Le Mur

Abstract

The five stories in Le Mur (Intimacy) do not offer a set of ready-made solutions. They all end unhappily, and it is only by seeing each one as a kind of photographic negative that the reader can understand how Sartre is presenting one way of behaving as better than another. Artistically, this is a good rather than a bad thing. Improving anecdotes had already gone out of fashion before Saki wrote the story in which Bertha was found and eaten by the wolf because her medal for obedience clinked against her medals for good conduct and punctuality.¹ Three of the stories in Le Mur nevertheless have a cautionary note to them, with ‘Intimité’ and ‘L’Enfance d’un chef’ even going so far as to suggest a definite line of action to take.