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How does Les Mains Sales fit with Sartre’s concept of a “Theatre of Situations”?

Sartre’s views on theatre, which are very closely linked to his existentialism philosophy, are

based on his key principle of the life of the “for itself” for whom “existence precedes

essence” and that a “man is what he makes himself”. It is possible to say that Sartre saw his

theatre as a theatre of freedom, where life is based on situation. The individual’s decisions in

any given situation shape his path of life, only until the next situation is reached in which the

individual proceeds to make the next decision. That process continues in a loop, and so the

life is lived through a continuation of situations:

“But if it is true that a man is free in a given situation and that he chooses himself in

and through that situation, then the theatre must show simple human situations and free

people choosing themselves in those situations… the most moving thing that the theatre can

show is a character in the process of being formed – the moment of choice, of free decision

that engages morality and a whole life.”1

Moreover, the situations in the play should not be ordinary, everyday decisions, but rather the

decisions should be troublesome and cause distress to the individual required to make them,

and the choices made should present “the man in his totality”2. In the play, those decisions

should be personal to the character; but outside of the play, the decisions should relatable for

the public, allowing the audience to see themselves in the character and identify with the

character’s problems and dilemmas. And so, the decisions should be equally difficult and of

great importance, but also including and universally applicable, not excluding any type or

group of people through their uncommonness.

1
Jean-Paul Sartre, "Pour un théâtre de situations" in Un Théâtre de situations, ed. Michel Contat et Michel
Rybalka (Paris : Gallimard, 1973), pp.19-21 (p. 20).
2
Jean-Paul Sartre, in Théâtre complet, ed. Michel et al (Paris : Gallimard, 2005), p. xiv.
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“The man who is free within the limits of his own situation, the man who chooses,

whether he likes it or not, for all other men when he chooses for himself – that is the subject

of our plays.”3

In the theatre of situations, there is not a human nature that guides the character, but rather

“by the act of engagement, the individual exercises his free will, asserting his independence

of any system of pre-determination”.4

The concept of the theatre of situations is portrayed in Les Mains Sales through Hugo, the

main character. Hugo is a young intellectual, who comes from a powerful bourgeois family,

but decides to join the communist party. One of his reasons for joining the party was out of

the dislike for his family. Throughout the play, he is looked down upon, criticised and has

had his motives questioned by others. At first, his father is disappointed in him not being

hungry and tries to guilt him into eating: “Cet enfant n’a pas faim… une cuillerée pour la

vieille qui ramasse les épluchures dans la poubelle”5. However, as he joins the party, he is

again accused of the same things: “Hugo… Qu’est-ce que tu peux comprendre? Tu n’as

jamais eu faim.”6 He is not fully trusted by neither his family nor his party comrades. He

yearns to be respected by others, and so despite having a lowly role of editing the party

newspaper, he often envisions himself in brave and courageous situations, which through

engagement would allow him to rise through the ranks.

3
"Forger des mythes" in Un Théâtre de situations, pp.57-67, (pp.58-59).
4
Jean-Paul Sartre, “Les Mains Sales : pièce en sept tableaux”, ed. Geoffrey Brereton (London : Methuen, 1963),
p. 19.
5
“Les Mains Sales”, p. 73.
6
“Les Mains Sales”, p. 73.
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The duty of killing Hoederer provides Hugo with the kind of engagement he wished for. In

theory, the situation would give him the possibility to earn respect his realize his inner self.

However, the end of the first tableau of the play shows that perhaps Hugo did not fully

succeed. When talking with Olga, Hugo said “J’essayais de comprendre pourquoi je l’avais

fait”7 in relation to the committed crime. Beforehand, Hugo thought that killing Hoederer was

an opportunity to define himself and to create an identity inseparable from the act, but after

spending time in prison, he began to question himself and whether what he achieved

coincided with his inner values.

The second tableau is the beginning of Hugo’s flashback to the time before his deployment to

the assignment. In scene three, the reader gets a glimpse of Hugo’s reasoning before putting

himself forwards as a character capable of killing Hoederer. In the theatre of situation, one

exists through one’s own will and choice. And so, Hugo’s only fear is becoming like father,

whom he dislikes as during his fight against social injustice, he saw his role as a transient one

and he was nothing more than just a passenger: “Moi aussi, dans mon temps, j’ai fait partie

d’un groupe révolutionnaire; j’écrivais dans leur journal. Ça te passera comme ça m’a

passé...”8 Hugo sees his choice of becoming a party member and then deciding to killing

Hoederer as a definitive act that he will impact his life forever. He cannot accept the fact that

his father sees destiny as pre-determined over which one has no control and that he considers

the act as part of his rebellion and a part of his youthful romanticism, out of which he will

grow out with time.

7
“Les Mains Sales”, p. 40.
8
“Les Mains Sales”, p. 46.
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In tableau three, Hugo moves into Hoederer’s house, with his wife Jessica, to become his

secretary. There, he was first confronted by the guards and then Hoederer himself, who

eventually accepted him. However, his wife Jessica does not believe in him and does not

believe he can become an assassin: “il faudrait commencer par t’en convaincre toi-même.”9

The reader is left to contemplate whether at this point Hugo is committed to the act out of his

own belief, or whether the act of killing Hoederer is being forced upon him by social forces.

It is possible to say that Hugo is still aware of his innate freedom and has not yet deceived

himself into becoming a murder. In this instance, the audience is being made aware of the

concept of theatre of situation, as here Hugo is left with a choice to present his totality. Hugo

can remain self-aware, or he can convince himself of being the murder and act in bad faith,

thus inauthentically.

In tableau four, a bomb is planted and then detonated by other party member as they do not

trust Hugo to finish his job. The evident show of the lack of trust in him breaks Hugo down

and when drunk and in company of Hoederer’s bodyguards, he says: “Tirez sur moi, je vous

dis. C’est votre métier.”10 Hugo does not think that he has any more reason to live. He arrived

with one aim. However, now, his opportunity to self-define has been taken away. There is not

anything he can do. He thought that killing Hoederer could become his essence, but now his

essence is to be buried in the ground.

However, in tableau five, after a conversation with Hoederer, Hugo has accepted to live in

bad faith as Jessica says to Hugo: “Il t’a convaincu.” And in tableau six, Hugo kills Hoederer,

but the situation took an unexpected turn. As Hugo accepted the life in bad faith earlier,

9
“Les Mains Sales”, p. 84.
10
“Les Mains Sales”, p. 108.
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eventually he did not kill Hoederer out of bad faith. “Il a tiré par jalousie.”11 He killed out of

jealousy, a human instinct. There was not a pressure on him to kill in that moment, and nor

was he pretending to be an assassin. The reaction to kill was based entirely on Hugo’s own

will and innate freedom, thus it is possible to say that it was an authentic death.

Hugo joined the communist party out of the dislike for his own family, and in pursuit of his

ideals. He was assigned to kill Hoederer and in the end, that is what he did. But he did not kill

out of hatred, jealousy, perhaps, Hugo came to see Hoederer as almost a role model because

“il meurt pour ses idées, pour sa politique”.12 Hoederer died for his ideas, and he is defined as

such. Hoederer has achieved something that Hugo was searching for. And now, Hugo has a

blueprint to follow, a plan to fulfil his soul. “Je n’ai pas encore tué Hoederer… C’est à

présent que je vais le tuer, et moi avec.”13 Hugo finally is able to achieve his eternal goal.

The opportunity to kill Hoederer gave Hugo a chance to realize his true self and become a

respected individual to whom others will look up. It gave him a chance to decide on act and

let the act define him. However, in the end, the act did not define Hugo. What defined Hugo

was the man whom he killed. The man made Hugo realize that murder does not make a man,

but death for one’s principles does.

In the play, Hugo sets on the journey of self-pursuit. Throughout, he is presented with

situations which require difficult decisions. The situations are a fight between Hugo’s innate

freedom and authenticity. Through the concept of theatre of situations, Sartre introduced

problems and dilemmas to the audience with which they can identify, especially in the

11
“Les Mains Sales”, p. 146.
12
“Les Mains Sales”, p. 155.
13
“Les Mains Sales”, p. 155.
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modern times. Humans are on a constant journey of searching for the meaning of life. They

are looking to self-define and that is what the character of Hugo portrays. Hugo is a young,

troubled man who throughout the play searches for a reason to live. In the “Les Mains Sales”,

Sartre wrote a play that is accessible to many and tackles humanist and philosophical

problems, which have plagued the humanity through decades and centuries.

Word count –

Essay – 1675

Footnotes – 114

Total – 1789
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Bibliography

Contant, Michel et Michel Rybalka, "Forger des mythes" in Un Théâtre de situations, pp.57-67

Sartre, Jean-Paul “Les Mains Sales : pièce en sept tableaux”, ed. Geoffrey Brereton (London : Methuen,
1963)

Sartre, Jean-Paul "Pour un théâtre de situations" in Un Théâtre de situations, ed. Michel Contat et
Michel Rybalka (Paris : Gallimard, 1973), pp.19-21

Sartre, Jean-Paul in Théâtre complet, ed. Michel et al (Paris : Gallimard, 2005)