SOURCE: "Jean-Paul Sartre's 'L'Enfance d'un Chef': The Longing for Obscenity," in Romance Notes, Vol. 23, No. 3, Spring, 1983, pp. 204-09.

In the following essay, Harvey examines Sartre's use of obscenity in "The Making of a Leader, "focusing on how it serves to develop character and plot.

Sartre's collection of short stories Le Mur has received less attention from critics or the public than his other works of fiction. Among the few articles devoted to this early work, a brief review by Jean Vaudal expresses the malaise many may experience on reading the last and longest of the collection, "L'Enfance d'un Chef": "Je ne suis pas sûr que dans 'L'Enfance d'un Chef' l'auteur ait voulu mettre autant de grotesque que j'en vois. Le fait est que, maintenant que je l'y ai vu, plus rien ne l'ôtera."¹ Various aspects of the story are indeed grotesque; examples range from the vaguely...