Huis Clos and Other Plays

by Jean-Paul Sartre

Kitty Black (Translator) and Stuart Gilbert (Translator)

These three plays, diverse in subject but thematically coherent, illuminate one of Sartre's major philosophical concerns: the struggle to live and act freely in a complex and constricting world. Lucifer and the Lord, Sartre's favourite among his plays, explores this theme in depth, dealing in the process with fundamental questions of faith and disillusionment; in Huis Clos - arguably Sartre's most important play - he contends that 'Hell is other people', and details the afterlife of three souls trapped together in locked room and the torments that they inflict on each other; while The Respectable Prostitute, set in the Deep South of America, is concerned with racism, subjugation and the demands of conscience.

• ISBN10: 0141184558
• ISBN13: 9780141184555
• Publish Date: 31 August 2000
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
• Imprint: Penguin Classics
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 224
• Language: English

Reviews

[celinenyx]

Huis Clos and Other Plays holds three plays: The Respectable Prostitute, Lucifer and the Lord, and Huis Clos.

The Respectable Prostitute was interesting, though a bit simplistic. Sartre is very much into ethical responsibility, and the prostitute in this play only wants to do the right thing. In true essentialist fashion she is faced with an impossible situation which has no "good answer", and the end result is pretty depressing.

Speaking of depressing, next up is Lucifer and the Lord. This play is incredibly dense and long. The religious themes are heavy-handed and the writing sometimes hard to follow. I can understand why this play is very beloved by Sartre himself, but as a reader it's not very enjoyable. The play could have used some culling of repetitious scenes.

Huis Clos, I quite enjoyed. The philosophical themes are there, but not pounded into your head like in Lucifer and the Lord. In many ways the play is very recognisable, and it combines comic and tragic elements in an entertaining way.