The theme of death

The theme of death is considered one of the key aspects in existentialist philosophy. It is no coincidence that Jean-Paul Sartre, in his works, repeatedly touches upon this painful theme, imbuing it with a special resonance in a series of vivid artistic images. In the novel "Nausea" (1938), death takes on not so much a personalized image but rather is glimpsed through various characters and plot circumstances, haunting the protagonist and creating a corresponding structure of artistic reality. Unlikely to act independently, as the philosophical component of existentialism always "pushes" death into the mazes of absurdity. It is precisely this unique "breath of death" that fills the novel "Nausea" with quite contradictory statements, shaking the foundations of human existence and allowing us to continue to attempt to "decode" Sartre. Undoubtedly, the vivid artistic images of death helped the writer to solve many problems with the dynamics of the plot and emphasize the intellectual tension of the novel "Nausea".

Ivan V. BRATUS,
PhD in Philology, Associate Professor,
Borys Grinchenko Kyiv University,
Kyiv, Ukraine,
e-mail: [email protected],
ORCID: 0000-0002-8747-2611

Anna M. HUNKA,
Borys Grinchenko Kyiv University,
Kyiv, Ukraine,
e-mail: [email protected],
ORCID: 0000-0003-4455-1640

THE DEPICTION OF DEATH IN JEAN-PAUL SARTRE'S NOVEL «NAUSEA»
Summary. In the article, we explore a range of important concepts regarding the interpretation of death in Jean-Paul Sartre's novel "Nausea". While examining the question of death, we pay special attention to the impossibility of fully revealing the nature of this phenomenon from the perspective of ordinary or generalized human experience. Our article focuses on the existential concept of death, which was partially formed, advocated, and implemented by Jean-Paul Sartre himself in his works. A series of quotes from the novel "Nausea" is presented to illustrate Jean-Paul Sartre's philosophical views on the ability of humans to reassess individual, collective, and transcendent notions of the transition from the living to the non-living. The issue of a distinct ethics of murder and suicide is raised in the novel "Nausea". Particular attention is given to the concept of suicide, which has a rather unconventional authorial interpretation among representatives of existentialism, with Jean-Paul Sartre being a prominent figure. It is shown that suicide, as interpreted by the writer, does not have the usual contours, as it is explained from the perspective of the inability to avoid "superfluous things" in the world. An even more revolutionary position regarding murder is that it is positioned from the standpoint of "liberation from existence" as a "beneficent act." The absurdity of Jean-Paul Sartre's assertions is caused by a reinterpretation of the paradigm of "hostages of being," who are unable to independently make the right choice and should be "grateful" to those who shorten their lives. This paradigm has an existential nature that is reinterpreted through a reassessment of the burden of choice by humans. The relevance of our research is determined by the inevitability of the problem of death throughout human history. It is proven that Jean-Paul Sartre made a significant breakthrough in comprehending the mystery of death. A range of aspects for comprehending the theme of death is proposed: death in historical past, death in the future, murder, suicide, and so on. An overview of some scholarly investigations regarding the life and works of the writer concerning the theme of death is provided. It is demonstrated that death is devoid of purely negative connotations since its nature merely reproduces general disorder. Sartre believes that the disorder itself is not based on the nature of chaos but on the inability of humans to encompass the entirety of events. It is noted that the primitivization of death does not contribute to understanding its nature but rather makes it more incomprehensible.
Keywords: Sartre, death, literature, culture, being