SARTRE, Jean-Paul

Lot 484
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8000 - 15000 EUR
SARTRE, Jean-Paul
Autograph manuscript for Dirty Hands. S. l., late 1947. 28 p. on 23 ff. in-4 (26.7 x 20.8 cm). Autograph manuscript for the play Les Mains Sales. Composed of preparatory notes, it dates from the end of December 1947. This manuscript is not known to the publishers of La Pléiade and contains unpublished information on the work. The idea for the play originated in the midst of the crisis of the Marxist ideal, in the context of the Cold War. By situating the drama within a "proletarian" party, Sartre explicitly posed the question of the revolutionary's right, or not, to "get his hands dirty". In this document, we find some sketches of the scene with numerous variants, comments on the themes addressed, but also detailed sheets on the main characters such as Hugo (Victor in the manuscript), Jessica, Olga or Hoederer. "Victor, 19 years old: Haunted by Trotsky's personality. Alone with his wife in Trotsky's office, he touches the objects Trotsky touches to get their secret [...] This is good that he doesn't take his mission seriously. Can't get into the murderer's shoes. " Sartre also dwells on the motivations of his characters; always about Victor, he continues: "Wants to act. But the act is deductive for him. Goal: reconciliation of being and evidence, of himself with himself but in death. " The guiding ideas and psychological indications revolve around a plan of the play, showing that it was originally divided into 3 acts, containing 3 scenes, as opposed to the 7 tableaux of the final version, containing 1 to 6 scenes. Moreover, some characters have different names from the printed version: Hugo was called Victor, Karsky was called Trotsky and the Prince was a regent. These 28 pages on cream-coloured paper, written in ink, contain a few erasures, additions and corrections. A precious manuscript to discover the first foundations of Les Mains Sales. Slight traces of folding at the corners, and yellowing. Ink
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