Sartre's second century

124 Chapter Nine
one long-term mistress, and countless sexual encounters that amazingly
escalated in number the older he got. He became an inspiration to Dickens,
Tolstoy, Van Gogh and Tennyson, to name but a handful, and some two
million people descended upon Paris for his funeral in 1885, itself a State
event attended by dignitaries and drunks alike. Death did little to slow
down Hugo's ascent to superstardom as the "Elvis or Madonna" of his
day. 3 His enduring universal appeal is perhaps best indicated by the
unprecedented popularity of the stage version of Les Miserables, which
became the first Western musical to be granted performance in communist
China in June 2002.
Such impressive credentials are not unfamiliar to Sartre. From 1945
onwards, he graced the pages of Vogue, Time, even Playboy, becoming so
internationally recognised that Charles de Gaulle famously refused to
place him under arrest. Revealing the indeterminate and Godless nature of
existence, Sartrean Existentialism articulated not only the despair of an
entire generation forced to live in the age of the atomic bomb, but also its
hope that human creativity could be used more positively to remake a
better world. Criss-crossing the world, he met with Castro, drank with
Cocteau, and dined with Chaplin, refusing to conform to any social status
quo. Long before the summer of love sizzled in 1967, he made no secret of
his virtual open marriage with Simone de Beauvoir, nor of his affairs. 4 At
least 50,000 people followed his coffin in 1980, with the Left Bank today
remaining the breeding ground for aspiring intellectuals. His willingness to
philosophise every corner of modern living, from politics to jazz, has since
helped thinkers broaden both their subject matter and their audience,
"opening-out" rather than "dumbing-down".
Faced with such immense cultural standing, it is hardly surprising that
references thus far to Hugo within Sartre studies have been more anecdotal
than analytical. The brightness of their respective stars seems to blind the
critical eye and prevent scholars from looking any closer. These giants are
frequently linked only by their place in history and their will to speak out,
without questioning whether their thinking or writing could be connected
in a more substantial way. What has arguably hindered any attempt to
pursue this matter is the unease and even resentment that many writers and
academics have displayed towards Hugo since his death. Andre Gide's
notorious "Helas!" ("Alas!"), when confirming Hugo as his choice of the
greatest French poet of the nineteenth century, 5 reflects a discomfort
3
Grossman, "From Classic to Pop Icon".
4
Both Sartre's and Hugo's galanterie is notorious: see Rowley, Tete-a-Tete, and
Decker, Hugo.
5
Replying to a survey in L'Ermitage, February 1902,109.