late 1930 sand 1940 s, but it has yet to find its ontological grounding in a
sense of a social subject, a “we” that is more than a merely psychological
experience. So let us be content with a gathering of qualities and character
traits of the child and boy that will continue to reveal themselves in the
life and work of the young man and the world-famous author.
We are justified in underscoring the unifying effect of his “vocation”
to the life of an author. Though the nature of this authorship will
gradually shift from imaginary literature to political polemic, always
supported by philosophical reflection, that core project of being an
author continues to direct his life. He will be a public figure, armed with
his pen, inspired by his powerful imagination, and guided by a sense of
justice that defines itself against the values and habits of his own
bourgeois class. Except for a few years of “amoralist realism” that color
his ties with the French Communist Party from 1952 to 1956 ,^38 Sartre
will remain a moralist throughout his adult life. Indeed, Beauvoir
remarked on the intense moralistic spirit that he displayed on his
return from the stalag in 1941. At his death, one Parisian publication
lamented: “France has lost its conscience.”^39
(^38) See Sartre’s interview/discussion with Benny Le ́vy (a.k.a. Pierre Victor) and Philippe Gavi,
On a raison de se re ́volter(Paris: Gallimard, 1974 ), 79 ; hereafterORR.
(^39) Magazine Litte ́raireno. 176 (Septembre 1981 ): 11 , “La Conscience de son temps.”
The composite picture 19