French Literature Reviews - 2026

Sartre, Stendhal and Morality
Philosophy, Anthropology and Ideas

Sartre, Stendhal and Morality. Or Stendhal's Revenge

Paul Desalmand, Pocket "Agora", 2004.

Publisher's overview:

It is less widely known that Stendhal was Jean-Paul Sartre's favorite writer, yet it was to Gustave Flaubert that he devoted a monumental study, The Family Idiot. Their connection runs deeper than it appears, for a century apart, Stendhal and Sartre both attempt to answer the crucial question facing modern man: how should one behave after the death of God? Or rather, for these two atheist thinkers: how to live a happy and dignified life in a godless world? To highlight the convergence of their approaches, Paul Desalmand juxtaposes the lives (romances and careers), thoughts (the problem of freedom), and moral philosophies (what is to be done?, what may we hope for?) of these two literary giants. He even considers the possibility of viewing Stendhal as a precursor to existentialism... A clear, unexpected, and original introduction to Sartre's thought.

Paul Desalmand, an alumnus of the École normale supérieure de Cachan and holder of a State Doctorate, has taught literature, notably at the École normale supérieure in Abidjan. Author of some fifty books, he recently published Guide pratique de l'écrivain (Leduc.s Éditions) and Écrire est un miracle (Éditions Bérénice).

Readers interested in French literature, existentialism, and the intersection of nineteenth-century narrative prose with twentieth-century philosophy may find this volume relevant. Paul Desalmand is an alumnus of the École normale supérieure de Cachan and holder of a State Doctorate, having taught literature notably at the École normale supérieure in Abidjan. Author of some fifty books, he recently published Guide pratique de l'écrivain and Écrire est un miracle.