*
posed t>y the hydra,
is one of c a s t r a t i o n
results
the
absent
for an onset
of
of the head of the
vagina is clear enough;
of the h y d r a to the castration
complex
the
is a bit
See e s p e c i a l l y F r e u d 1 s " A n a l y s i s of a Phobia in a
F i v e - Y e a r Old B o y , " in The Standard Edition» Vol* X
( L o n d o n : H o g a r t h , 1 9 5 3 ) , pp* 3-149*
-214-
nore abstract
and h i n g e s on the hydra's role as
angel for man's stealing of the phallus from
the hydra is a creature
fatherly
But
watert
and thus (we might e x p e c t ) wet and somewhat
vaginal
that
the
Zeus*
suggests
the fact
avenging
of the
slimy,
a tactile relation of the viscous hydra to the
surfaces*
Indeed,
at one moment
in his theoretical
presentation
of the notion of le, visqueux*
Sartre speaks of the threat
of the slimy
"son mode d'etre
in these
terms:
• • • c'est
une activité molle, baveuse et feminine d'aspiration,
vit obscurément
"c'est
sous mes d o i g t s , " and a few lines
la revanche de i'En-soi*
feminine*"255
Revanche
T h i s image of a soft
il
further,
douceâtre et
and slobbery,
sucking
s u r f a c e , which m e n a c e s the pour—gtp j. with engulf ment,
can
also apply to the mouth, but the repeated qualification
the v i s c o u s as p a r t i c u l a r l y f e m i n i n e p o i n t s elsewhere
the anatomy*
If the f u n d a m e n t a l
tion of the threat
the f u n d a m e n t a l
the
ontological
of the i n - i t s e l f
of this threat
then
is
vagina*
By e x t e n s i o n , we see how R o q u e n t i n ' s w]ggtrelb
also Jeopardized*
curiosity,
strategy
If the V i s s t r e i b
is rooted
and if sexual c u r i o s i t y finds its
in childhood
S a r t r e , L'Etre
added )•
et
is
in sexual
paradigmatic
Schaulust • then the yjfsfstreib (the
"drive to k n o w " ) is a l w a y s p o t e n t i a l l y
255
in
representa-
is the v^?oueux«
sexual r e p r e s e n t a t i o n
of
le û£&nj£t
pp«
threatened with a
700, 701
(emphasis
-215-
reainder of the primary discovery of gchaulust:
tomical d i s t i n c t i o n b e t w e e n the sexes*
strieb/Schaulust
ana-
T h u s , the Wjlg-
aspect of R o q u e n t i n ' s attempt
priate objects b a c k f i r e s ,
the
to appro-
if the viscous begins to tppfc
back*
Sartre1s
description
cous as "une activité
of the mode of being of the
encompassed
"sous mes d o i g t s , " is broadly
in the scene of R o q u e n t i n 1 s reading of the
n e w s p a p e r account
signaled
d1aspira-
m o l l e , b a v e u s e et feminine
t i o n , " w h i c h lives obscurely
vis-
of L u c i e n n e 1 s rape»
some of the more significant
We have
p a s s a g e s , for our
p u r p o s e s , in this s c e n e ' s r e c o u n t i n g , but a few
p i e c e s of Roquent i n v s d e s c r i p t i o n
already
more
are worthy of attention*
Roquent i n 1 s s e n s a t i o n of the h y p e r - e x i s t e n c e of objects reaches him through the n e w s p a p e r
that
is "sous ses
doigts":
L'enfant a été v i o l é e *
On a retrouvé son corps,
ses d o i g t s c r i s p e s dans la boue*
Je roule le
journal en boule mes d o i g t s crispés sur le journ a l : odeur d'encre; mon Dieu, comme les choses
existent fort a u j o u r d ' h u i * 2 5 6
The v i s c o s i t y of the object
indeed,
is not readily apparent
it is p r o b a b l y R o q u e n t i n ' s
t i v i t y to o b j e c t s
overly—aroused
in general (a condition
and,
sensi-
which was i n i t i -
ated by the v i s c o u s at such m o m e n t s as that of his handling of the stone and his fear of picking up the
b l a n c " s c r a p ) that is at work h e r e .
256
S a r t r e , LflL Naugge*
P-
130.
"Hibou
But what viscosity
is
-216-
lacking
in the n e w s p a p e r t
tell—tale d e s c r i p t i o n
Roquentin
supplies with his
of and reaction
to the rag*
seems as if his contact with the object
quentin
off into a n i g h t m a r i s h
raped girl»
earth.
H i s hands clutch
identification
with the
the paper as hers clutch the
the c h i l d ' s v a g i n a ,
surface.
S a r t r e behind
that
itself sends Ro-
M o r e o v e r , the critical locus of the violent
is u n d o u b t e d l y
feminine
It
attack
the soft and viscous
If we may call attention to the hand of
the hand of Roquentin
for a moment T
the v i s c o u s term baveuse* whose feminine form
we note
Sartre
u s e s in the passage we last quoted from L'Etre e_£ \j&
néant• w a s also employed
t h e period of the First
The o b j e c t ' s
World War, to mean
The extent
begins to r e -
bias.
of R o q u e n t i n ' s identification
olated girl b e c o m e s more
and more
evident
with the v i -
as his
"Elle a senti cette autre chair qui se
dans la s i e n n e .
during
"newspaper."257
attack of c o u n t e r - a p p r o p r i a t i o n
veal its tactical
goes on:
as a slang substantive»
Je
. • • v o i l à que je • • •
in the event.
glissait
Violée*"258
The girl's f l e s h is invaded by another being and
b e g i n s to sense his implication
narrative
Roquentin
It is not
clear yet w h e t h e r he f e e l s himself to be in the place
the v i o l a t o r
or the v i o l a t e d : both are suggested.
M
of
Je
2 5 7
J o s e p h M a r k s , Harrap 1 s F r e n c h - E n g l i s h PictiPtlftry û l
S l a n g &-**£ C o l l o q u i a l i s m s ( L o n d o n : Harrap, 1 9 7 0 ) , p .
25.
2 5 8
S a r t r e , J^a. N a u s é e « p . 1 3 0 .
-217lache ce j o u r n a l .
La Maison jaillit, elle e x i s t e . " 2 5 9
can no longer hold the paper, appropriate
to mount an o v e r w h e l m i n g
attack.
it; things
The engulfing
h o u s e s t h r e a t e n ; they spurt with e x i s t e n c e .
fends himself w i t h d e s p e r a t e
very counter-attack
overpowering
He
begin
water-swan
Roquentin
phallic insistence, but
de-
his
leads him deeper and deeper into the
folds of the feminine
viscous:
Est-ce que je v a i s . . . caresser dans l 1 é p a nouissement des d r a p s b l a n c s la chair blanche
épanouie qui retombe d o u c e , toucher les moiteurs
fleuries d e s a i s s e l l e s , les elixirs et les l i queurs et les f l o r e s c e n c e s de la chair, entrer
dans l'existence de l'autre, dans les muqueuses
r o u g e s à la l o u r d e , d o u c e , douce odeur d ' e x i s tence, ^me sentir e x i s t e r entre les d o u c e s lèvres
m o u i l l é e s , les l è v r e s rouges de sang p a l e , les
lèvres p a l p i t a n t e s qui baillent toutes mouillées
d ' e x i s t e n c e , toutes m o u i l l é e s d'un pus clair,
entre les l è v r e s m o u i l l é e s s u c r é e s qui larmoient
comme des y e u x ? 2 6 0
No, this c a r e s s i n g ,
viscous —
phallic, possessive
entry
into
the terms of R o q u e n t i n ' s c o u n t e r - a t t a c k
the
against
the invading e n - g p j -- f a i l s , and he makes up his mind to
flee the w o r l d ' s sweet e n c o m p a s s i n g ,
the i n - i t s e l f "from
only to be caught
behind":
• • •
l'existence prend mes pensées par derrière et doucement les épanouit par derrière; on
me prend par d e r r i è r e , on me force par derrière
de p e n s e r , donc d'être q u e l q u e c h o s e . 2 6 1
2 5 9
Ibid.
2 6 0
Ifrjtf., p . 1 3 1 .
261
Xkié*t P. 132.
by
-218-
Roquentin
has his worst
hallucinations»
fears realized during these
sexual
He is being overcome by the viscous
and
iSf c o n s e q u e n t l y , b e c o m i n g himself visqueux ("Toucher
v i s q u e u x , c'est
like
viscosité"262)•
risquer de se diluer en
He has become a victim
of a rape by the en-soi « has
little L u c i e n n e * s soft, mucous-coated,
na —
penetrated
quentin
by the hard, u n y i e l d i n g
u n d e r attack, a hole which is penetrated»
bloodied
the for—itself
Roquentin1s
point
pleasure
out that
In
Roquentin1s
surface of these m o r s e l s , as well
ment that
• • •
are o c c a s i o n a l l y
raped
of the souring
c o s i t y of mud and excrement
from
of
us
caked on to the
as the urine and excre-
found t h e r e , also serve to
qualify these scraps as "objets à deux f a c e s » "
fading yellow
"demo-
in h a n d l i n g paper o b j e c t s , let
the mud, w h i c h is often
Ro-
anus»263
as
As an addendum to our discussion
vagi-
like a woman
c a s e , as a male, this hole must be the so—called
c r a t i c " o r i f i c e , the gap in his derrière
become
in-itself»
imagines his c o n s c i o u s n e s s violated
behind by e x i s t e n c e ,
au
The v i s -
are r e a d i l y apparent, ancî the
tint of dried urine can be classified as one
of the " v i s c o u s " colors in the spectrum of
Fletcher's
262
S a r t r e , j,* Etre e_t Lfe néant, p . 7 0 2 .
2 6 3
An e x t e n s i v e and intelligent reading of this scene ap
pears in A l e x a n d e r A r g y r o s 1 unpublished thesis, "The
Q u e s t i o n of Truth in Sartre, Heidegger and D e r r i d a , "
Diss» C o r n e l l U n i v e r s i t y , 1977; see especially pp*
28-32.
-219-
lecture
colorée»264
Moreover»
urine and excrement,
as
" g i f t s " of the child
to its surrounding
"don
hauntingly as counter-possessive
du s o i » " return
environment,
as a
ings to the o n t o l o g i c a l l y
paranoid esprit gte_ gerj.eux«
detached
as things-in-the-world
scended
parts of a body,
by c o n s c i o u s n e s s
bestowal
tin's r e c o u n t i n g of the s u r p r i s i n g
itself»
terror
stone on the shore, his uneasy narration
untran-
Roquen-
tactics of the
of the
in the s i m p l e , a p p r o p r i a t i v e
struggle
game he used to
p l a y with o b j e c t s in the street, and his violent,
ing d e s c r i p t i o n
of the h a l l u c i n a t i o n s
n e w s p a p e r account
the symptomatic
of R o q u e n t i n f s
existential
c h i r e " and he g l i m p s e s
words and meaning*
paranoid
when
lf
le voile se d é clean of
the way leading up to this
condition,
en-
of his e p i -
the in-itself stripped
in R o q u e n t i n 1 s
stage
crisis*
o c c u r s at the moment
Along
serve
u n i v e r s e of the first
in the park, at the moment
ing point
provoked by the
stage of this n a u s e a t i n g l y
counter with the en-gpi
phany
horrify-
of the rape of a young girl, all
to e n c a p s u l a t e
The second
as
and, as slimy objects, with a
of a being w h i c h is v i s c o s i t y
now involved
be-
the reader
turn-
encounters
other m o m e n t s of n a u s e a , other m o m e n t s of uneasiness
in
the face of the t h r e a t e n i n g
sin-
in-itself*
There is the
ister glass of beer in the Café Mably, A d o l p h e 1 s
d e r s , the foggy morning
264
Fletcher,
suspen-
and M* Fascruelle's flu, to name a
"The Use of Colour in La. N a u s é e * "
-220-
few of these
instances*
would yield very
and we shall
But an analysis of these
little new information for our
therefore
work»
papers»
and K o q u e n t i n ' s rapport with them»
gamut
Our contention
of p s y c h o l o g i c a l
quentin's
dilemma and
purposes»
dispense with their study
present
is that
data needed
identify
failure of appropriation»
scenes
in the
the stone and the
mark the whole
to shed light
on R o -
it as one of a certain
and we shall limit
ourselves to
the d e m a n d s of this h y p o t h e s i s *
The chestnut
root
episode
a full-scale bout with
nausea.
is immediately
Roquentin
with the siimily h u m a n i s t i c Audtodidact»
ing a t t i t u d e s
lymphe
blanche
restaurant
fact
threaten
that
whose soft»
to reduce one's ideas to
is filled with people of one kind
is of little comfort
who
salesman
dealing
A combination
of the
P o q u e n t i n ' s perception
c r a y e u x " lead
Ibld*»
The
a
Ro-
the diarist
(i#e*»
Autodidactfs
of his
surroundings»
froid" and
to the point of
"camem-
vomiting:
Une belle c r i s e : ça me secoue du haut en bas*
Il y a une heure que je la v o y a i s venir» s e u l e ment Je ne v o u l a i s pas me l 1 a v o u e r *
Ce gout de
fromage d a n s ma bouche • • •
L'Autodidacte
266
suck-
or another»
in "la pate d e n t i f r i c e S w a n " 2 6 6
pasty s w a n s ) *
Sartre»
lunch
"une
to the already uneasy
and the look and taste of his "poulet
65
by
imagines one of the diners to be a traveling
o o z i n g banter»
bert
is having
et m o u s s e u s e » " if "on Joue son J e u * " 2 6 5
quentin»
white»
preceded
La. Nausée#
p. 1 4 3 .
p* 151*
-221-
babille et sa voix bourdonne
eilles*267
We note
that
one of the points attacked
battle with the world
derrière
rière m o i " 2 6 8 )•
les o r e i l l e s y
unpresuming
they are not
are m e r e l y there»
les t o u c h e .
Il vaut
drops the knife and f
they
in a
of Being
read:
C'est donc ça la N a u s é e :
cette aveuglante e v i dence?
Me suis-Je creusé la têtel
En ai-Je écrit!
M a i n t e n a n t Je s a i s :
J'existe —
le monde
existe - - et Je sais que le monde e x i s t e .
C'est
tout • • • C'est depuis ce fameux Jour ou Je
v o u l a i s faire d e s ricochets*
J'allais lancer ce
gaiety Je l*ai regardé et c'est alors que tout a
commencé:
J'ai senti qu«il existait»
Et puis
après ça t il y a eu d'autres Nausées ? de temps
en temps les o b j e t s se mettent à vous exister
dans la m a i n » 2 7 0
267
l&LÛ'f
p.
155.
268
ItLLé.f
P.
130.
269
Ifritf.t
PP-
2 7 0
Jfrirf.f
P.
155-156.
156.
Les
Objects cannot be ap-
prelude to the m o m e n t o u s disclosure
we
exis-
there to be appropriated;
Roquentin
der-
flanks
"à quoi bon toucher quelque chose?
bien mieux se g l i s s e r entre e u x » " 2 6 9
soon to comet
derrière»
les oreilles filent
o b j e t s ne sont pas faits pour qu'on
narrative
(recalling
Koquentin grasps the knife that
in—itself :
propriated;
in Foquentin's
de viol me prend par
his plate and senses its meaningless*
tence
a mes or-
is once again his ears
"Un doux désir sanglant
tout doux»
doucement
-222Roquentin
explanation
leaves the restaurant without
to his d i n n e r companion
pied behavior»
He b o a r d s a tram*
stark existence
continue to exhibit
ça e x i s t e . " 2 7 1
arrogant
for his odd f
itself before
him:
mais je la retire pré-
He tries to master the
is-ness through a new tactic:
by means of language?
preoccu-
only to have the world's
"J'appuie ma main sur la banquette»
cipitamment:
giving any
an attempt
an
seat's
appropriation
to neutralize the o b -
j e c t ' s alien menace by naming it, and thus rendering
m e a n i n g f u l and knowable
the enunciated
and fit for a p p r o p r i a t i o n .
" f o r t / d a " of the playful child f
b e g i n s to name n a m e s in order to condemn 9 and
convict
and have
has run amok:
incarcérâtedr
is too great t
however*
The
Like
Roquent in
hopefully
the horrifying being which
"Je m u r m u r e : c'est
comme un e x o r c i s m e . " 2 7 2
it
une b a n q u e t t e f
un peu
tramway seat's demonic
for Roquent i n 1 s serious mind
reality
and Y
u n l i k e the gambit of the f o r t - d a player who derives at
least
temporary
Roquentin's
s a t i s f a c t i o n from his c r e a t v e
stab at m a g i c a l i n c a n t a t i o n
fails:
gestures*
"Mais le
aot reste sur m e s l è v r e s : il refuse d'aller se poser sur
la c h o s e . " 2 7 3
271
Tt>itf«f
272
Ibltf.
273
Ibltf.
P.
159.
-223-
Roquenti^s
image of the seat
i m a l , dead bloated
is one of a viscous
"Cet
flesh, a dead donkey:
tre tourné en l 1 a i r ,
sanglant, ballonné —
énorme
ven-
boursoufle
avec
toutes ses p a t t e s m o r t e s , ventre qui flotte dans
b o î t e , dans ce ciel g r i s , ce n'est
pourrait
quent in is seeing h a r d l y resembles
the name of
limit what
the thing.
Roquentin's
to appropriate
of the ass c o r p s e , of the pour-soi
We note
an example
its now t h r e a t e n i n g
at this point, B a c h e l a r d
that
of the s e a t :
avec sa peluche
and
threat-
this vision of the
indicates
appearance the reversal of R o complexe pie. JLo.aft.2., what,
terms l f anti-Jonas* 2 7 S
there are a s p e c t s of the Medusa image present
tln's vision
blob
becoming
of a Jonah image,
quent in 1 s e a r l i e r a p p r o p r i a t i v e
fleecy,
that is,
invaded and dissolved by the rot-
is exacerbated*
en l'air,
Ro-
the thing fail
fear of being p o s s e s s e d himself by the
bloated s t o m a c h ,
through
a "banquette,M
Ça
The word fails to define and de-
Attempts
ening object, of being
viscous,
pas une banquette»
is slowly o v e r f l o w i n g the seat, the oozing
of existence*
ting belly
cette
aussi bien être un ane m o r t » " 2 7 4 What
tout
an-
Moreover,
in Roquen-
"Elle reste ce qu'elle
rouge, m i l l i e r s de petites pattes
est,
rouges,
toutes r a i d e s , de p e t i t e s pattes m o r t e s * " 2 7 6
red shag, made up of thousands
274
Ibid*
275
Bachelard,
2 7 6
S a r t r e , La. Nausée • p.
Lô. Terre ejt les rgveries
159*
The
of stiff paws,
û^à r e p p s , P» 169.
-224-
calls to Rind the structure of the Medusa's head —
a
hairy and, in this case, bleeding vagina, around which
r e a s s u r i n g presence of thousands of erect penises
fested.
But this m u l t i p l i c i t y
the
is m a n i -
of phallic presence
enough to allay P o q u c n t i n ' s primordial
the
is not
fear in the face of
banouette.
The d e s c r i p t i o n of the tramway bench serves as a p r e -
lude
to the second moment
lumination ," his satori»
but cannot
of the p r o t a g o n i s t ' s "sudden ilRoquentin
bounds off the
tram,
e s c a p e the sensation of counter—appropriât ion»
It is not just the b a n q u e t t e that
freedom, but
être—en-soi
threatens to pervade
his
in g e n e r a l :
• • • l'existence me pénètre de partout f par
les yeux? par le n e z } par la bouche • • •
Et tout d'un coup* d'un seul coupt le voile
se d é c h i r e 9 j'ai c o m p r i s , j'ai vu» 2 7 7
The "racine du m a r r o n n i e r " itself
new in the way of significant
R o q u e n t i n ' s crisis*
information
nothing
pertaining
seat,
To R o q u e n t i n ,
n a t u r e , one that g r a s p s back»
it resembles
a "grosse
nature of the v i s c o u s ' sly threat
277
IhL&.i
P* 160.
animal
The root is capable of
c i n a t i n g , as w e l l , and we are reminded of the
of
fas-
compelling
counter-possession
" N o u e u s e , i n e r t e , sans nom,
f a s c i n a i t , m'emplissent
al-
far more solid than Roquen-
patte r u g u e u s e , " this metaphor s u g g e s t i n g a mobile,
(see above, p» 2 0 5 ) :
to
It is a somewhat viscous object,
though , like the tramway
tin's other n e m e s e s .
presents us with
les y e u x , me ramenait
elle me
sans cesse a
-225-
sa propre e x i s t e n c e . " 2 7 8
The root
q u e n t i n ' s eyes with its own very
e r — a t t a c k of appropriative
being*
mumbo-juobo»
case of the banquette « he cannot
demon:
"J'avais beau répéter:
prenait
plus"279 —
took hold
"that
(prenait )»"
seems to take over Ro-
f
He tries a countbut»
as in the
exorcise the ontological
C'est une racine 1
ça ne
no longer worked / no longer
Even the black color of the root, a
hue w h i c h is normally reassuring for R o q u e n t i n , 2 8 0
its s t a b i l i t y
—
at the height
of his visionary
loses
rambling:
Ça ressemblait a une couleur mais aussi • • • a
une m e u r t r i s s u r e ou encore a une secretion, a un
suint —
et à autre chose, à une odeur par exemp l e , ça se fondait en odeur de terre mouillée,
de bois tiède et m o u i l l é , en odeur noire étendue
comme un v e r n i s sur ce bois nerveux, en saveur
de fibre m â c h é e , s u c r é e » 2 8 1
The wet ("mouillé"),
luke-warm
("tiède") ooze ("suint") of
the b l a c k n e s s of the wood u n m i s t a k a b l y
as a p o t e n t i a l l y
with s l i m e :
hard,
an "objet
qualifies the root
stable object that
à deux f a c e s . "
cous odor of the w o o d , 2 8 2
as well
is "varnished"
Moreover, this v i s -
as what Roquentin su-
2 7 8
lh±&'f
279
Itoitf.
2 8 0
On the s t a b i l i z i n g function of black, see Fletcher's
"The Use of C o l o u r in L ô N a u s é e " and P e l l e g r i n i " L ' Objet à deux faces d a n s fLfi. C a u s é e 1 • "
281
S a r t r e , La. N a u p é e •
2 8 2
O d o r s in general are seen as "objets à deux f a c e s " by
G e r a l d P r i n c e , who in the wake of Pellegrin's analysis
wri t es :
P* 164.
p. 166«
L'odeur aussi est à deux f a c e s . L*odeur est
métamorphose.
C f e s t une présence absente,
-226spects to be its sweet
sory,
there
is s o m e t h i n g different
distinguishes
in-itself's
implications
tence
of
Roquentin
contingent
1& simplement."284
multi-sen-
the object»
about this
has caught
nature:
has had
a glimmer
"Exister?
c'est
He feels that he now understands
the w o r l d ' s simply being theret
is p r i o r to essence 9 and that without
quality of being that
s c i o u s n e s s )? there
encounter
it from other run-ins Roquentin
with b e a s t l y objects*
the
reinforce the
t h r e a t e n i n g m e s s a g e s emitted from
But
that
taste»2e3
is brought
the
exis(the
into the world by con-
is no d i f f e r e n c e f
f a c t o r or f a c t o r s that
gtre-
that
essence
of
would serve
no
distinguishing
to define things as
qui change en se r é p a n d a n t , qui flotte dans
l'air tout en se posant lourdement sur les
choses? qui adhère à l'objet tout en s'en
détachant*
Elle n'a pas de limites? elle ne
les connaît pas? elle les défie*
Volée?
flasque? informe et qu'on ne saurait contenir? son origine et sa fin se confondent avec
l'air qu'elle parcourt et qu'elle alourdit
(Gerald Prince? "L'Odeur de la n a u s é e ? " p*
35 ).
2 8 3
The relation of taste to the slimy occurs precisely in
this notion of sweetness? a c c o r d i n g to Sartre*
After
d e s c r i b i n g the v i s m i e u x as the "revanche de l'En-soi"
and a "revanche douceâtre et f é m i n i n e ? " he goes on to
say that this revenge
• • •
se symbolisera sur un autre plan par
la qualité de ^ucré*
C'est pourquoi le sucre comme d o u c e u r au gropt —
douceur indélébile? qui d e m e u r e indéfiniment dans la
bouche et survit à la d é g l u t i t i o n —
complète p a r f a i t e m e n t l'essence du visqueux*
Le v i s q u e u x sucré est l'idéal du visqueux
CLLEÎXÊ. Ê ± le. néant? P . 701).
28
*
Sartre?
La. N a u s é e ,
p. 1 6 6 .
-227-
sucht
Existence
is plenitude of being,
undifferentiated»
overflowing
the existential visionary»
the
is—ness of matter whicht
for
threatens from time to time to
flood the n o t h i n g n e s s which is
consciousness:
L 1 e x i s t e n c e n'est p a s quelque chose qui se
laisse penser de loin; il faut que ça vous e n vahisse brusquement» que ça s'arrête sur vous»
que ça pesé lourd sur votre coeur comme une
grosse bête immobile —
ou alors il n'y a plus
rien du t o u t » 2 8 5
Roquent in cannot
e
P~gPÎ
sustain
for very long*
this intuited
intimacy with the
The spell of the ontological
rape
is broken as quickly as it attacked his imagination in the
first
place:
"Il n'y avait plus rien du tout, j'avais
les
yeux vides et je m ' e n c h a n t a i s de ma d é l i v r a n c e ^ " 2 8 6
It is
p r i m a r i l y t h r o u g h the e y e s that the r o o t ' s invasion
takes
place»
for in contrast
to the "yeux v i d e s " which
signal
the w i t h d r a w a l of the o n e r o u s en-soi « we recall the "yeux
e m p l i s " of R o q u e n t i n ' s
sode»
initial fascination*
Roquent in c o n f r o n t s his reversed scopophilia»
recent S C O P O - p h o b i a ,
temporarily
withdraws
overcome»
and stares the Medusa down*
but his v i s c o u s attacker
his
He is
suddenly
harmlessly*
This "kick
in the e y e " by the en-soi
tin w i t h a f u r t h e r u n d e r s t a n d i n g
sight
In this e p i -
pertaining
285
Ifritf-f P-
286
Ifrjtf*
has left
of the nausea —
to the notion of appropriation:
167.
Roquenan in"je C O D -
-228-
la N a u s é e , je la p o s s é d a i s » " 2 8 7
prenais
appropriation
object»
object
I search for support
for my being in an
is mjLUÊ-t but not jag.» we can well
how this strategy
the pour—soi's
is insufficient
fundamental
understand
for the realization
appropriative
project:
to
itself in the sense of being its own foundation*
quent in remarks
chestnut
root
that
is a relation between the for-itself and an
in which
that
If we recall
in his preamble
incident
But
of
have
Ro-
to the n a r r a t i o n of the
that "La Nausée ne m 1 a pas
quitte
et je ne c r o i s pas qu'elle me quittera de sitôt; mais je
ne la subis plus* ce n'est pas une maladie ni une
passagère:
founding
je
the Cartesian çpgitp
to read:
in
possesses?
"Je v o m i s ,
suis"?
In response
all recall
to these q u e s t i o n s , we s h o u l d first
the two points of view on this
s i c k n e s s that we examined earlier»
response
succeeded
his own being in the nausea that he
Can he revise
donc
m o i • " 2 e e Has Roquentin
c'est
quinte
There
existential
is the
nauseous
to the v i s c o u s , the horror of the "objet
à deux
f a c e s " that s e e m s all of a sudden to t o u c h back, and
is the nausea which Sartre d e s c r i b e s as "Cette saisie
pétuelle
par mon pour-soi
qui m»accompagne
d'un gout fatfe et sans
jusque dans mes efforts pour
287
Xfeiot.» P*
166.
288
Ibid» « p»
161, emphasis
added»
of
there
per-
distance
m'en
-229-
délivrer et qui est mop g o u t » " 2 8 9
related
to the latter
cous as antivalue
in that
is that
is
actually
the true terror of the
it reminds one of one's
flesh, the en-soi which cannot
gusting
The former
he escaped*
vis-
own
T h u s , the
dis-
taste of the sweet v i s c o u s , the h o r r i f y i n g feel of
the slimy v i s c o u s , and the unpleasant
sight of the
oozing
i n s t a b i l i t y of the two-faced object, all provoke a n o n thetic
consciousness
of the body: the insipid taste of s a -
liva, the feel of one's soft, moist, m e a n i n g l e s s
the sight
quentin
of one's hand as a contingent
appendage*
seems to no longer be threatened
the root
itself*
existence is s o m e t h i n g
laisse [ p a s ] penser de loin 11 ("un
t a n c e " ) , which "s'arrête
f,
the
by
nau-
qui [ n e ] se
fade et sans
sur vous • • • comme
m'accompagne"),
its grip ("je
gout
Ro-
or frightened
Once he feels that he possesses
sea, he d i s c o v e r s that
b ê t e " ("qui
mouth,
une
and which eventually
dis-
grosse
releases
m ' e n c h a n t a i s de ma d é l i v r a n c e " / "mes e f -
forts pour m 1 e n d é l i v r e r " ) .
The object has apparently
re-
leased its hold on Roquentin, but the nausea, which is his
c o n s c i o u s n e s s ( o f ) his own facticity,
T h u s , this
intuition
of e x i s t e n c e , as a sense of
vasion by the u n d i f f e r e n t i a t e d
element
of the en-soi
one is a l w a y s related
the b o d y .
289
Although
remains*
in-itself,
includes
that
that one does possess in a way,
to in a context
I can say that
of mine, but
my body
in-
*hat
not-me:
is me, it
is
S a r t r e , L'Etre ejt 1 & péant, p* 404 (quoted above, p .
200).
-230-
certainly not me from
which must
world.
the point
of view of the
"exist" the body as a contingent
For the ppur-pojy
Consequently,
the body
the statements
and "La Nausée
• • • c'est
nour-soj
being-in-the-
is something it ÙAÊ*
"la Nausée, je la p o s s é d a i s "
m o i " indicate
an
understanding
of a highly intimate relation of appropriation*
itself finds a foundation
body»
This
in the in-itself, which
is still not the ideal a p p r o p r i a t i o n
The
for-
is its
of
which
the f o r - i t s e l f d r e a m s , however, for in having a body
that
is both mine and not me ( in a s e n s e ) ,
my
I am still not
own freely c o n s t r u c t e d foundation
—
create my ideal p o u r - s o 1 - e n - s o i •
My body is not my own
creation;
that
it is a given, as contingent
is, I do not
as the racj.flE #u
• • • aucun être nécessaire ne peut expliquer
l'existence:
la contingence n'est pas un faux
semblant, une apparence qu'on peut dissiper; c 1 est l'absolu, par conséquent la gratuité p a r faite.
Tout est gratuit, ce jardin, cette ville
et m o i — m ê m e » 2 9 0
We note that, although Roquent in has now achieved a
relieving
attitude
insight into the origins of his d i s t r e s s ,
is still one that reflects the egprit
at one point we
his
Û&. s é r i e u g .
read:
Je raclai mon talon contre cette griffe n o i r e :
j'aurai v o u l u l'écorcher un peu.
Pour rien, par
d é f i , pour faire apparaître sur le cuir tanné le
rose absurde d'une éraflure:
pour Jouer avec
l'absurdité du m o n d e .
Mais, quand je retirai
mon pied, je vis que l'écorce était restée
290
S a r t r e , L & Nausée»
p . 166.
-231-
noire.29l
Roquentin's
absurdity
feeble attempt
leads him to the tacit
root cannot
be played with»
But
game is measured by the extent
can be peeled —
then
to play w i t h the
conclusion
world's
that
this
if the success of
an end that Roquentin
d i s p r o v i n g R o q u e n t i n 1 s contention
Roquentin has yet
w h i c h he can counter-attack
his creative
seems to imply
play
to adopt an attitude
the threat
is not
of the e n - s o j
long in coming»
of the object
intuitively! then o t h e r w i s e :
ne formulais
trouble
that you cannot
that his raastery of the threatening
through an understanding
plished
pas mes d é c o u v e r t e s .
mode of a p p r o p r i a t i o n
as to those
course of their
Roquentin
derstand
is first
accom-
"A vrai dire je ne
qu'à
that is peculiar to Roquentin,
others who engage
investigative
fa-
which b r i n g s us to a
in such logging of
as
the
self-reflection.
decides to keep a journal, we are told
in
sans d a t e , " in order to see clearly, to un-
the c h a n g e s which seem to have taken
291
Tfrjot* « p . 165, R o q u e n t i n ' s
2 9 2
IfrJLtf't
P*
with
situation
liais Je crois
cile de les mettre en m o t s " 2 9 2 • • •
the "feuillet
by
however*
présent [ i . e . , at the moment of w r i t i n g ] il me serait
well
—
freedom*
His c o u n t e r - o f f e n s i v e
We note
the
to w h i c h the r o o t ' s bark
any child with a pocket knife would have no
with existence»
tree
166.
emphasis.
place in the
-232-
objects he
encounters:
Le mieux serait d'écrire les événements au jour
le jour.
Tenir un journal pour y voir clair
• • •
Il faut dire comment je vois cette tablet
la rue, les gens? mon paquet de tabac, puisque
c'est cela qui a changé*
Il faut déterminer exactement l'étendue et la nature de ce c h a n g e ment.293
He a n n o u n c e s
his intention
to d e s c r i b e " e v e n t s " as they
occur from day to day, as well as the o b j e c t s
in order to measure q u a n t i t a t i v e l y
his world has changed.
and q u a l i t a t i v e l y
not pick up.
of w r i t i n g about
incident
the piece of p a p e r he could
on the b e a c h w i t h the
s t o n e , seems quite w o r t h y of n a r r a t i o n *
même pas un é v é n e m e n t , " 2 9 4
Roquentin
But
"ce
given
in the "feuillet
sans
n'est
m a i n t a i n s , in
much
date":
N a t u r e l l e m e n t je ne peux pas plus rien écrire de
net sur c e s h i s t o i r e s de samedi et d 1 a v a n t - h i e r
[a s t o r y we a r e , in fact, never g i v e n ] , j'en
suis déjà trop é l o i g n e ; ce que je peux dire
seulement, c'est q u e , ni dans l'un ni dans l'autre c a s , il n'y a rien eu de ce qu'on appelle a
l'ordinaire un é v é n e m e n t . 2 9 5
2 9 3
IhlÛ.f
29
Ibltf.. p . 2 2 .
*
295
Ikld.t
P. 2 1 1 .
P.
!!•
its
two-faced
the same way as he d i s c l a i m e d the e v e n t f u l n e s s of the
stone episode
that
hems and haws at
S u c h an odd o c c u r r e n c e , e s p e c i a l l y
s i m i l a r i t y to the
how
It is quite s u r p r i s i n g , then,
in the entry of "30 j a n v i e r " R o q u e n t i n
the prospect
themselves,
-233-
This exclusion
of his e n c o u n t e r s with the en-soi on the
basis of their u n e v e n t f u l n e s s
light
of Roquent i n 1 s anxious
for it is p r e c i s e l y
nausea that
writing
seems paradoxical
c o n f r o n t a t i o n w i t h the
these i n c i d e n t s (if not
But here*
in the heart
lies the key to its resolution*
e v e n t s ) of
Roquentin
points out
choisir:
v i v r e ou r a c o n t e r . " 2 9 6
but
from a c e r t a i n temporal
,f
paradox*
of
as
• • • il faut
Events do not exist
of some kind of
and r e f l e c t i v e d i s t a n c e
lished by c o n s c i o u s n e s s *
his
through reflection*
in a later e n t r y :
are the product
of the
One w r i t e s or speaks
e v e n t s ; they are not lived except
Roquentin
world»
he is t r y i n g to order and classify through
project»
themselves*
in the
If it is existence
is trying to come to terms with»
in
narration
estab-
itself
that
then we can un-
derstand the d i f f i c u l t y he h a s in d e s c r i b i n g the object
his paranoia*
if e x i s t e n c e
laisse penser de l o i n * "
an o c c u r r e n c e
the en—goj»
namable*
to mask
luctance
2 9 6
iPit.f
A threatened
of
such
invasion
by
b e c a u s e one of the terms of
is r a d i c a l l y u n t h i n k a b l e *
is simply
and therefore
there and n a m i n g it
un-
serves
contingency*
Of course*
he does
an event*
The en—soi
its
pas q u e l q u e chose qui se
T h u s , the n a r r a t a b i l i t y
is p r o b l e m a t i c *
is not
the encounter
"n'est
of
Roquentin
in fact*
çoulft n a r r a t e the incidents*
after a good deal
of hesitation*
to a p p r o p r i a t e the non-event
P* 5 7 .
and
His r e -
through writing
(the
-234-
r e n d e r i n g of e v e n t f u l n e s s
explained
want
by the esprit
to the e p i p h a n y ) can perhaps
de sérieux»
Why should
to repeat a s i t u a t i o n in which the threat
ing appeared
so real?
be
Roquentin
to his b e -
Here we are reminded of one of the
objections
to F r e u d ' s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of the jPprt-da game:
why should
the child want
c a u s e d him u n p l e a s u r e
in the c o m p u l s i o n
the incident
to repeat
in the first
to repeat,
again and again
sive ( i * e * , h a l l u c i n a t e d
place?
situation*
or d r e a m e d ) fashion
s e n s e s , even
In R o q u e n t i n 1 s case*
of the
what
ening s i t u a t i o n ,
suit
is happening to him
ity than to his freedom
"transcend the o b j e c t s 1
the threat
that
their
threat-
because
he
a w a r e n e s s of the en-
to which he gives more r e a l -
to r e c o u n t ,
être-là»
*ive action, h o w e v e r t e m p o r a r i l y
that
betrays
is u n w i l l i n g to m a s t e r the
of being
and he
project,
to a s s u m e the esprit tfe Jeu»
a manifestation
the
unpleasurable
of his w r i t i n g
is o v e r w h e l m e d by his p r e — r e f l e c t i v e
dis-
implies
the range of n a r r a t a b i l i t y ,
at the inception
Roquentin
in an effort
tactic
the r e l a t i n g of these e n c o u n t e r s somehow
very nature*
re—playing
impulses p r e s s i n g for
of the n a r r a t a b i l i t y
is taking place beyond
is
in a m e t a p h o r i z e d or r e g r e s -
The use of this p s y c h o l o g i c a l
presupposition
which
The answer
the technique of
to bind the s t r o n g u n c o n s c i o u s
charge*
an incident
i n t e r p r e t , and
It is t h r o u g h
efficacious
of the ep—soj can be
thus
appropria-
it may b e ,
countered*
-235-
Roquentinfs
esorit
ge. sérieux is manifested
in his
very notion of the purpose of his writing project»
on the verge of being at play»
order to appropriate
1st
since he s h i f t s mediums
that which is lacking to him —
he intends to move from living
get a hold on the world,
to relating
situation
h a r n e s s his instinctual
in w h i c h the
not content w i t h mere s y m b o l ! z a t i o n •
impossible
precision
corresponding
H i s refusal
of this attitude*
m a n a g e s to w r i t e
express
seems
any free—play
is
an
(and
as " é v é n e -
One w o n d e r s
anything at all while
how
haunted
He is reluctant
in his n a r r a t i o n and his
project
doomed*
T h i s desire for s i g n i f i c a t i o n
P r o d u c e a signified,
a wish of
that would rigidly
the esorit
de gérjeux»
C o n d e m n to failure R o q u e n t i n ' s book on Rollebon*
early on in the j o u r n a l Roquent i n 9 s a b h o r r e n c e
a
the
exactly
to recount
by b e i n g s w h i c h b a l k at s i g n i f i c a t i o n * 2 9 7
to allow
thus
He strives for
thus a p p r o p r i a t e ) the t h r e a t s of the en—soi
RoquentJn
and
bob-
But Roquentin
in which s i g n i f i e r s
signifieds*
m e n t s " is indicative
in order to
e n e r g y and master
lack is exposed*
in
that
much like the child uses the
bin and the v o c a b l e s " f o r t / d a " to l e t a p h o r i z e
temporarily
He is
Ppropriative
redoes
We note
of his
t e n d e n c i e s with regard to the history of
own
the
marquis:
Indeedf some days he is very nearly p a r a l y z e d by his
s e r i o u s attitude*
The entry for the T u e s d a y after
Mardi G r a s , for e x a m p l e , r e a d s :
"Rien*
E x i s t é " (L&
N a u s é e , p* 1 3 3 ) *
-236-
Eh bien, o u i :
il a pu faire tout ç a f mais ce
n'est pas p r o u v é :
je commence a croire qu'on ne
peut jamais rien prouver»
Ce sont des h y p o t h èses honnêtes et qui rendent compte des f a i t s :
mais je sens si bien q u ' e l l e s viennent de moi ,
q u ' e l l e s sont tout simplement une m a n i è r e d 1 u n i fier mes c o n n a i s s a n c e s *
Pas une lueur ne vient
du coté de Pollebon*
L e n t s , paresseux, m a u s sades, les faits s'accommodent à la rigueur de
l'ordre que je veux leur d o n n e r ; mais il leur
reste extérieur*
J'ai l'impression de faire un
t r a v a i l de pure imagination*
Encore suis-je
bien sur que des p e r s o n n a g e s de roman auraient
l'air plus v r a i s , seraient, en tout c a s , plus
plaisants* 2 9 e
Roquentin
sees his desire to write
and, b y extension,
w i s h to write a book on the M a r q u i s de R o l l e b o n ,
tempt
to "unifier (s )es c o n n a i s s a n c e s * "
our t h e o r e t i c a l study, we can c o n c l u d e
tion of what
he knows is a goal supported
possess oneself
originary
Schaulust*
as an at-
As a result
that this
of
unifica-
on the wish
through o n e ' s k n o w l e d g e , the
foundation of the Wisstriefr and
But as R o q u e n t i n o b s e r v e s so
his
to
underlying,
its
informing
perspicaciously?
the m a n i f e s t a t i o n of this drive - - the h i s t o r y that he is
writing —
does not r e p r o d u c e
l i f e , or rather,
ready n a r r a t e d
cluded;
facts about R o l l e b o n ' s life*
of R o l l e b o n ' s
of s i g n i f i e r s *
It is a h i s -
l i f e , an
has become
its h y d r a ' s head against
drop of R o l l e b o n ' s d o c u m e n t e d
S a r t r e , La. NftUgée, P* 2 7 .
ordering
The s i g n i f i e d has been
the e n - s o i • of which Roquentin
a w a r e , does not raise
298
Rollebon's
it r e p r o d u c e s only the t r u t h of the a l -
tory of the s i g n i f i c a t i o n
and c l a s s i f y i n g
the truth of
past*
ex-
overly
the b a c k -
-237-
It is not until a bit later that R o q u e n t i n 1 s
esprit
gte sérieux a l l o w s the en—froj.to c o m p l e t e l y overwhelm
his
Rollebon
to
project.
the Bouville
ralysis*
On the M o n d a y following his visit
museum,
Roquentin
a numbing of his drives»
sive attack of nausea*
laration
finit
and u n d e r g o e s an e x t e n -
v,
Je n'écris p l u s mon livre
je ne peux plus l ' é c r i r e » " 2 9 9
of his r e c o u n t i n g of the "Hibou b l a n c "
Roquentin1s
present
statement
the face of the en—soi
that
sheet
of paper before
But
to the very
he fears so much*
h o l d s his pen in the air*
Remi-
incident»
(in this case* R o l l e b o n 1 s
of his arms e x p o s e s R o q u e n t i n
sur
r e f l e c t s h i s impotence
w h i c h seems to resist a p p r o p r i a t i o n *
er-possession
pa-
The diary entry b e g i n s with a d e c -
of r e s i g n a t i o n :
R o l l e b o n ; c'est
niscent
s u c c o m b s to existential
in retreat*
in
past)
this laying
threat
He s t o p s
down
of c o u n t -
writing»
and stares
at
the
him:
• • • comme il était dur et voyant• comme il
était présent*
Il n'y avait rien en lui que du
present*
L e s l e t t r e s que je v e n a i s d'y tracer
n'étaient pas encore sèches et déjà elles ne m'appartenaient p l u s * 3 0 0
The paper
itself has b e g u n
means of a p p r o p r i a t i o n » 3 0 1
to take over his words*
He is b e i n g disarmed*
his
What's
299
Xfcié*. P*
123.
3 0 0
Xfeli-f
124.
301
This p a r t i c u l a r illusion is not new to Roquentin» the
writer*
We recall that in his hesitation over recording the " H i b o u b l a n c " incident, he notes that the idea
that he is no longer free —
the m a n i f e s t a t i o n of his
fear of being p o s s e s s e d by the ejx PP^ —
"[lui] a
dicté les p a g e s qui p r é c è d e n t " ( La. {T^usee» p. 2 2 ) . In
P*
-238-
more, Roquentin
suddenly
finds himself in a very
dangerous
posi tion:
Je prig ses l e t t r e s £&&& m&& frftîngy j ^ leg Bfiipajy avec une espèce de d e s e s p o i r • • • ces mots
[de R o l l e b o n ] n'avaient plus de sens*
Rien d 1 autre n'existait plus qu'une liasse de feujLHes
Jaunes que je pressais rfftng meg Bfrjn^* 3 0 2
Roquentin
quiringly,
is holding yellowed
papers?
r e p e a t i n g the formerly
c a r e s s i n g them
pleasurable,
in-
appropria-
tive gestures he used
to make w i t h an esprit
is no longer playing*
h o w e v e r , and he grows afraid of
p a p e r s ' imposing being*
He tries
ne pas b o u g e r , Û Ê pas bouger
paules,
je n'ai
• ••
de Jeu»
to play dead:
ah*
pas pu le r e t e n i r . 3 0 3
The in-itself
of
the
"Surtout
Ce mouvement
spied him and attacks like a v i s c o u s beast
He
d'éhas
preyl
La chose, qui attendait» s'est a l e r t é e , elle a
fondu sur moi, elle se coule en m o i , j'en s u i s
plein*
—
Ce n'est r i e n : la C h o s e , c'est moi*
other w o r d s , it is R o q u e n t i n ' s idea that he is being
appropriated by o b j e c t s that dictated to him the pages
d u r i n g w h i c h he r e s i s t s the narration (and thus an attempt to a p p r o p r i a t e ) his c o n f r o n t a t i o n with the
t h r e a t e n i n g scrap*
T h u s , it is as if R o q u e n t i n ' s
journal w r i t i n g is b e i n g taken over by the very world
that he is trying to order through this form of documentation*
We might also note at this point that, in his i n i tial d e s c r i p t i o n of the o b j e c t s that he likes to pick
up, R o q u e n t i n m e n t i o n s his interest in "des bouts de
j o u r n a u x , " translated by A l e x a n d e r as "remnants of
• • • n e w s p a p e r s » " but which could also be understood
as " s c r a p s of j o u r n a l s * "
Now that o b j e c t s seem to
have turned on R o q u e n t i n , we see that the journal itself may become a t h r e a t e n i n g object in much the same
way that old p a p e r s in the street have gone from attractive m o r s e l s to c o u n t e r - a p p r o p r i a t i v e figures*
02
3 0 3
S a r t r e , La Causée « p*
XtLU.T
P. 1 2 7 .
125, emphasis
added*
-239-
Lfexistence*
Jfexiste.30*
Once
for-itself
again,
must
libérée• d e g a g e e T
it is a revelation
existr
counter-possession
that
reflue sur moi*
of the body»
is provoked by the
on the part of the object»
q u e n t i n ' s d e s c r i p t i o n of
the corporeal
which
the
apparent
We note
sensations
Ro-
which
follow:
Tout doux, tout douxf il y a de l'eau mousseuse
dans ma bouche*
Je l'avale* elle glisse dans ma
g o r g e 9 elle me c a r e s s e —
et la v o i l à qui renaît
dans ma b o u c h e f J'ai dans la bouche à perpétuité
une petite mare d'eau b l a n c h â t r e —
discrète
—
qui frôle ma langue*
Et cette mare* c'est e n core moi*
Et la langue*
Et la g o r g e 9 c'est
moi.305
The threat
of c o u n t e r — a p p r o p r i a t i o n
way to a sense
of c o u n t e r — a p p r o p r i a t i o n
quentin
has the n a u s e a t i n g
mouth:
"Ma salive est sucrée
"gout
remarks a few lines l a t e r * 3 0 6
which s u d d e n l y r e s e m b l e s
logical
soft
"objet
by the p a p e r s
gives
by the body*
d'existence"
in his
• • • Je me sens f a d e f " he
He glances down at his hand*
a crab lying on its backf
à deux f a c e s " w i t h a hard carapace
belly (now e x p o s e d ) * 3 0 7
Ro-
In an effort
a zooand a
to make a
304
Ifrltf*
305
Ifritf»
306
Ibid*, p . 129.
307
Images of c r a b s and other c r u s t a c e a n s abound in S a r tre's fiction and usually suggest threats of countera p p r o p r i a t i o n on the part of the e n — s o i •
See» for example r M a r i e - D e n i s e B o r o s 1 study» "La M é t a p h o r e du
crabe dans l'oeuvre l i t t é r a i r e de Jean-Paul S a r t r e » "
PJiLAt Ixxxit pp* 4 4 6 - 4 5 0 f in which she summarizes several of these instances and c o n c l u d e s :
-240-
change»
to fight
back against
his own insipidness»
Roquen-
tin seizes the pocket knife that is lying on the table
side his writing paper and stabs the palm of his
hand.
very
We can u n d e r s t a n d this self-inflicted
an-aetaphoric
reaction
by the en—goi• which»
the c r e e p i n e s s of h i s hand*
But
act
Kenneth Douglas
tion f
in an attempt
the s t a b b i n g
of s e l f — p o s s e s s i o n
quentin's self—mutilation
to dispel
in
points
overlooked»
is one of " s t i g n a t i z a t i o n j " a s e l f — i n -
flicting of stigmata
the same time»
overcome
m a n i f e s t s itself
out another c o n s i d e r a t i o n which should not be
Roquentin1s
crab-like
wound as a
to his fear of being
at the moment»
be-
to redeem
is a gesture of
in the sexual
himself*
self—penetra-
sense*
can be u n d e r s t o o d
At
Thus»
as an
Ro-
effort
the nausea by b e c o m i n g his own gQg Cftu^a SJlit
Cette allusion au crabe semble toujours ramener 1 v h o m m e au monde de la Physis» que le
v e r i t a b l e h é r o s sartrien tient en horreur» a
la facticité qui e n t r a v e l'élan de sa l i berté» à l'opacité m a s s i v e de !•En—soi ( p»
447).
This i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of the crustacean metaphor suggests a p o s s i b l e connection between the old man who
used to frighten y o u n g Antoine and his friends in the
L u x e m b o u r g G a r d e n s and the adult R o q u e n t i n ' s inability
to pick up the " H i b o u blanc 1 1 scrap*
Earlier» we m a i n tained that these e p i s o d e s in Roquent in 1 s narration
seem to be c o n n e c t e d through the boot w h i c h appears in
b o t h instances (see above» p. 1 8 0 ) . This apparently
g r a t u i t o u s connection takes on a certain amount of
significance» if we see the "pensées de crabe et de
l a n g o u s t e " of the old man as what Roquentin fears will
happen to him» if he allows the en-soi to c o u n t e r - a p propriate»
In other words» the a p p e a r a n c e of the boot
next to the lined paper reminds Roquentin of the very
fear w h i c h o b j e c t s have begun to provoke in him:
the
fear of his t h o u g h t s b e c o m i n g viscous»
-241-
the f o u n d a t i o n of his own being*
be both p o s s e s s o r
Roquentin
rests his hand against
wound
and watches
'Ce jour—là*
j'ai
with e v e n t f u l n e s s
nothing
bon")*
the
as blood flows from
his
"Il faudra que j'écrive
au-desle
He announces his idea to u n d e r -
the stabbing»
by n a r r a t i n g what
• • • but I've
predom-
renoncé à faire mon livre sur
m a r q u i s de R o l l e b o n * • " 3 0 9
w r i t e the residue of
to
the w h i t e n e s s of
and forms a small pool on the
inantly u n w r i t t e n page*
sous
It is an attempt
possessed*306
and
blank page before him*
self-inflicted
God»
immortalizing
the act
is $ie_ n o u v e a u (ff0hf
stopped writing
my book on R o l l e -
having already sealed his act with the mark of the
en—sol •
tention*
the s t a i n of his blood*
This
is R o q u e n t i n ' s
but he makes no mention of c a r r y i n g out
in-
this
idea*
Instead*
he r i s e s from h i s tablet
and e n t e r s the street*
along*
buying
a newspaper
as he
room*
walks
As he holds the p a p e r ("tandis q u ' i l jjent JLfi.
Journal" ) * Roquentin
r e a d s the account
c i e n n e and the c o r n u c o p i a
gins to spill over him*
its ink*
l e a v e s his
of the rape of Lu-
of n i g h t m a r i s h
The paper
associations
itself*
R o q u e n t i n ' s vision of the rape*
the smell
the blood*
of
the
w a t e r y swans*
all point back
carded paper*
the " H i b o u b l a n c " scrap ( a bleeding hand*
08
3 0 9
to h i s love of handling
be-
disa
K e n n e t h Douglas* "Sartre and the Self-inflicted
W o u n d , " in Yale F r e n c h S t u d i e s 9 ( 1 9 5 2 ) : %>%>• 1 2 3 - 1 3 1 .
Sartre*
La. Nausée*
p* 129*
-242tableau he has just r e p r o d u c e d
in his room by allowing
his
hand to bleed on to the lined paper b e f o r e h i m ) and R o q u e n t i n ' s writing project
ing.310
—
possession
through
The b l i t z of c o u n t e r - a p p r o p r i a t i o n
u n d e r g o e s is p r e c i s e l y the battle
his diary f
the very reason
that
writRoquentin
he wishes to fight
with
for w h i c h he is k e e p i n g a jour-
nal ( "pour laquelle A l tient un J o u r n a l " ) in the
first
place*
As we suggested
earlier*
the tide b e g i n s to turn
Roquentin after his e n c o u n t e r with the root*
that
"a present
il me serait
The
facile de les [ m e s
for
fact
décou-
v e r t e s ] mettre en m o t s " s i g n a l s the r e a l i z a t i o n of the
nounced goal of R o q u e n t i n 9 s j o u r n a l i s t i c
expressed
it in the "feuillet
ing to recount
them
titude
is changing*
wards the esprit
formation
sans date»"
these o n t o l o g i c a l
through writing»
sliding from
Roquent in 1 s at-
One might argue that this t r a n s not at all
intentionait
sudden d e c i s i o n that he can signify that
w h i c h defies precise
foi or repression*
for we recall
appropriate
the esorj.t <Jtp ggrieux to-
is not at all c o n s c i o u s *
and R o q u e n t i n 1 s
as he
He is now w i l l -
events * to
to play w i t h them*
de Jeu*
project,
an-
signification
is a result of
Mauvaise
T h i s objection
does not hold*
however*
that Roquentin*
in the second stage of his
A l e x a n d e r A r g y r o s p r o v i d e s a splendid account and
a n a l y s i s of the m e t a p h o r i c and métonymie progressions
of the i m a g e s that haunt R o q u e n t i n 1 s project:
the
ink* mud* blood* hand progression* in particular*
Se
his "The Question of T r u t h in Sartre* Heidegger* and
Derrida*"
-243-
s a t o r i , has seen*
has understood
the radical , unnaraable
b e i n g of the en-poj. and, c o n s e q u e n t l y ,
d i s t i n c t i o n between
contingency
the
the en-soj and opur-soi « between
and freedom*
does not c o n s t i t u t e
has intuited
Putting his discovery
a pure, transparent
in—itself1s counter—appropriative
ing of this e n c o u n t e r
brute
into
words
t r a n s l a t i o n of
threat*
It is the
to a second p o w e r , the
the
rais-
metaphoriza-
tion of a drive t h r o u g h the Wj. eder ho \ un ffs^wan g • the t r a n s f o r m a t i o n of an e n c o u n t e r w i t h the world
This project
is not
in bad faith*
s t a n d s the d i f f e r e n c e
ing*
His putting
sents an existence
contingency
between
into an event*
for Roquentin
the world and
its
into w o r d s of his c o n s c i o u s
for him, w h i c h is beyond
of the body*
now
recount-
life repre-
the
He has not been s w a l l o w e d up by
the en—soj. » only threatened*
The storm has
passed*
Roquent in d e c i d e s to write a n o v e l , l o g i c a l l y
to utilize his r e - d i s c o v e r e d
pick up ( w r i t i n g - ) p a p e r
tive s t r a t e g i e s
freedom*
and act out his v a r i o u s
encounters
power, to the status of e v e n t s *
truth in the telling,
r e l a t e the e x p e r i e n c e s
(Pollebon,
He can once
enough,
again
appropria-
in a creative w a y , t h r o u g h a fiction, a
r a i s i n g of his BverydLay
else
under-
and ideas to a second
There
is no need for
for w o r d s will never be adequate
that one h a s lived or that
for e x a m p l e ) has lived:
"des
to
someone
personnages
de roman auraient
l'air p l u s v r a i s , seraient,
en tout
plus p l a i s a n t s . "
R o q u e n t i n wants to play, as the
cas,
pianist/
-244-
composer
of "Some of These D a y s " played»
renders the song on the old»
scratchy disk played.
not a q u e s t i o n of t r a n s c r i b i n g
reality
slimy»
as the singer
reality»
but of
It is
çre&ting
through a medium which does not touch back»
is not t w o - f a c e d .
face of a t h r e a t e n i n g
the v i s c o u s .
It is a use of freedom
world of being-in-itself»
of a fiery c o n s c i o u s n e s s
w h i c h cannot
once again
he who will
in the end»
l
in the
a wielding
be extinguished
p h a l l i c as can bel
"s'approprier
m e n t » " and not the other way
Thus»
is not
Roquentin w a n t s to create a b e i n g that
be "dure comme de 1 • aci er »,f3 i
le monde
who
by
will
It
is
symbolique-
around.
R o q u e n t i n ' s hydra complex wins
out.
He will overcome the h y d r a and avenge P r o m e t h e u s by playing w i t h fire»
by playing at b e i n g God h i m s e l f .
create his own world»
his creation»
will p o s s e s s
try to found h i m s e l f
in the double rapport
This project»
But
in an object
of "mine»
est une p a s s i o n
as it were»
through
that
he
but not m e . "
enterprises»
as we have d e m o n s t r a t e d
it is a failure that
other facticity»
clusion
w i t h w o r d s and»
like other a p p r o p r i a t i v e
doomed to failure»
this study.
a new world»
He will
is
extensively
is inescapable»
of the p o u r — s o i .
in
an-
"L'homme
i n u t i l e » " as Sartre s t a t e s near the c o n -
of L'Etre
et le n é a n t » 3 1 2
to be e x i s t e n t i a l l y free and»
311
Sartre»
L & N a u s é e , p. 2 2 2 .
3 1 2
Sartre»
L'Etre
but
if we are
consequently»
ejt Lfe néant, p . 7 0 8 .
condemned
to fail
in our
-245-
gestures of a p p r o p r i a t i o n
might
that
just
is»
as well act
in c r e a t i n g
to the n e u t r a l i z i n g
over-zealous
in our best
symbolic
then
interest
of unpleasure»
energy»
the b i n d i n g of
a m a s t e r y of
dirty scraps of paper»
ourselves
and silence*
than c a t a t o n i c a l l y s u f f e r i n g h i s m o t h e r ' s
"Quand un avion pique du nez»
haunted
fort-dat
absence*
il vaut mieux être
pilote qui essaie de le r e d r e s s e r qu'un p a s s a g e r
even if one only p r e t e n d s
Ro-
with
than a l l o w i n g h i m s e l f to be
The small child is better off p l a y i n g
• • •
lead
our
quent in is b e t t e r off ( i . e . , " h e a l t h i e r " ) p l a y i n g
ise"313
—
It is better to play games with the world
than to be paralyzed by it6 immutability
by them*
we
a being for o u r s e l v e s w h i c h will
instinctual
and the world.
(our acts themselves)»
le
terror-
to know how to
fly the plane*
3 1 3
Henri» in Simone de B e a u v o i r 1 s
Gallimard» 1 9 5 4 ) * p . 5 7 1 .
Les Mandarins
(Paris:
CONCLUSIOK
Much has been made of Roquent i n 9 s
proposal
might be able to justify one's e x i s t e n c e
ative project»
As the final strains of the final
wonders if p e r h a p s art
existential salvation:
"La N é g r e s s e chante*
Un tout petit
playing
Roquentin
is not a p o s s i b l e means to
justifier son e x i s t e n c e ?
achieve
Alors on
peu? • • •
Est—ce que je ne p o u r r a i s p a s e s s a y e r ? " 3 1 4 The main
of the critical
debate c o n c e r n i n g
is aimed at the v i a b i l i t y
the n o v e l ' s
of the "creative
Maurice C r a n s t o n and Hazel B a r n e s , for
quentin's sudden
artistic
commitment
ails t h i s waif of b e i n g » 3 1 5
what
doch*
Roquentin's
ure»316
What
forthcoming
solution»"
instance, find Ro-
a splendid cure
for
O t h e r s , such as Iris Mur-
and p r e d i c t ,
realization
is p r i m a r i l y
focus
conclusion
George Bauer and R i c h a r d Kamber, find this
t i o n " to be a mere pipe-dream
one
through a c r e -
of "Some of These P a y s " r e s o u n d in his e a r s ,
peut
that
"solu-
hypotheticaliy»
of his project's
in question
in all of
fail-
these
3 1 4
S a r t r e , L & Nausée«
315
Maurice C r a n s t o n , Sartre (New York: Barnes and Noble,
1 9 6 6 ) , pry
20-21»
Hazel B a r n e s , ftyimanistic £XJ.g!ejrtlallsm: I k e l i t e r a t u r e a £ P v P g i f r i U t y (Lincoln: Univ e r s i t y of N e b r a s k a P r e s s , 1 9 5 9 ) , pv>» 193-206»
316
Iris M u r d o c h , ftartre; R o m a n t i c Rationalist (New Haven:
Yale University P r e s s , 1 9 5 3 ) , pp. 7-14.
George B a u e r ,
Sartre and the Artist ( C h i c a g o : U n i v e r s i t y of Chicago
p»
221»
_0;HL_
-247-
works
is whether
existence,
for Roquent in T
can be J u s t i -
fied or not*
But
to what
ative entreprise
"problem"
a "solution"?
to justify his existence*
earlier
for
proposed
Has Soquentin been
try as he may»
pages of his journal*
key to e x i s t e n t i a l
train
is R o q u e n t i n 1 s
only
to stumble
s u c c e s s as he is about
as a condition
on to the
to board
based on an infection
in nature*
leads his life by e n g a g i n g
ture after another*
scopophilic»
Soquentin*
the
and d e s t r u c t i v e
Roquentinfs
which is e s like
anyone
in one appropriative
We i n v e s t i g a t e d
ticular a p p r o p r i a t i v e
through
the
Paris?
sentially appropriative
else*
unable
throughout
In the f o r e g o i n g pages* we have e x a m i n e d
sickness
cre-
the grasping*
oral»
a s p e c t s of S o q u e n t i n 1 s
tendencies*
a reading of F r e u d against
and we
ven-
par-
discovered»
Sartre»
that such m a n i -
f e s t a t i o n s of desire are symptoms
of a u n i v e r s a l
psychology*
habit of picking up pa-
pers
is»
Roquentin's
at its root»
to call the man
not so unusual
This illness»
earlier
readers»
and hardly a reason
"sick* 11
Roquent in ijg sick»
sea*
peculiar
human
however —
he has bouts with
as we have shown»
results
nau-
in the manner of
from R o q u e n t i n ' s sense that
the
Press» 1969)» p* 4 3 .
Richard Kamber» "The Creative
Solution in Nausea* " in Suscruehanna P n j y e r s i t y Sfrudje.g,
9 (1974): pp. 227-242*
The Kamber article contains an
excellent r e c a p i t u l a t i o n of the debate on the v i a b i l i ty of the creative solution for Roquentin» a summary
from which our own summary is drawn.
-248-
objects of his a p p r o p r i â t i v e
back*
This "revenge
propriation»
urges have begun to
of the e n - s o j " we termed
counter-ap-
and we a t t r i b u t e d this fear of b e i n g
by the in-itself to a change
is his esprit
pte serieuy
sion of his beingt
that p e r m i t s this imagined
an attitude
the being—of—the—world»
other h&ndf
view that
mind»
in which one allows
propriate
is just the opposite
itself
©_£ its freedom —
de Jeu»
on
Whether R o q u e n t i n ' s
seeks to ap-
the world
Roquentin1s
The
ijû te^ms
existence
to bring a n t i -
"problem*M
then»
US. «i£U*
is justifiable or not
The very fact
than to the world»
we are to ask the q u e s t i o n of w h e t h e r R o q u e n t i n 1 s
a novel will s a t i s f y those v a g u e , but
y e a r n i n g s of his f u n d a m e n t a l
itself,
that
it,
it, i n d i c a t e s that he is giving
more reality to h i s c o n s c i o u s n e s s
to write
the
" s o l u t i o n " to this d i -
a s u p e r f l u o u s consideration»
p r e t e n d s to j u s t i f y
of
the for-itself
R o q u e n t i n t h i n k s he can j u s t i f y it, seeks to justify
even
the
"serious"
appears with h i s adoption of the esprit
becomes
tran-
of that of the
permit
lies in his s e r i o u s attitude»
lemma
more
a f r e e d o m w h i c h b r i n g s v a l u e into
into consciousness»
It
inva-
is based on a point
through the use of its freedom»
world and simply will not
value
The esprit tfg J6 V**
is an attitude which
With the esprit
engulfed
in R o q u e n t i n ' s attitude»
reality to the world than to o n e ' s own freedom to
scend
touch
desire to be
If
project
persistent
1n-itself-for-
then our answer will be a c a t e g o r i c a l : "No»"
But
-249-
the salvation
that R o q u e n t i n
such an impossible
rather a state
in the past*
bringing
goal of o n t o l o g i c a l
in which he can
His goal
"accept
himself»"
inquire
the
which he possesses
into* be tempted
project
of creative w r i t i n g r e v e a l s the s p e c i f i c i t y
this aim appears to Roquentin as a
to his own p s y c h o l o g i c a l bias*
o t h e r s , such a r e s o l u t i o n
that
projects*
the esprit
appropriative
failure*
But,
What
is important
is repulsed,
s t r a t e g y that
for
in any case
de s é r i e u x is o v e r c o m e , that
attack
of
may wear the guise of other
the
and that the
does not deny his / her own freedom —
priative
to
ablaze a world w h i c h is there to be p o s s -
The fact that
propriative
in
His goal is to
essed*
this endeavor
but
if only
through
of "mine* but not met"
once again f o n d l e , gaze at t
and set
self-becoaingt
is to have himself
into the world of an object
the double rapport
swallow,
is s e e k i n g is not akin to
even
apis
counter-
subject
if the appro-
one p u r s u e s is c o n s t a n t l y doomed
This is the s o l u t i o n
to Roquent i n 9 s
problem*
to
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