When "The Wall" was first published in La Nouvelle Revue Francaise in 1937, it introduced Sartre to the French literary world. According to one scholar, Sartre's publisher arranged the publication because he wanted to see if the public would favorably receive a novel Sartre had written, Nausea . The public, in fact, embraced both of these works, which quickly established Sartre's literary reputation.

Two years later "The Wall" was selected as the title story for Sartre's only collection of short fiction. Of his fiction, it has been his most popular work over the decades, yet critical reception has been slight as the short stories have been overshadowed by Sartre's writings in other genres.

From the time of its publication, critics and scholars perceived the stories in the collection as merely vehicles for Sartre's philosophical ideas. The renowned French writer, Albert Camus, did not cite the story specifically in...