French Studies (journal)

I chose to read the article Sartre’s Critique of Patriarchy by Jonathan Webber from Volume 78, Issue 1, January 2024, pages 72-88 https://doi.org/10.1093/fs/knad237.

Was Sartre a feminist?

Many feminist critics are disapproving of Sartre, considering him sexist and misogynistic. I think that many of their arguments are grounded, however, I think Sartre’s attempts at criticising the patriarchy deserve more recognition. Critics do not always look into his fictional writings, so some base their opinions of him purely on his philosophy. As well as this, it is possible to miss Sartre’s feminist messages if one does not look deeply enough at his plays and films.

In Huis Clos, the characters of Garcin and Estelle identify themselves within society’s expectations of their sexes. This means that they are examples of Sartrean bad faith, as their pride comes from identifying some aspects of themselves as their defining natures, ignoring or denying other aspects. Sartre critiques the societal norms of masculinity and femininity by showing their negative effects on Garcin and Estelle, as well as on the play’s events. He portrays these norms as causes of injustice, violence and coercion, owing their force to bad faith and oppression.

In Les jeux sont faits, Ève is the more moral character between the two protagonist: she and Pierre. This is significant because Ève defies the social expectations of femininity and rebels against patriarchal structures, making her a heroine of Sartrean authenticity.

Similarly, in Typhus, Sartre creates a contrast between the two main characters, Nellie and Georges. Nellie has a clear understanding of her projects and situation and she realises that navigating her misogynistic environment is made difficult by her loyalty to her values. She embodies Sartrean authenticity by refusing to abandon what is important to her because doing so would be a betrayal of who she is. Thus, Sartre shows his disapproval of the partiarchy by emphasising the morality of the characters who fight against it.

When Allegrét made the film Les Orgeilleux, which was based on Typhus, it was commercially and critically successful. However, it contained racist and patriarchal messages which Sartre did not want to be associated with. Because the film had the opposite political message of Typhus, Sartre rejected his nomination for the 1957 Academy Award for Best Writing, Motion Picture Story. However, he is still credited with Les Orgeilleux, which may have played a part in drawing attention away from his attempts to criticise the patriarchy.

Furthermore, economic oppression, epistemic injustice and misogynistic and racist violence are presented as an integrated and mutually supported system in La putaine respecteuse. Sartre also explored the roles of epistemic injustice in faciliatating sexual assault in his screenplay, Le Scénario Freud. 

In conclusion, I believe that Sartre wanted society]s patriarchal structures to be dismantled, as he demonstrates through his fiction. However, he saw feminism as being a part of class warfare and perhaps as subordinate to class struggle and emancipation. I would not call Sartre a champion of feminism, because he did write sexist things in his philosophy, which Simone de Beauvoir criticised herself. However, Sartre was eager for the abolition of social hierarchies in general, including the patriarchal elements of society, and I think the messages embedded in his fiction can be referred to as feminist ideas.