30 PLAYS IN 30 DAYS: Play #4 "The Flies" by Jean-Paul Sartre

 

I have decided for the month of September to read 30 plays in 30 days. It is my belief that, if possible, a play should be read in one sitting to get a better inherent sense of the dramatic arc. Each day, I will write a short post here about the play of the day.

Play #4

The Flies by Jean-Paul Sartre

I confess, the only Sartre I had read until today was arguably his most famous play, No Exit, though I have owned a collection for years. I tell you, as I sat down and began to read The Flies, I started to have that feeling I get, a kind of excitement, when I know I am reading something or watching something that is bound to become one of my favorites. While I don't agree completely with Sartre's philosophy 100% (though none can doubt he was a brilliant thinker), it creates tremendous drama and a bold, and oh-so-thrillingly alive thematic struggle for an ingenious re-telling of The Orestia and the Electra myth. It certainly doesn't hurt that I am a Greek Mythology geek and love the Ancient Greeks who created drama as we know it today. 

Sartre's Electra is bold, fierce and amazing--- I can't imagine any young actress who wouldn't jump at the part--- until she allows her guilt to plead for forgiveness. Sartre's Orestes is thoughtful, detached, and aloof until through Electra's hatred and his witnessing of the shame and guilt the people of Argos carry spurs him into an epiphany of his own freedom, and a need to free the people of his murdered father's old kingdom. 

Unlike the Ancient Greek tales, Sartre's Orestes has no remorse for his murder of Aegistheus and Clytemnestra (who, incidentally, I always find sympathetic--- Agamemnon killed their daughter so he could get fair winds to sail for Troy), which is what leads to his clash with Zeus in the last third of the play. Zeus requires humans to feel the guilt of their own humanity, as it is what keeps them subservient to him. Free people like Orestes is what will bring about the downfall of gods like Zeus. 

Incidentally, I don't feel guilty about talking about Orestes murdering his mother and her second husband--- it is not a spoiler when it has been a myth forever. Sorry. 

While the last act of the play can feel didactic at times as Zeus and Orestes throw philosophy at each other, the ideas are still thrilling, and there are excellent visual touches described for the staging of the play. The language is vibrant, the characters are compelling.  And I think people forget just how FUNNY Sartre can be. 

At least I think he's funny. 

The Flies was first produced in Paris in June of 1943. Sartre had to get approval from German censors, as Germany was occupying France at the time. It was poorly attended and poorly reviewed at the time, though during rehearsals, Sartre met a young man by the name of Albert Camus (who is also funnier than people seem to remember). 

What a joy to read this play today!