Sartre's dramatic works are full of existential philosophical radiance, and these ideas are reflected not only in his theatrical characters, but also in the construction and arrangement of his theatrical stage space.
The stage space of a drama is an important medium for theatrical performance, it is the specific environment in which the plot unfolds, and the stage space provides an expressive theatrical environment for the dramatic characters. In traditional drama, the stage space only provides a specific environment for an event based on the requirements of the drama plot, and has no direct causal relationship with the development of the plot. However, in the writings of the existentialist master Sartre, the stage space in the drama has become an important means for him to express his philosophical views.
Theatrical stage space includes the specific environment in which the dramatic plot is located, that is, the stage setting, as well as the action props used by the dramatic characters. In the dramatic text, the performance and layout of the stage space are reflected in the subtext of the play. In order to analyze the existential philosophical thoughts embodied in the stage space in Sartre's plays, this paper lists the instructions on stage space in the subtexts of "The Fly", "Interval" and "Dead Without a Burial".
By comparing and analyzing the sub-texts of the plays, we can see that the stage space setting of Sartre's plays is extremely simple, and the whole stage space setting is centered on the dramatic characters, which has the characteristics of simplification.
The Flies is a representative work of Sartre's existentialist drama. In this work, the scene—the square of Argos, the setting—the statue of Jupiter is identified in just two sentences, and nothing is said about the square. The palace in the second scene of the second act is also very simple - the throne of the king and a statue of Jupiter. The squares and palaces of a capital cannot be so simple, but the author focuses on the characters and hides the objective world that the characters are not aware of. In such a scene, it seems that only the consciousness of people and people is the most prominent. In the eyes of the residents of Argos City, the flowers, trees, and sculpture buildings on the square do not exist at all. Only the sense of guilt in their hearts makes them only see the statue of Jupiter in the center of the square, and the image is so Vivid and clear: "white eyes, blood stained face." Sartre's existential philosophy believes that human existence precedes essence, so the existence of the objective world has meaning only when people are aware of it. He placed human existence in front of material existence, and believed that human's subjective will is free. Therefore, in all his dramatic works, the characteristics of the simplification of theatrical stage space can be reflected.
The stage space of "Interval" is more highly abstract than the previous one. Hell is no longer full of brimstone, burns and grills as described by Dante, but a restaurant in the style of the Second Empire, with three large Armchairs, a bronze statue and a paper cutter, and an electric light that never goes out and a bell that goes on and off. In such a stage space, a coward, a homosexual and a pornographic maniac formed a vicious circle of mutual torture and pursuit without the torture of capital punishment and executioner. Garson is not interested in the beautiful Estelle, what he needs is the thoughtful Ines who makes a positive judgment of his worth in life, and Estelle starts looking for a mirror as soon as she enters hell, she needs to rely on the mirror or A man's pursuit can affirm his own personal charm. Ines is in the middle - always in an active position, she not only seduces Estelle to find herself in her own eyes, but also controls Garson, she is a devilish figure.
Sartre's high abstraction of stage space is to use a hypothetical dramatic space to express the dialectical relationship that people freely choose in a specific situation. He changed hell into a closed space without any torture tools. He believed that what really caused people to suffer was not the torture tools, but the mutual torture of human spirits. It is also in such a stage space that the restrictive relationship between the characters and subjects has a more typical magnified appearance. This hell of others is starkly laid out in front of readers and viewers. It is also in this disintegrating space that a sense of absurdity forces Garson to shout: "Ah! What a big joke! No need for iron bars, hell is someone else!"
In Sartre's plays , most of the dramatic characters are endowed with a clear subject will. He divides the characters into two types, one is a hero who makes choices based on the meaning of his own existence, and the other is a coward who oscillates between the will of the subject and the will of others.
In the play "Dead Without a Burial Place", the set of the stage space is still not arranged according to common sense. The prison is an attic. Except for the handcuffs on the actor's hands and a stick to torture Henry, there are no other torture instruments. The female model upstairs acts as Henry's dance partner for a while, and the radio downstairs is the law of surrender to Germany. An effective tool used by gangsters to conduct psychological confrontation with guerrillas upstairs. In such a scene, the author minimizes the impact of punishment in prison on people, while dance music and interrogation are all based on psychological countermeasures. In the face of this psychological contest, some people are determined, while others become cowards. François fidgets as the French rapist downstairs disturbs the revolutionaries with dance music on the radio, while Henri dances pompously with the female model. Sartre puts his character in an extreme situation and makes him choose, "A coward makes himself a coward, a hero makes himself a hero."
Sartre's plays are generally divided into two categories: one is based on fictional and unrealistic stories, such as "The Flies", "Interval", etc.; the other is directly about realistic political or social themes. Works, such as "Death Without a Burial Place", "The Submissive Whore", "Dirty Hands" and so on. Among them, the second type of works created by Sartre in the later period directly depicts social reality. Many scholars believe that this type of drama has a writing style that tends towards realism. But the author believes that if we analyze and compare the stage space of Sartre's drama with that of realist drama, we can clearly see the difference between Sartre's drama and realist drama. The creative principle of realism is to describe the "typical character in a typical environment", emphasizing the objective description of social reality. Therefore, the stage space of a realist drama must be a real simulation of a real scene. Sartre's existential drama is to highlight the free choice of the subject in a limit situation. Although its characters are also in a specific social reality background and cannot choose their own living environment, their characters are not influenced by the external world because of this. They not only do not lose their subjectivity, but also use They constantly strengthen the subject will to make free choices. Therefore, in the stage space of existential drama, the real scene is not truly restored, but is centered on the activities of the characters, creating a subjective and real atmosphere in the characters' souls, which is also significantly different from realist dramas.
In the 20th century, the problem of human alienation has become the most basic feature of Western modernist literature. Faced with the alienated state of existence, as well as "the resulting mental trauma and abnormal psychology, pessimistic and desperate emotions and nihilistic thoughts", most modernist writers have shifted from objectively describing the authenticity of the external world to subjectively feeling the authenticity. in principle. Sartre injected the authenticity of subjective feelings into the stage space setting of his drama creation. In such a stage, the influence of objects on people is minimized, and the subjective will of people is liberated to the greatest extent. Sartre uses this human-centered stage to call on people to take action in the absurd world and obtain the positive meaning of individual existence.
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