Leduc/Genet/Sarraute : du parrainage existentialiste à la quête d’une autonomie du littéraire

Abstract

In a difficult climate such as the that of the Second World War and the immediate post-war period, it seemed impossible not to be controlled by History and not to practise a committed literature. As a result, philosophical currents such as Existentialism enjoyed great popularity among intellectuals who witnessed an era of change and were wary of a literature that did not reflect the times. The aim of this article is to retrace, in the work of Jean Genet, Nathalie Sarraute and Violette Leduc, the different ways in which the search for literary autonomy is expressed in relation to existentialist commitment, and to reflect on the possibility of making literature totally impervious to History.

Keywords

• commitment
• literary autonomy
• existentialism
• Leduc (Violette)
• Genet (Jean)
• Sarraute (Nathalie)