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''The Roads to Freedom'' ((フランス語:Les chemins de la liberté)) is a series of novels by Jean-Paul Sartre. Intended as a tetralogy, it was left incomplete, with only three of the planned four volumes published. The three published novels revolve around Mathieu, a Socialist teacher of philosophy, and a group of his friends. The trilogy includes: ''L'âge de raison'' (''The Age of Reason''), ''Le sursis'' (generally translated as ''The Reprieve'' but which could cover a number of semantic fields from 'deferment' to 'amnesty'), and ''La mort dans l'âme'' (''Troubled Sleep'', originally translated by Gerard Hopkins as ''Iron in the Soul'', Hamish Hamilton, 1950). The trilogy was to be followed by a fourth novel, ''La dernière chance'' (i.e. ''The Last Chance''); however, Sartre would never finish it: two chapters were published in 1949 in Sartre's magazine ''Les Temps modernes'' under the title ''Drôle d'amitié''.〔Caute, D. Introduction to ''The Reprieve'' by Jean-Paul Sartre, Penguin Classics, 2001.〕 The last part of ''The Last Chance'' was later reconstructed and published in 1981 (see section below). The novels were written largely in response to the events of World War II and the Nazi occupation of France, and express certain significant shifts in Sartre's philosophical position towards 'engagement' (commitment) in both life and literature, finding their resolution in the extended essay ''L'existentialisme est un humanisme'' (''Existentialism is a Form of Humanism''). ==Background== In April 1938, Sartre’s first novel ''Nausea'' was published. Three months later in July, he wrote to Simone de Beauvoir, “I have all at once found the subject of my () novel, its proportions and its title... The subject is freedom.” Originally it was to be titled “Lucifer,” and written in two parts - “La Revolte” and “Le Serment” (The Oath).〔Quoted in ''Sartre: A Biography'' by Ronald Hayman (Carroll & Graf, 1987), p. 133.〕 In the autumn of 1938, Sartre began writing the novel that was to become ''The Age of Reason,'' and continued working on the novel on and off for the next year. In early September 1939, Sartre was called up into the French Army and was assigned to the meteorological unit. Except for some regular meteorological observations, this war work was not exacting, and Sartre had plenty of time to work on his novel, his war diaries, and numerous letters to friends. At one point Sartre produced seventy-three pages of the novel in thirteen days.〔Hayman, p. 153.〕 By December 31, 1939, he had completed the novel, and immediately started a sequel, which he originally wanted to call ''September'' (referring to The Munich Agreement of September 1938), and which became titled ''The Reprieve.''〔Annie Cohen-Solal, ''Sartre: A Life'' (Pantheon Books), p. 143.〕 He finished writing ''The Reprieve'' in November 1943.〔See Chronology in Hayman, p. 494.〕 However, he was constantly editing the manuscripts, and also turned them over to Simone de Beauvoir for critique. His writing in these novels was semi-autobiographical. His separation from his accustomed life in Paris and the leisure and structure of his war work led him to continued introspection during this period.〔Hayman, pp. 154-157.〕 Matheiu was based upon himself, Ivich was based on Olga Kosakiewicz (a student of Simone de Beauvoir and friend of Sartre), and Boris was based on his friend Jacques-Laurent Bost.〔Cohen-Solal, p. 254.〕 Marcelle, perhaps loosely based on Simone de Beauvoir, was the character most removed from the real-life model.〔Hayman, p. 158.〕 ''The Age of Reason'' and ''The Reprieve'' were published together after the war in September 1945. "Sartre was by now France's leading intellectual voice, and the novels, not least because they defined a critical period in French history, were received with great enthusiasm by the French public."〔Gary Cox. ''Sartre and Fiction.'' Continuum Books, 2009, p. 100.〕 However, some reviews were mixed. Louis Parrot writing for ''Les Lettres francaises'' said, “Jean-Paul Sartre has definitely taken his place among the greatest French writers of our day… His powerful talent has affirmed itself with rare brilliance.” Gaéton Picon writing for ''Confluences'' said, “If Sartre’s ambition was to force the doors of literary history, he has succeeded.. Like all great novelists, he also enjoys the privilege of having a universe of his own.” However, Louis Beirnart, writing for ''Etudes'' said, “If books could smell, one would have to hold one’s nose in front of Sartre’s latest books… Sartre’s objective is, very clearly, to show life through its excrement and lower the value of existence to the level of the gutter and the dump.”〔These three reviews were quoted in Cohen-Solal, p. 255.〕 Orville Prescott, writing for ''The New York Times,'' mentioned “His Cast of Characters Dull.”〔Orville Prescott, "Books of the Times,” ''New York Times,'' July 14, 1947, p. 19.〕 Extracts of the third novel in the trilogy, “Troubled Sleep,” appeared in the journal ''Les Temps Modernes'' between January and June 1949,〔See Chronology in Hayman, p. 496.〕 and it was published in book form later that year. The reviews were not good. As for the reception, Sartre scholar Michel Contat says: ''Troubled Sleep'' "failed to provoke the anticipated and promised positive responses, as critics transferred their moral disappointment into an accusation that (Sleep'' ) represented an exhaustion of Sartre's literary creativity. Although Sartre always said that he accorded no importance to the judgments of literary reviewers, his partial failure in their eyes intimidated him in the face of the fourth volume..."〔Michel Contat in his "General Introduction for ''Roads of Freedom,''" in: Jean Paul Sartre, ''The Last Chance: Roads of Freedom IV,'' Continuum Books, 2009, p. 196.〕 Consequently, Sartre was unable to complete the series. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Roads to Freedom」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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